Raise a glass to phenomenal women in wine

HER WINES

Praisy Dlamini, general manager and winemaker

Launched in Wellington in 2020, HER Wines is represented by young black women who worked in the industry. It's led by Praisy Dlamini, who saw a gap in the market for an all-female, all-black business offering a brand women could be proud of.

“We pride ourselves on sourcing the best grapes from local vineyards as it gives us control over the complexity and depth in flavour in each collection, satisfying the avid local wine buyer,” says Dlamini. Supporting the local economy has been a core part of HER Wines, whose mission is to give back to the community. The team has pledged to contribute 2% of profits to a scholarship fund that enables young, talented and driven individuals to achieve their dreams through the HER Wine Collection Bursary. The first two students to receive funding have started their journey and will be mentored by the team. 

“We are a group of trailblazers, growing a business in uncharted territory. We’re passionate about investing in more young women who will be pioneers in their own fields, while they inspire others to reach higher and wider,” says Dlamini.

When did HER Wines start?

In late 2020. More than two years later we are in awe of how the brand has been received. We have maintained steady growth, but more importantly, expanded our reach beyond the Cape winelands to the global market. We have used wine platforms to tell our story of going against the odds and entering the spaces that were historically not where you’d find women, let alone those of colour.

What wine did you enjoy with your dinner last night?

I enjoyed our HER Shiraz 2022 vintage with some hearty beef stew, a great duo for a very chilly evening.

What made you embark on this wine journey?

I was fortunate to receive a bursary to study any profession in agriculture and as I was fascinated by winemaking after seeing students in the cellar making wine, that caught my eye, so oenology, the study of wine and winemaking, was my pick and has become my passion.

There must have been ups and downs on this journey.

I wouldn’t say anything has been disastrous; more, it has been a journey not for the faint-hearted. Every day it takes remembering the why rather than what you get out. Most importantly, the goal that’s outlined by the vision is leaving a legacy by impacting and inspiring others.

As a woman in a male-dominated industry, how have you succeeded and what do you believe is your winning edge?

Our team is all-female, with eight of us working together to create HER Wines. Teamwork and discipline allow one to create a network that can provide support and assistance when required — and working alongside a group of like-minded women with similar goals and ambitions has definitely been our path to success.

What tips would you share with a young woman wanting to venture into the wine industry?

I would tell her to follow her passion because the wine industry is diversified, to educate and train to establish a solid foundation of knowledge, to attend wine tastings and wine clubs, and to understand wine-related terminologies. Seek out mentorship and be dedicated to your craft.

Share the different varietals you produce and how each works well with different food?

We produce four varietals: two white wines and two reds which are easy-drinking, crowd-pleasing wines.

A sauvignon blanc which pairs well with grilled fish dishes or crunchy salads, and is a good refreshing summer drink, and a chenin blanc which goes well with any white meat. I particularly enjoy it with a chicken platter.

And for the red there's a pinotage which is amazing with spicy dishes like curries and, yes, even a cheese platter. The shiraz is a good, easy-drinking wine and goes down well with any red-meat stews.

What’s next on your wine journey?

There’s a lot that we still want to achieve as a team and business, including expanding our bursary offering to more young people and growing our brand in many parts of the world.

If you could choose your last meal, what would it be and, more importantly, what wine would you enjoy with it?

I love an oxtail curry, so that would definitely be my choice of last meal, and it wouldn't be complete without HER shiraz as the perfect accompaniment.

ASLINA WINES

Ntsiki Biyela, winemaker and director

Almost 20 years ago, Ntsiki Biyela made history when she became South Africa’s first black woman winemaker. She grew up in Mahlabathini, a rural village in KwaZulu-Natal, and spent a year working as a domestic worker before her fortunes changed and she was awarded a scholarship to study winemaking by South African Airways.

After graduating, she started working as a winemaker for Stellekaya Wines in 2004 and, 12 years later, took the plunge and started Aslina Wines, named after her grandmother, in Stellenbosch.

Apart from the long list of accolades her wines have received, Biyela was voted South African Woman Winemaker of the Year in 2009, was listed as one of the Most Innovative Women in Food and Drink by Fortune’s Food & Wine in 2017, received the Diversity and Transformation Award at the 2021 Wine Harvest Commemorative Event and was named one of Food&Wine’s Drinks Innovators of the Year for 2023.

She also gives back by sitting on the board of directors of the Pinotage Youth Development Academy, which prepares young South Africans for work in the wine and tourism industries.

Did you start making wine immediately after your studies?

Wine was a foreign thing and when you’re studying something that is foreign it is important that you try to figure out what is it. So I got a job, part-time, to work at Delheim Wines to learn about what I was studying and I got excited about it. That was the reason I continued with my course through the difficulties I was going through, which were based on the environment and language barrier.

As a woman in an industry dominated by men, how have you succeeded and what do you believe is your winning edge?

It has been important to know that the men I’m working with are my colleagues and because they are my colleagues, I can ask them stuff and they ask [me] stuff. A friend used to say: “See and be seen.” So when I started in the industry, I made sure to go to seminars, meet new people [and ensure they met me].. Its' been about building relationships.

What tips would you share with a young woman wanting to venture into the wine industry?

It’s important, irrespective of which field you want to go into, to make sure you understand what the field is about. It mustn’t be money orientated because then you are going to struggle. It’s important to know the ins and outs of that sector, understand it, but also get in with an open mind of learning from people.

What was a high for you in this journey?

Starting Aslina Wines has been the high and it’s an everyday high because we’re growing — we now have a tasting room which we are opening in September. So it’s been just the most amazing, humbling moment to say we are finally going to have a home for the tasting, while we are working at having a production facility. 

Tell us about your wine, where it started and where you are today?

We started with four wines: sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon and a [red] blend called Umsasane. In 2021 we introduced a skin-fermented white wine, which is our chenin blanc, and at the end of that year we introduced the MCC, which is named after my mom.

What dishes pair well with your wines?

I love my pap, my traditional food. I love dumplings and oxtail and chicken curry because my grandmother loved chicken curry using a masala. When I make that, I’ll have it with the sauvignon blanc or chardonnay. I enjoy the cabernet sauvignon [with pap or dumplings]. If I’m making an oxtail or lamb stew, then I do Umsasane, but Umsasane is one of those wines that when I open it, I ask myself: “Why do I deserve it?” because I feel it’s a wine for celebration. The MCC is [also] a wine of celebration. If I could, I’d open it most of the time and just celebrate anything.

What was the most recent wine that you enjoyed with dinner?

I opened a bottle of the skin-fermented chenin blanc with soup that had a bit of spice to it, so it brings out a lot of sweetness in the wine. When you taste the wine, it’s almost got a dryness because of the tannins, but when I had it with the soup, there was this sweetness, so it brought out the fruit.