Mitchells Plain, about a 20km-drive from Cape Town’s city center, is a small, densely populated area with its own array of social ills and issues. But for Kiara Scott, it is the place where she first fell in love with the idea of becoming a winemaker.
“I grew up surrounded by – I am trying to find a diplomatic way of saying this – partying and people enjoying beer and hard liquor and all of those things,” Scott laughs.
“And I was really interested, I think, in more of the chemistry of wine… that can sometimes have different effects on people… My family was also quite conservative. We were always told to stay away from any alcoholic beverage or drugs… So, it got me curious.”
Surprisingly, Scott received no pushback from her family when she spoke of her career ambitions – in fact, both her mother and grandmother encouraged her to pursue her passion.
Having graduated from Elsenburg, in Viticulture and Oenology, in Stellenbosch and with years in the vineyards, the now 32-year-old recently took home the Diner’s Club Winemaker of the Year Award, making her just one of two women in 44 years to win the title. She was South Africa’s youngest female winemaker when she was appointed by Brookdale Estate in 2019, and is now the head winemaker at Hazendal.
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