The inaugural Proudly South African Local Wine Expo in partnership with the SA Wine Industry Transformation Unit (SAWITU) and The Wine Arc, took place at Sandton Convention Centre on 7-9 July 2022. The event focused on the empowerment and the advancement of black-owned wine brands in South Africa and spearheading transformation in the SA wine industry.
The three-day event, which was attended by 26 black-owned producers, was a milestone in showcasing how far some of our local black producers have come. There is a growing number of black-owned wine brands in South Africa that many people have never heard of before, and the Proudly SA Wine expo displayed some of Mzansi’s best and particularly more of the unknown local wine brands.
Proudly SA stated that they are very proud of their inaugural #LocalWineExpo2022: "It has brought us immense joy to see so many (almost all) of the exhibitors sell out before the conclusion of the three-day event. The exhibition was hosted with the aim of exposing exclusively South African wineries to the media, to corporate buyers and retailers, as well as to the public – it served as a point of contact for buyers and local sellers to meet.”
They further added, “As the custodians of South Africa’s Buy Local movement, we continue to seek innovative and effective ways to promote the buy local message to various consumer/procurer groups.”
Black-owned wine brands show resilience
Many of the producers been mentored by existing wine estates and have built strong relationships, and some have become “negociants” as they source their wine grapes from various regions in the Western Cape. Others are seasoned winemakers who have gained experience in the industry and forged their own path and who are now crafting their own wine brands.
Being armed with the skills and knowledge gained, many black-owned brands have had to be extremely resilient in the face of adversity such as access to consumers both local and abroad, publicity and differentiation regarding their brands, the harsh effects of Covid-19, and making a profit. Moreover, competing in a fiercely competitive industry where the larger and more prominent wine estates in Stellenbosch, Paarl, Hermanus, Franshhoek, and the surrounding areas hold ground.
For new brands entering the wine industry, it can be daunting. Organisations such as The Wine Arc, a Stellenbosch based non-profit which represents thirteen black-owned brands, promotes the growth of local black-owned businesses and gives them a platform to enter and access markets alongside with e-commerce facilities that aids the brands in finding differentiated consumer segments. Led by Wendy Petersen, The Wine Arc also serves as a creative innovation hub for entrepreneurs and young winemakers to grow and become more sustainable.
The people behind many of these local wine brands, particularly woman of colour who were exhibiting at the expo, have many things in common; the love and passion for wine, the drive and determination to build a brand but more so the need to be represented in an industry that has predominately not been black.
One such woman is Koni Maliehe, the founder of Koni Wines. The former MMI Momentum Head of L&D who started her wine brand in 2015 and became a wine entrepreneur. She stated: “The industry is a key sector in our economy and the expo brought back some hope for the local market and to show that it is possible to rebuild and regain customer trust, especially if we collaborate as businesses. The event showcased outstanding quality wines to diminish some existing stereotypes regarding black wineries.”
Ms Maliehe further added, “Together with other brands we are looking forward to this event in 2023. Organisers should not shy away from marketing the event widely as a form of promoting upcoming black wineries. This is not to exclude but to highlight transformation that is slowly taking place.”
Driving transformation in the wine industry
Transformation and the gears of change has been slow in the South African wine landscape. Historically, the country’s wine industry has been exclusively the preserve of white stakeholders. Despite playing a significant role in ensuring the industry operates optimally, people of colour have been excluded from meaningful participation in the industry.
It is for this reason that SAWITU was established. The organisation’s key goals and objectives are to drive transformation in the wine value chain focusing on objectives such as increasing the representation of black people, with a core focus on black woman at management level in wine cellars, wine businesses, and industry bodies.
An advocate of transformation in the wine industry is former Nederburg award-winning winemaker Natasha Williams of NBW Consulting, who showcased a live wine and food pairing at the event in front of a packed auditorium crowd, mentioned “Proudly SA Wine Expo has established a platform for Black-owned wine brands to showcase their wine business to a predominantly black local market where the consumer could engage with the wine brand owners and winemakers on a personal level".
Natasha further added, “The event has been a huge success because most of these black-owned wine brands never get to have their wine brands showcased on the predominantly/primary South African wine shows on an annual basis and this was a first for most of these wine brands.”
Overall the event was a roaring success and when asked if the event is going to be repeated, Proudly SA stated that “working with the Proudly SA members was absolute bliss. They were as excited about the exhibition as we were, and each member also played a part in putting the word out there about the expo. Of course, we have debriefed and received feedback from various stakeholders which we will take into consideration as we plan our next Local Wine Expo.”
