South Africa’s pioneer black female winemaker set to venture independently

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When Ntsiki Biyela won a scholarship to study winemaking in 1998, she didn’t even like wine. Now, she’s an award-winning international vintner and the first black female winemaker in South Africa, a country where the industry is dominated by white men. Biyela’s main market is the United States, and she plans to start her own brand later this year. She grew up in a small village in Kwa-Zulu Natal, where her only exposure to alcohol was home brewed beer. Despite suffering from discrimination and oppression under the apartheid regime, Biyela saw an opportunity for a better life when the South African Airways started offering winemaking scholarships. After facing multiple rejections due to the industry’s not being welcoming to a black South African woman, she finally got a job at the “modern” Stellekaya and quickly found success. She is now preparing to launch her own independent wine brand which she has named “Aslina.”

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