He finally purchased the “rundown” farm in 2019, renovated it and opened last year.
“Nobody’s getting nowhere slowly,” said Wendy Petersen, manager at SA Wine Industry Transformation Unit which organises grants and internships for startups. Often the resources are not enough and have to be spread thinly among the candidates. The 51-year-old is an unlikely winemaker, having grown up in the Cape Flats – an area marred by poverty and gangsters.
Her perseverance has paid off. This year she took home three gold medals at a South African wine and spirits award event for her sauvignon blanc and newly-released rose named after her mother Julie. “That’s very political,” because historically the majority of black people, who make up about 80 percent of the population, don’t have access to land.