OnTap Magazine

years. He guided me while I was learning about wine and the process. He never gave up on me. OT: How was Khayelitsha’s Finest Wines born? LN: I remained in hospitality and attended a wine course with the Cape Wine Academy, allowing me to develop my skills and knowledge of the wine industry. I saw a gap in the market to introduce good quality wine and wine culture to the township as it did not exist. In town I was being exposed to premium wine and then going back home to Khayelitsha counter services I couldn’t find the wine I was looking for and I found this a bit frustrating. OT: Can you tell us a bit about your wines? LN: I currently have three wines in the range – a red blend (Shiraz, Pinotage and Malbec) sourced from Polkadraai Hills, the KFW White Blend 2017 sourced from Calitzdorp and a fresh and fruity rosé sourced from Slanghoek. We do outsource but I am partially involved in the wine making process, assisting the winemaker with pressing and bottling our wine. OT: How have your wines been embraced in and around Khayelitsha? LN: Executing a wine brand as a person of colour is something unusual to the black community. Only a few could see the vision I had and what I was trying to do – It’s a tough job to change people’s mind and it requires a bit of patience. Having said that, the first tasting I did was fully booked – this was due to promoting local collaboration. It was successful and well received by the guests who attended. OT: Is wine now your full time job? LN: At the moment it is my side hustle and I hope in the near future my business can sustain me so I can fully focus on developing it further. OT: Where can people find your wines? LN: You can purchase wine directly from us on lindindlindzaba@gmail.com or 073 081 3691; we deliver globally. We also have some local restaurants supporting us including Open Wine, Clarkes, Publik Wine, Rands Cape Town, Mpumies Tarven and The Athletic Club and Social. OT: It’s been quite the journey so far – what’s next? LN: I was recently recognised by the Tractor SME Initiative, which aims to identify small businesses that showed potential to grow, and support them with the media exposure to get there. My brand will now be marketed across their network of outdoor billboards, which will help me create more awareness. On the wine side, we are developing Khayelitsha’s Finest Wines to reach its full potential. Check out Khayelitsha’s Finest Wines on facebook.com/KhayelitshasFinestWines or Instagram@khayelitshasfinestwines. Brennerstrasse 17-19 · 96052 Bamberg - Germany · www.weyermannmalt.com WEYERMANN ® SPECIALTYMALTS OUR DISTRIBUTORS IN AFRICA: bevPLUS (PTY) ltd. and Dematech (PTY) ltd. 13 Michigan Street · Airport Industria · 7490 · Cape Town · South Africa www.bevplus.com Phone bevPLUS: + 27 - (021) - 820 9500 · e-mail: info@bevplus.com Phone Dematech: + 27 - (021) - 385 0483 · e-mail: info@dematechsa.com