Wine Champions - First South African Black Female Winemaker

[peterm]

The tempting glossy Wine Champions brochure arrived today.

Among the guff I was surprised to see*

Ntsiki Biyela, South Africa’s first black female winemaker

surprised because, years ago, I had wine made by Carmen Stevens who was the first outh African Black Female Winemaker.

Carmen’s first job with with one of the big wine companies, but now she makes wines under her own name, and on her website** is

Carmen graduated as the first black South African to study the art of winemaking in South Africa. In January 2019 Carmen registered the first 100% black owned winery in South Africa in the picturise Stellenbosch.

There’s room for many black female winemaker’s in South Africa, but there can be only one ‘first’.

• The Wine Society

** Home – Carmen Stevens Wines

Se also @Andy999 perceptive reading of Wine Champions brochure

Apex of Pedantry

Back in my rightful place again! Reading Wine Champions 2021 which arrived this morning and I’m amused by the “Beyond Bordeaux” notes which say “wines are being made with less excessive oak than in the past”. Does this mean they still have a bit of excessive oak, or that they no longer have excessive oak? Less excessive seems a funny expression, almost as if we didn’t have much hope that they would have just the right amount of oak.

[Nfrost00]

Interesting - i was on a wine tasting recently where Ntsiki Biyela was also described as such.

Her wines are good though!