Three women trailblazers on transformation in the wine industry

Some people are lighting the way

23 March 2022 - 13:00
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Carmen Stevens received the 1659 Award for Visionary Leadership at this year's annual Wine Harvest Commemorative event.
Carmen Stevens received the 1659 Award for Visionary Leadership at this year's annual Wine Harvest Commemorative event. 
Image: Supplied

On February 2, the SA wine industry held its annual Wine Harvest Commemorative event at Groot Constantia Wine Estate in Cape Town.

Held since 1974, the ceremony celebrated the birth of SA’s wine industry in 1659 and honoured four individuals who have helped shape and influence the industry.

Carmen Stevens received the 1659 Award for Visionary Leadership, Denise Stubbs was recognised in the category of Diversity and Transformation, Christine Rudman was recognised in the category of Wine Appreciation and Wine Advancements, and Francois Viljoen was recognised in the category of Viticulture and Wine Creation.

As an industry that has predominantly been the preserve of white males since its inception 363 years ago, the recognition of women in three of the four categories speaks to the change taking place, albeit slowly.

The three women spoke to Sunday Times Lifestyle about the slow pace of transformation in the industry.

SLOW TO CHANGE

“The wine industry is unfortunately still a white male dominated one,” said Stubbs.

“The number of black winemakers, winery owners, and professionals is comparatively low.

Stubbs grew up in the Boland as the daughter of agricultural labourers with a passion to give back to her community. When she became human resources manager at Diemersfontein Wine & Country Estate, she took an opportunity presented by owner David Sonnenberg to do that and ran with it by establishing the Thokozani Group of Companies alongside 65 farmworker shareholders.

Denise Stubbs received the accolade in the Diversity and Transformation category at the annual Wine Harvest Commemorative event.
Denise Stubbs received the accolade in the Diversity and Transformation category at the annual Wine Harvest Commemorative event.
Image: Supplied

Today Stubbs is the MD of Thokozani, a BBBEE initiative across the sectors of hospitality, conferencing, property and wine which is distributed both locally and internationally. She also serves on the board of Wines of SA and has become an industry leader and mentor.

But despite producing award-winning wines, Stubbs said some distributors still won’t do business with Thokozani as many industry players perceive them to be a “sympathy brand”.

After initially being barred from enrolling at the Elsenburg Agricultural Training Institute, Stevens went on to become the first black South African who was allowed to study winemaking and today has 25 years of winemaking experience.

She founded Carmen Stevens Wines in Stellenbosch, the first 100% black woman-owned winery, and is a representative on the SA Transformation Unit board.

“Transformation will only succeed and be meaningful if what is being decided in the name of transformation involves the voices of black stakeholders and the decisions are not being made on our behalf,” said Stevens.

LOOKING FORWARD 

Rudman is a Cape Wine Master and has been in the industry for 45 years, during which time she said she’s seen remarkable transformation which is accelerating.

“Beacons like Carmen show success is possible, no matter what your background.”

Rudman said there are a number of funding bodies that make opportunities to advance in the industry possible.

“[There’s the South African] Wine Industry Transformation Unit (Sawitu) established by three main wine industry organisations, while the Cape Winemakers Guild has a charity auction and a protégé programme designed to assist transformation.”

Christine Rudman was the recipient in the Wine Appreciation and Wine Advancement category.
Christine Rudman was the recipient in the Wine Appreciation and Wine Advancement category.
Image: Supplied

Stubbs echoed that the industry is becoming more inclusive and said the quality of these brands has been growing noticeably since 2018, especially after the establishment of Sawitu in 2016 and the launch of the Wine Arc in 2021, a hub for black-owned wine brands.

Stevens’ advice to women looking to enter the industry is to empower themselves with a qualification in the area in which they see their future in the wine industry, whether that be in winemaking, viticulture or even marketing.

“I believe in hard work and grit and I never give up,” said Stubbs.

“We need to build cultural bridges. My advice to others is that you must be persistent, persevere and keep going until you get what you deserve.”

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