Over the past few years, the Cape Winemakers Guild Development Trust has been focusing on including more young black women in their Protégé Programme.
In 2019, a Learner Programme was launched, which aims to offer black female Grade 11 pupils an introduction to viticulture and oenology as a potential university degree and, ultimately, winemaking as a potential career path.
Viticulture and Oenology students also receive support through the Cape Winemakers Guild Development Trust’s “Buddy Programme’ where they get the opportunity to connect with current protégés.
This release takes the form of an interview with two first-year protégés who participated in the inaugural Learner Programme and received invaluable support from the Buddy Programme.
Since its inception in 2006, the Cape Winemakers Guild Protégé Programme has established itself as the South African wine industry’s most successful skills development initiative.
Part of its success lies in the fact that well before entering the programme, potential protégés have access to an established support structure to help prepare them for the role.
For first-year protégés Lulo Bulo and Nompumelelo Mosaka, this journey started back in 2019 when they participated in the Cape Winemakers Guild Development Trust’s inaugural Learner Programme.
Taking the form of an annual four-day educational trip to the winelands during the June school holidays, the programme aims to offer black female Grade 11 pupils an introduction to viticulture and oenology as a potential university degree and, ultimately, winemaking as a potential career path.
Criteria for the selection of the pupils included a keen interest in biological science and consistently achieving above-average marks in mathematics and physical sciences.
Hailing from Pretoria, Ms Bulo and Ms Mosaka both originally had their sights set on health sciences, however, participating in the educational visit to the Winelands opened their eyes to the alchemical magic of winemaking.
Ms Bulo, who was enrolled in the SciMathUS bridging course to improve her NSC results at the time, recalls attending a dinner where a few Cape Winemakers Guild Protégés were in attendance.
“The South African agricultural industry can come across as being very male-dominated and white, but these protégés were proving to us that people of colour and women – literally anyone who was interested – would be welcomed with open arms,” she says.
“That felt very accommodating and I felt hugely supported by them.”
Along with this, the fact that winemaking offers a perfect blend of nature, science and artistry piqued Ms Bulo’s interest.
Ms Mosaka, who was a Grade 12 pupil at the time, and had already been provisionally accepted at the University of Witwatersrand (Wits), experienced a similar Damascus moment during the educational visit.
Finding herself buoyed by the passionate enthusiasm the winemakers and protégés had for their craft, she knew it was something she wanted to experience for herself.
“What captured my interest most was the multidimensionality of it,” she says.
“As a person in the wine industry, you aren’t limited to just being one thing. You get to play all these different roles, which is really stimulating to me as an individual.
Five years later, Ms Bulo and Ms Mosaka both hold degrees in Viticulture and Oenology from Stellenbosch University and, of course, find themselves in the sought-after position of having been accepted into the Protégé Programme.
They are spending their respective first years under the mentorship of Cape Winemakers Guild members, Warren Ellis (Neil Ellis Wines) and Carl Schultz (Hartenberg Wine Estate).
While completing their four-year degrees, both made use of the Buddy Programme – another initiative of the Cape Winemakers Guild Development Trust – to connect with protégés and gain real-world insights into life as a winemaking apprentice.
Having access to these ‘buddies’ was also a great way to familiarise themselves with the Protégé Programme.
Although both young women had to complete a harvest as part of their final year at university, their first harvests as protégés have proven to be unparalleled learning opportunities.
“Starting my journey at Neil Ellis, one of the renowned names in the industry made me nervous for sure, especially because it was also my first harvest with red wine,” says Ms Bulo.
“I was, however, inspired and excited to face this challenge and eager to learn and contribute as much as I can.”
With this positive attitude, she has found herself supported and encouraged throughout.
“I wasn’t sure if I would be equipped to deal with all the pressure of the red wine-making process, but the team was so supportive and everyone made an effort to help me understand every step of what I was doing,” she says. “With that, I saw that I was more than capable.”
Ms Mosaka had a similar experience at Hartenberg where the relatively small harvest allowed her the luxury of time to process everything she was learning in real-time.
“I wasn’t just doing things for the sake of getting a job done, but I could really think about it as I worked and ask questions,” she says.
“So far, Hartenberg has sparked a passion and hunger to keep learning about wine and hopefully, follow in my mentor, Carl’s footsteps to also be a pioneer in this space at some point.”
When it comes to their career aspirations, these young women have big dreams that include international travel, further study and finding their own style and unique expression as winemakers.
Something that stands out about their response to the question about what they hope to achieve in the future, is the altruistic desire to give back and contribute.
Says Ms Bulo: “I hope to help give back to the South African wine industry, helping it to grow and expand into new markets, communities and cultures; encouraging experimentation and innovation, breaking down stereotypes and being a supporter to those aspiring to become a part of the industry by sharing my knowledge and cheering them on.”
For her part, Ms Mosaka says: “I want to learn about diverse wine cultures across the globe, with a specific focus on traditional sparkling wine style, and observe closely international innovative techniques and scientific approaches to bring back and contribute to the local wine industry.”
Unsurprisingly, this longview approach of self-development to help develop future generations is something the Protégé Programme fosters.
Says Magda Vorster, Protégé Programme facilitator: “Breaking barriers, one sip at a time, the Cape Winemakers Guild is working to empower young black women to dream big in the world of winemaking, fostering a future of transformation and possibility.”
* The 2024 Learner Programme and educational trip to the winelands took place in July. Thembelihle Baleni a grade 11 learner from Sinenjongo High School in Milnerton, Cape Town said: “The stories from the proteges of which I could relate gave me a sense of hope and opened my eyes to a lot of opportunities within the wine industry. I have also learnt that wine industry is not a one way path but a journey that accommodates each person’s interests capabilities and personality. And that in order to make it in life you have to stand together and boost one another.”
* An initiative of the Cape Winemakers Guild Development Trust is an annual 4-day educational trip to the winelands that takes place during the June school holidays. It is supported by Nedbank, Stellenbosch University, Elsenburg College and the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD).
Since its inception in 2006, the Cape Winemakers Guild Protégé Programme has established itself as the South African wine industry’s most successful skills development programme. During the course of the three-year programme, Protégés are assigned mentors from among the Cape Winemakers Guild members. They spend every year working alongside a different mentor to gain as much experience as possible. To date, 36 protégés have completed the three-year internship, nine are currently participating, and 18 hold leading winemaking roles or have their own winemaking projects. Among these, 10 are women.
*The Nedbank Cape Winemakers Guild Development Trust was established in 1999 to support social development through further education in the South African wine industry. Funded through donations as well as proceeds raised by CWG Members at charity events throughout the year, the Protégé Programme is the Trust’s flagship project. They also offer generous financial support to Wine Training South Africa, Winetech Study Group, Stellenbosch Educational Tours and Elsenburg Educational Tours. Trustees are Louis Strydom, Ernie Els Wines (Chairman), Gerard Martin (Winetech) and Praisy Dlamini (Past Protégé and General Manager at Adama Wines).
