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The investment-banker-turned one-woman-wine- business has set her sights on taking South African wine to the rest of the continent and beyond. We talk past, present and future with this dynamic woman in wine.
Tell us a bit about Isivini.
Isivini — meaning vineyard in isiZulu — is my wine distribution, private client, cellaring/cellar management, advisory, and consultancy business. The name is also a double entendre, referencing viniculture: the cultivation of grapevines for winemaking.
What do you hope to achieve with the business?
My dream of being the number-one purveyor of quality South African wine on the continent with the cornerstone of wine knowledge at the forefront of that. I want to be an advocate for the fact that we have great wines that are able to compete with all the world’s regions. I’ll start on the continent and then I hope to grow beyond that.
Why did you start Isivini?
I was tired of the investment-banking field. I had little motivation and decided it was time for something new. I wanted it to be something I was passionate about — my three options were food, wine, and travel. I dabbled a bit in food, but it wasn’t what I was looking for. I started looking into wine and, while I’ve always been an avid wine drinker, it was not something that I had academically invested in. I started exploring wine-education possibilities and have since completed the Wine & Spirit Education Trust Level 3 qualification. I began hosting private-client tastings — among an audience I was familiar with from my banking days — and repping and distributing for Erika Obermeyer Wines. Since then, I’ve picked up another brand, Holden Manz, to represent and distribute while growing my private-client tastings and exploring the export market. I travelled the continent quite a bit but felt we weren’t very well represented in terms of our fine South African wines — French and Chilean wines are dominating those markets. I’m taking the opportunity to do something about that.
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