WeeklySA_AdminGROWTH: Actor Mokoena warms to partnership with Bosman winery which has produced an international wine brand…
By Priscilla Malinga
Well-known filmmaker Thapelo Mokoena’s inaugural cheese and wine festival to welcome spring, attracted 100 people who came to experience the taste of NERO, a red wine he and his Bosman winery partners produce.
The venue, the exquisite Protea Fire and Ice Hotel in Melrose Arch in Johannesburg, was filled with bonhomie generated by a luscious wine whose red grapes originate from Italy.
According to Thapelo Mokoena, two great minds connected years ago when he met Bosman winery Petros Bosman who was trying to do something new in the wine space and had an amazing grape that he had sourced from Sicily, renowned for its resilient properties.
“It is phenomenal,” said Mokoena. The grape is called NERO, meaning black, and is known to grow well in harsh weather conditions. It was the story behind the grape that persuaded Mokoena into striking a partnership with the Western Cape winery. He made the move despite the fact that he had little to no knowledge about winemaking, as his wife reminded him, at the end of the day business was business.
Eight years into their business relationship, the Mokoena and Bosman partnership is still striving as they are successfully exporting NERO to the United Kingdom, the United States and parts of Africa, including Zimbabwe and Zambia.
“This is a story of how two great minds came together to create a product, a businessman and an artist to become farmers,” Mokoena said, whose role is to come up with creative ways to source the product and bring it to the masses.
Mokoena’s Bakoena brands and the Bosman Family vineyards from Wellington came together this Saturday to showcase their offering on a day that was filled with food, laughter and a lot of wine.
Also joined in was Praisy Dlamini, a new kid on the block who is general manager and winemaker of “HER” Wines collection. “Her wine is a brand made by women,” Dlamini said.
It is a collaboration by five black women that worked in the wine industry previously to combine their skills so they can venture and close the gap in the winemaking industry that has a small number of black women. She ventured into wine business after she was awarded a bursary back in 2004 when the government ran a programme to recruit black people to agriculture.
“Very few black people, let alone females, were involved in the business of making wine,” said Dlamini. After finishing her degree she was mentored by Cape Winemakers’ Guild under their protégé programme. They paved her way to join Distell. After working for Distellm she joined Dama wines until Covid hit in 2020.
As she was planting grapes, they wanted her to make wine. When Covid struck, she suggested they diversify the business. They decided to start a brand, around the time where there was a big issue surrounding “black lives matter”.
A contact from Canada told her she wanted to take their story to the world. As she had nothing packaged then, she decided to package something quickly. They designed a label called “HER” wine. That is how the brand was born. The team and relations, including investments, carried her and her brand. She is now selling at Woolworths, along other big brands.
Dlamini has been in business for two years now. “New one drinkers can start with a sweet as wine is an acquired taste,” says Dlamini. She suggested Pinotage to the first-time drinkers. “You must first start with Pinotage as it is a bit sweet and light, drink a glass and put it in the fridge,” she said. “In time, your taste buds will lead you to try out the other brands,” she added.
“HER wines have a distinct flavour profile that is tailored to tantalise the palate while giving you the calming feeling of unbridled bliss,” says Dlamini. This is achieved through the selection of locally sourced high-quality grapes from different outskirts of the Cape Winelands that are picked at optimum ripeness and maturity.
Meanwhile Bosman Adamas has been at the forefront of transformation in the wine industry for many years. Since 2007, the employees have owned a 26% share in this thriving agribusiness, but their investment in transformation does not stop here.
The Bosman Bakoena partnership was formalised in 2022, giving Mokoena a 35% stake in this innovative collaboration, according to the Bosmans. The Nero marketing campaign is executed through this entity which forms part of the move towards integration, extended ownership as a means of growing a new market. Although this already makes good business sense, the traditional consumer market in South Africa is not growing, and therefore a collaborative approach makes for a sustainable solution.
“Thapelo Mokoena was invited to join the business because his influence is predominately in the growing black middle class,” says Carla Bosman. The business entity, Easy Sundays (Pty) Ltd, which is 100% owned by Thapelo Mokoena, has been providing marketing services with Nero target market, for Bosman Adama. “This entity will also be used as the Investment vehicle for Thapelo Mokoena to represent his shareholding in Bosman Adama,” Bosman added.
“The process of producing wine is not a race, it’s a marathon,” says Mokoena. Making wine is not just an overnight thing, he added, it takes a while. From the soil to the process it takes to nurturing the vines so they produce in harvest season. “Like everything, you need to put in the work to reap the rewards,” he added.
Thapelo said this event was aimed at bringing the winelands to Jozi and the opportunity for people to get a chance to mingle and chat with various wine producers and owners of wine brands, and to come and have amazing food prepared by Chef Louis from Protea Hotel Fire and Ice.
Like any other business, Covid became a challenge when they couldn’t export their products as they had a big distribution in the UK which led to sales drop. He was happy now that the business has picked up and he could focus on new ways to take it to the people. “To cater to these markets really presents different layers to this business like ours as a producer, said Mokoena.
How they distinguish themselves from other brands is they stay true to themselves. “Our grape and the story on how we came together is very magical,” Mokoena said. By really understanding that we are in Africa and wine previously being communicated or articulated predominantly in the queen’s language and, truth be told, we are Africans and speak diverse cultural languages but haven’t tapped into the language of wine being anything beyond English.
When we are out there discussing wine we do not use fancy words, we make it palatable and simple,” he added.
Indeed, the future of the wine business looks bright for Mokoena. He is in love with the sector, the possibilities and where Africa is headed towards. The world’s attention towards Africa which, he doesn’t think will subside anytime soon, is long overdue.
