Impressing guests with great wine is not always easy. It is even harder if you are young and only just starting to take fermented grapes seriously. Fortunately, help is at hand.
Last week at a celebratory event that was held at Delheim Wine Estate in Stellenbosch, a new South African wine called uLutsha (the youth) by a young team of PYDA (Pinotage Youth Development Academy) graduates was unveiled – and it is the first of its kind.
Last year, Stellenbosch estate partnered with PYDA to enable their graduates to create their own wine product, from start to finish. Starting with that year's harvest, the group of nine got a basic introduction, from business plans, harvesting, vinification, maturation to the release of their own brand.
Lockdown resulted in less exposure to actual winemaking, so the concept was born to provide a comprehensive understanding of the wine value chain and to give graduates hands-on experience in the industry.
The project is part of a long-term initiative that will see the graduates create a commercial product from one barrel a year. The second group has come on board this month for their immersive learning experience.
They then make the wine for the next group and will bottle the wine made by the previous group.
Both groups have received input from award-winning winemaker Ntsiki Biyela, who has made Delheim Estate her home base for her Aslina brand and is part of the project.
One of the graduates, Ziyanda Njalo, who co-ordinated the project, said choosing to continue with the uLutsha Wine Project had expanded her knowledge of the wine business.
"My confidence has grown, and I have a deeper appreciation of the work and people it takes to produce a bottle of wine.
"Ulutsha is a wine brand that inspires young people who want to create their own brands and be employers of tomorrow," said Njalo.
