Ilembe’s jewel
After four years in the making the Ilembe Co-operative Winery is finally open.
Co-operative governance and traditional affairs MEC Nomusa Dube and Ilembe mayor Welcome Mdabe launched the R19,5 million winery, located on Collisheen Estate, on Thursday.
‘Seventeen Eighty Seven – the Jewel of Ilembe’ is a white wine (Villard Blanc) produced from the first harvest of 28 tons of grapes from vineyards in Mandeni, Ndwedwe and Maphumulo.
The wine is the first wine of origin in KZN and is named after the year of King Shaka’s birth.
Dube congratulated Mdabe and former Ilembe municipal manager Mike Newton on bringing their vision to life in partnership with Enterprise Ilembe.
“Every time I come to Enterprise Ilembe something new is happening and that inspires us at provincial level. You have come a long way from planting the first vineyards to finally tasting the wine. I believe this partnership will grow and change the economy of this region. We want to see millionaires coming out of Ilembe.”
One of the proudest people at the launch was project viticulturist Daniel Markl, who clearly remembers planting the first of the grapes in October 2010. “This project has been challenging but extremely rewarding. It was fantastic for me to watch the workers, some of whom had never seen a vineyard before, now coming to me with suggestions on planting and harvesting. Now we have to concentrate on producing a better wine and growing our co-operative to create more jobs.”
Ndwedwe vineyard supervisor Philisiwe Ngcobo said she has gained valuable skills and looks forward to the next harvest.
Mandeni (Nyoni) supervisor Sipho Gumede could not put his bottle of wine down and got emotional when asked how it felt to hold it. “This is something I was part of. I can be proud now because I know how to plant, nurture and spray the crop.”
The most special thing for Maphumulo supervisor Ephraim Nxumalo is that his family “has something to eat every night” thanks to his job at the vineyard.Enterprise Ilembe acting CEO Zakhele Gumede said the winery belongs to the co-operative and the agency would walk with them for as long as needed.
The wine will be available to the public once the liquor license has been finalised.
