Korsha Wilson with Ntsiki Biyela of Aslina Winery, South Africa (Wine Zine 01)
Vines, Wines and Legacy: Korsha Wilson in conversation with Ntsiki Biyela of South Africa’s Aslina Winery
Originally Published February 2018
A decade can be incredibly short or long. When you hear the story of Ntsiki Biyela, South Africa’s first Black woman winemaker who hails from Mahlabathini, a village in Kwazulu Natal, South Africa, it seems like her career wine has spanned many decades. In truth, her career is only 14 years old. When Biyela first tasted wine she spit it out, and ten years later she was named South Africa’s Woman Winemaker of the Year for her 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon for Stellekaya Vineyards in Stellenbosch. Today she is the winemaker and owner of her own vineyard and winery, Aslina, named after her late grandmother.
Biyela is bright, a warm and slow talker, taking her time to think things over. You can see the thoughts and words form in her head as she takes the time to listen to what has been asked of her and thinks of the best way to craft her response. This might be why she is such a well-regarded and respected winemaker.
I caught up with Biyela over the phone after a day of working at Aslina to learn more about her journey to winery owner and what she hopes to leave behind for future generations of Black winemakers in South Africa.
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(This interview was conducted in January 2018 and has been edited for length)
Korsha Wilson: Can you talk to me about how you got your start in wine?
Ntsiki Biyela: Basically I got a scholarship from South African Airways to study wine at Stellenbosch and that was my first encounter with it. Like many things, you can’t really know something until you’ve worked with it and I only loved wine when I was in it and working with it. Loving it came after studying. It’s part of being curious about something. You don’t understand until you work with it. I loved that there are so many stories around this beautiful liquid.
Wilson: When you started to love it and work with it did you think you’d eventually be doing what you’re doing now? Did you see yourself working as a winemaker?
Biyela: No, I never imagined I’d be doing what I’m doing. In my second year I knew I wanted to own my own company someday. I finished studying at Stellenbosch in 2003 and in 2005 I became a winemaker at Stellekaya. It was my 2006 wine that won the Woman Winemaker of the Year award.
Wilson: Yes! You were given that title and that award, both of which are a very big deal. How did it feel to win that award?
Biyela: It’s always great to get that recognition from your peers, but I know what it means. Winning that award wasn’t just ‘Oh this is your wine’ and at the same time time it also doesn’t mean that it is the best wine ever, it just means that you’ve done a good job with what you’re growing. Wine is a picture, a snapshot of that moment. It picks up the moment when you open it and it tells you a story. It’s a very specific story of that wine.
Wilson: Now you’re doing the same thing for your own company. Tell me about the wine that you make at Aslina. What grapes are you growing?
Biyela: We grow Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Merlot and and we make blends too.
Wilson: How did your project come about? What led to the creation of Aslina Wines?
Biyela: I knew I wanted my own business so I left Stellekaya Winery in 2015. My new project, Aslina, is named after my grandmother. For me, I wanted something that I could grow. I think whatever I do with Aslina is about building a legacy and giving back. That’s what I’m now working on. I think building a company means after you’re long gone it will continue and it will be passed down through generations.
Wilson: What do you want Aslina to look like after you’re gone? What do you hope the future of Aslina looks like?
Biyela: I haven’t looked that far ahead. (laughs) But I do think about building a wine legacy. The wine industry is very white and male and a lot of winemakers can say they’re the fifth generation or sixth or whatever. We want to build that for our family and for other families here in South Africa.
Wilson: Can you talk a little more about that and how the industry is dominated by white men? Does that impact your business and your work as a Black woman winemaker?
Biyela: Well, the industry has been like this since way back, for many generations. It’s not impacting me but it’s one of the things that informs what I do in my work. I think, as a woman, you have to make a presence. You have to know that wherever you go, if you go to somewhere where you’re with people in the wine industry, you have to be seen and to introduce yourself. Give the people who are tasting your wine as much info as you can about what you do so you can see and be seen.
“I think whatever I do with Aslina is about building a legacy and giving back. That’s what I’m now working on. I think building a company means after you’re long gone it will continue and it will be passed down through generations.”
Wilson: Is that advice that you use today at Aslina?
Biyela: Yes, it’s something that has to be a daily thing. Wherever I go I’m talking about the wine industry and the wines that I make. I have to talk to people. I need to leave a positive impact. I have to be bringing love to it.
Wilson: If you’re not bringing love, then what are you bringing?
Biyela: If it’s not love then it’s going to be the opposite. (laughs)
Wilson: Do you feel like you’re supported in winemaking? Who are your biggest supporters?
Biyela: Well, I get lots of support from everywhere so yes, I feel supported. Most people are always cheering me on and cheering on my business and work at Aslina.
Wilson: That’s good to hear. Do you have a favorite wine at the moment?
Biyela: It changes from time to time but I’ve got different varietals that I grow that I love. I currently enjoy Sangiovese so much. At my vineyard we’re lucky because we don’t have some of the issues that you can have with growing ripe grapes. At our vineyard, certain grapes like Sangiovese, they don’t have the ripeness issues that they tend to have at other places. It’s never been an issue here.
Wilson: Take me back to when you started Aslina. How did it come about?
Biyela: Before I started Aslina, I worked on a collaboration with Helen Keplinger of Keplinger Wines in 2012. The idea came from Mika Bulmash from Wines for the World, which focuses on different wine growing regions. The collaboration was successful and it helped me financially to be able to start my own company.
Wilson: What’s the biggest difference between working as a winemaker for a winery and owning your own vineyard?
Biyela: There’s nothing different except I have to figure out where the financials come from.
Wilson: You have had quite a journey. What would you tell your younger self just starting out in the wine world? What advice would you give yourself?
Biyela: Wow. I don’t what what I could have said to my younger self. Well, I would’ve said when I look back, that alcohol is not the problem, we as people are the problem.
Wilson: What does the future look like for Aslina Wines?
Biyela: We’re still continuing the collaboration that we started with and we want to grow the business. I want to be able to sell wine all over the world.
Wilson: What about personally? What does the future hold for you?
Biyela: I want to help and mentor as many as I can. I’m involved in the Pinotage Youth Development Academy which trains young people in the wine industry. They get to do a little bit of everything but they start in tasting rooms so they can work their way up in the wine business. ⚉