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Kwanele ‘just fell into a bowl of wine’ when covid hit and she left her job
In her 20s, she attended her first wine tasting – and the rest is history.
MAESTRO. Kwanele Nyawa with her own wine label Khulu Fine Wines. Pictures: Hein Kaiser
Sometimes, when the universe has a plan for your life the inevitability of destiny can override the best-laid plans.
Some people have known from nappies that becoming a doctor or an attorney or a rocket scientist was in their cards.
Kwanele Nyawa thought so too, but then again, life had other plans for her. Today, she owns her own wine label Khulu Fine Wines and, instead of breaking a sweat for a salary on a corporate payroll, she’s writing her own pay cheque.
But it was a path-and-a-half to get there, with a long and winding road still ahead. Growing up, she dreamt of becoming a doctor, a plan that faltered when her teenage mindset intervened.
“High school happened, and I thought, ‘I’m too cool for this,’” she said.
The idea of medicine was consequently tossed out the window, quickly. Then, after captaining the school’s debating team and winning numerous awards for public speaking, she considered politics.
“I even studied it for a year after matriculating,” she said. However, a combination of motherhood and introspection saw her also abandoning that path.
“I realised I wouldn’t do well in that space. I’m an emotional being, and politics requires a thick skin.”
So, it was back to the drawing board and Nyawa took a job at a call centre.
It was a lifestyle choice, she said. The gig gave her the freedom of leaving work at work.
“Once you’re logged out of the caller queue, you’re done for the day,” she said.
It was a routine that allowed her to pursue other passions outside of the grind, including hosting a radio show and furthering her studies. But when the Covid pandemic hit, Nyawa decided it was time for a change.
“I left my job, and that’s when I tripped and fell into a bowl of wine,” she joked. Nyawa’s relationship with wine, however, was a long time coming.
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From call centres to Pinot Noir passion
Her love for it began in 2009, in her late 20s, when she attended her first wine tasting event.
“I remember thinking, ‘This is really cool’,” she said. A year later, her life’s mentor introduced her to a fine Pinot Noir over dinner, and it was love at first sip.
“From then on, I immersed myself in wine culture. travelling to the Western Cape, attending tastings and dreaming of starting my own brand.”
It wasn’t just about the flavours. For Nyawa, wine represented a lifestyle she wanted to be part of.
“It was always going to be a long journey between wine and me,” she said, a journey that culminated during a pandemic Zoom call.
“I was working on an event with my now business partner. During the call, things went south between a friend and one of the other participants. I ended up playing mediator in a vicious argument.”
Later, during a conversation about aspirations, Nyawa mentioned her dream of making wine. “Her now partner said, ‘Then we need to talk,’ and that’s where it all began,” she said.
Khulu Fine Wines: A labour of love
Weeks later, they met in person and decided to launch Khulu Fine Wines as part of a larger venture. The rest, as they say, is history.
“We traversed the length and breadth of the Western Cape, selecting the best barrels from Stellenbosch, Franschhoek, and beyond,” Nyawa said.
They met with wine makers and negotiated new blends, developed the brand and well, Bob’s Your Uncle.
She didn’t want just a white label brand. Her wines are proprietary, and that’s how she plans to keep it. Grand plans were afoot.
“Initially, the plan was to export 80% of our wine, making it a hard-to-find, exclusive brand locally. That’s still the dream,” she said.
But breaking into the competitive wine industry has been an uphill battle.
“It’s like pulling teeth out of a chicken,” Nyawa said. The challenges have ranged from financial barriers to lingering prejudices.
“There are people who still aren’t open to embracing black-owned brands. They assume we don’t have consistent supply or infrastructure,” she said.
The industry’s pay-to-play model also poses difficulties. “Bigger brands can afford to pay for listings and prime marketing spots in retail.
As a small brand, we simply don’t have that kind of capital,” she said. Yet, Nyawa is undeterred, using events and tastings to connect with her audience directly.
She believes the sweat she has been investing will pay off. And it has rolled out positivity.
Restaurants are waking up to her wine and she is on a mission to get it onto as many menus as possible while courting retail until she gets a gap.
“It’s exhausting, but it is rewarding, because I’m doing it myself,” she said.
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