High aspirations for this protégé
Sydney Mello (25) is one of three aspirant winemakers who have been given the rare opportunity of honing their skills as part of the Cape Winemakers' Guild Protégé Programme.
MOKOPANE -This mentorship programme aims at developing and empowering talented young protégés to become future winemakers and viticulturists par excellence.
Mello was born and bred in Mahwelereng and matriculated at Settlers Agriculture High School in Bela-Bela in 2009 and from there he went to study winemaking at Elsenburgh Agriculture College in Stellenbosch.
Bosveld had the honour of talking to him about this remarkable achievement:
“At first I wanted to become a sommelier, because then I would get taught which wine complements which food the best and I would specialise in all aspects of wine services, but then, towards the end of my Gr 12 year, I decided to study winemaking. I wanted to be part of the art of creating wine and not only serving it,” Mello told Bosveld.
Mello said to have studied at the prestigious Elsenburg Agriculture College was truly an amazing experience. Due to the fact that he had been in boarding school, he had little exposure to life on his own, and thus, the amount of freedom at varsity was incredible. “It had never crossed my mind that I would ever be chosen to be part of the protégé programme. It is truly a dream come true.”
“To be part of this programme I get to do what I love and to learn from an accomplished individual who has achieved so much in the South African wine industry. The programme has been a thrilling and extremely intimidating journey.” Mello is working under the watchful eye of veteran winemaker, Neil Ellis. Mello’s dream is to see more South Africans enjoy and respect the great wines born from our country. “I want to travel and work in different regions to learn all that I can from the art of winemaking before owning my own successful label one day.” He says his family is his greatest supporters and they motivate and support him daily.
For him, making wine is a golden opportunity: “As a winemaker you get to impact a piece of yourself into the wine. It becomes a reflection of you as a person and it is a very personal process, given all the blood, sweat and tears (including the long hours) we put in as winemakers.”
“Making wine is like living life: it requires discipline, dedication, self-denial, hard work, sacrifice, a healthy respect for authority and passion,” Mello concluded.
