This is quite an unusual story in that, Ntsiki Biyela grew up in the small village of Ulundi, in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa without any knowledge of wines or how to make them, and her first taste of wine was unpleasant to her.
She graduated two years ago from Stellenbosch University with a degree in viticulture and enology to become one of the country’s first formally qualified black winemakers and the first black female winemaker.
She is now working at Stellekaya, a small winery specializing in boutique reds, and her first batch of wine is fermenting and will be ready for consumption in three years time.