But how would a boy from a small village in Ulundi on KwaZulu Natal’s humid north coast find his way to the hot, dry vineyards of the Cape, and acquire the skills he’d need in the process to get his foot in the cellar door?
Fate intervened, and Nelson Buthelezi chanced upon a wine magazine article about South Africa’s burgeoning wine industry and the many programmes being put in place to open it up to previously disadvantaged people. He was still in school at the time, but that didn’t deter him.
“I was so excited, I couldn’t believe it! I called the vineyard straight away and said I wanted to work in the wine industry. We made an agreement; as soon as I had matriculated, I would travel to the Western Cape and begin my journey to working in the wine industry,” Nelson recalls.
Fresh out of school and full of optimism for his future, the ambitious young Nelson traveled to Cape Town where he got a job working in a wine shop. It wasn’t the authentic vineyard experience he’d hoped for, but Nelson knew – like the vines he so desperately wanted to tend – that he would have to start at the bottom and slowly work his way up.
“I was responsible for cleaning the floor, washing the wine glasses, packing the shelves, setting up tastings for clients and later, assisting with wine sales. As time went by I started tasting and smelling wine; I was exposed to many different wines this way and began to acquire more knowledge about wine and the industry. One day I was explaining a wine to a customer in the shop when they asked me if I would be interested in working in a cellar at a wine estate. I jumped at the chance!” he laughs.
Nelson’s passion for wine was obvious, and soon he was employed at Ashanti Wines in Paarl, working under the watchful eye of current Signal Hill owner and winemaker, Jean Vincent Ridon.
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