Celebrating Black Wine Producers

America originally hails from the Bahia region of Brazil. She now finds herself very happily settled in the English countryside with her husband Nick and daughter Gabby.

America alongside her husband Nick Brewer founded Oastbrook Estate (in East Sussex) around 2017-2018. They planted their first vineyard vines in 2018 up the side of the oast-house (a traditional building formerly used for drying hops).

The land they acquired was formerly used for hops (for Guinness) and had been intensively farmed. They allowed the land some time to recover before planting vines.

Where her love of vines began:

“There was an ancient vine that crept up the side of the old stucco house I lived in. It is a fond memory of when I was a girl growing up in a small town in Bahia, in the North East of Brazil. The vine had twisted itself around the wrought iron balcony on the first floor of the building and had pushed the bars to one side. I used to squeeze myself through those bars and climb onto the vine. From there I could hold myself, draped in the leaves, and gorge myself on fresh grapes.

Perhaps that is where I had my first passion for vines. It would, however, be some time before grapes and I renewed our relationship. After travelling the world in search of my diverse roots I found out I am in fact a little bit English by descent. I therefore feel very settled where I am now, in the heart of the English countryside in East Sussex.

House of Brown is a second-generation wine label under the BROWN Napa Valley umbrella.

The Brown family have been in Napa since 1980. Siblings Deneen, Coral, and David began making wine in 1996. Raised by two medical professionals in a “Blue-Zone” household in Southern California, they all pitched in at their parents’ medical clinic. There, they adopted what would become a guiding principle in their wine business: Do no harm.

House of Brown is 100% family-owned + 100% Black-owned, and the brand is women-led. The wines are regeneratively farmed, certified sustainable, and vegan-friendly.

Ntsiki grew up in Mahlabathini, a rural village in KwaZulu-Natal, and matriculated from high school in 1996. Having spent a year as a domestic worker, she was awarded a scholarship to study winemaking at Stellenbosch University in 1999. She graduated in 2003 with a BSc in Agriculture (Viticulture and Oenology) and joined boutique winery Stellekaya as their winemaker the following year.

Ntsiki’s ambition to create her own wines grew following a collaboration with Californian winemaker, Helen Kiplinger, as part of Mika Bulmash’s Wine for the World initiative.

It was over dinner and a glass of wine with her new colleagues in the USA that she shared the story of the inspiration behind her ambition. Her beloved grandmother was the guiding light in her life and it became obvious that her new brand should be named Aslina in the matriarch’s honour.

The name M’hudi is derived from the Setswana word “Mohudi,” which translates to “harvester” in English. This name also shares a connection with the protagonist of a captivating African tale, who bravely escapes a war-ravaged and desolate village in search of a fresh start, leaving the past behind. Similarly, the story of M’hudi Wines revolves around a determined family who defied all odds to pursue their dream of crafting exceptional wines.

Originally hailing from the North West Province of South Africa, the Rangaka family embarked on a quest to find a place where they could spend more quality time together. Leaving behind their professional careers, they eventually found themselves becoming the first Black family to acquire a wine farm in South Africa, settling in Stellenbosch in 2003.

M’hudi Wines has rapidly established itself as a brand synonymous with quality, excellence, and distinction. Nestled in a valley with fertile Table Mountain sandstone soils layered over clay, their vineyard experiences scorching summer temperatures, but is regularly cooled by morning mists and invigorated by the renowned Cape Doctor wind in the afternoons.

The wines of M’hudi perfectly cater to the demand for superior South African wines, both domestically and internationally. Stringent quality control measures are in place, overseen by various industry authorities including the South African Department of Agriculture, The Wine and Brandy Council, Wines of South Africa (WOSA), and the Department of Trade and Industry. Working alongside highly experienced winemakers, M’hudi Wines proudly holds accreditation from the Wine Industry Ethical Trading Association (WIETA).

Brookdale Estate is situated at the foothills of the Drakenstein Mountains of the Paarl Wine Valley where their 36-year-old block of trellised Chenin Blanc is one of few certified ‘Old Vine Chenin Blancs’ in the region.

Kiara’s story starts in a place called Mitchells Plain where she grew up with her family. Mitchells Plain is what one would call a ghetto, a township on the Cape Flats south-east of Cape Town where Cape coloured people live. While staying there she was exposed to many things (mainly due to the socio-economic circumstances of people living there) such as gangsterism, drugs, alcohol abuse and violence because of alcohol abuse.

Kiara applied to the CWG Protégé Programme and was successful. The CWG Protégé Programme is a great initiative that employs newly graduated winemakers that come from previously disadvantaged backgrounds and gives them the opportunity to work with and be mentored by some of South Africa’s best winemakers.

Kiara Scott was the youngest female Head Winemaker in South Africa at the age of 26. Read Jancis Robinson’s full article here.

More recently, their 2020 Chenin Blanc single Vineyard 2020 was crowned the 2022 Trophy Winner for the Best Old Vine Wine in South Africa’s most prestigious wine competition, The Trophy Wine Show!

This award came closely after the same 2020 Chenin Blanc being awarded a Gold scoring by the Decanter World Wine Awards.

The MAMA label emerges from the creative synergy between Mags Janjo and celebrated Austrian winemaker Thomas Mantler. Their aim: to chart new territory in playful, unexpected expressions of Austrian varietals and pet‑nat artistry.

MAMA Wines captures the intersection of tradition and innovation: Austrian varietals with unconventional techniques, delivered with both finesse and playfulness. They’re thoughtfully made, beautiful to serve, and wonderfully narrative‑driven perfectly aligned with Mags’ ethos of environmental respect and family‑owned authenticity.

Magnavai (‘Mags’) is a Cameroonian man, and the Founder and Sales Director of a UK wine import business. Moving to the UK in 2006 at the age of 15, Mags was inspired to enter the wine industry by his stepfather’s experience developing a wine company.

Beginning with sales roles in the industry, including positions at Majestic, Waitrose and later Roberson, Mags progressed inexorably through his WSET qualifications, passing them all first time and gaining a Merit for his DipWSET in 2017. Mags’ ultimate goal has always been the MW, and in 2017 he enrolled on the course. Alas, his first attempts were not successful, with Mags remarking that he “was utterly crushed” when he did not pass it first time. Not one to be deterred for long, however, Mags subsequently decided to take a break from studying, falling in love with wine all over again through a variety of different projects: founding wine business, his own company that supplies an eclectic selection of characterful wines; branching into wine education, beginning to teach at the WSET’s flagship London School in Bermondsey; and even having a go at wine-making in the South of France.

All of this, combined with the onset of more free time due to the Coronavirus lockdowns, has given Mags a renewed sense of confidence and enthusiasm to give the MW another try, now further aided by his Golden Vines MW Scholarship. Mags’ passion for study also extends to a passion for leading positive change in diversifying the wine world. In 2020, in partnership with Jancis Robinson OBE MW, Mags founded BAME Wine Professionals, a web directory of People of Colour working in the UK wine trade, that has already seen success in encouraging businesses to ameliorate their diversity and inclusivity.

The name Mama Afrika symbolises togetherness, hope and passion for the community of Zwelethemba (Mpelo’s hometown), where a particular mountain – named ‘Mama Afrika’ by the local inhabitants, resembling the structure of both an elephant and a human looking up – has been a shining armour and offered inspiration for decades. While in school, Mpelo spent his childhood and formative years working on the wine farms of Worcester and has since striven to forge a business that will resonate as a “community story rather than a personal glory”.

In 2018 Rüdger was awarded Diners Club Young Winemaker of the Year!

Rüdger’s wine journey started in 2010, a ‘coloured boy’ hailing from the south coast of South Africa from a town called George where he started his first year at Stellenbosch University. With years gone by and passion growing for the grape, little by little he eventually graduated in 2013.

He remembers clearly in his fourth year he was approached by Magda Vorster, facilitator for the Cape Winemakers Guild Protégé programme. She showed him all the amazing things that the programme provides and basically told him that the sky is the limit. After a few interviews with winemakers from the Guild Rüdger received the great news that his application was successful and that, starting in 2014, he would be part of the Cape Winemakers Guild Protégé programme.

Read more about Rüdger’s achievements though Jancis Robinson’s full article here.

Dumi Oburota, Founder of Severan, is responsible for global A&R for Sony’s Orchard record label, as well, he also now turns his focus to the thriving sparkling wine industry in the UK.

Severan: a Black owned and operated sparkling luxury wine redefining what aspiration looks like.

Severan supports the growth and development of the culture and the people within it.

Severan sparkling wine was conceived to celebrate London’s diverse culture, spotlighting the cultural crown jewels who have become Britain’s biggest export.

Severan launched in June 2023 to immediate fanfare with a culturally-immersed audience and an enthusiastic response from the wine industry.

Sustainability: From low intervention farming to waste water management. Their partner wineries care about the community and the world we live in. This is as important as the wine itself.