Interviews

  • Meet Bulelani Kenneth Dada from McDuck Wines

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    This week we are introducing to you, Bulelani Dada from McDuck Wines. Get to know a little bit more about him and his Wine.

    When was your wine founded? McDuck Wine idea has been around for the past 5 – 6years between 2015/2016 however I wasn’t able to start the business through the lack of knowledge in the wine industry so I first wanted to do more research on how I can start the “McDuck Wines” brand. It took atleast 4 – 5 years to the research, traveling to Cape Town, learning different tastes of wines.

    Through that journey I met a man on Twitter by the handle of @monsieurponto, from reading his posts I never turned back for the love I have for wine. I used to read his posts on a daily basis to get more “free education” on wine or I should say beverages to be precise because the man knows his beverages. After learning a thing or two about (wine) from the guy, I was now confident that I can start the process of acquiring/having my own brand. In 2021 September, my first stock arrived, I remember very well when I posted “McDuck – Merlot” on my Whatsapp status, I left my phone for about 10 minutes, when I opened it (Whatsapp) I had hundreds of messages I didn’t know where to start in terms of responding, some people congratulating me and some wanted to enquire on how to get a bottle of “McDuck Wines”

    What inspired you? I am a wine enthusiast; I have always loved the elegant pouring and the sipping of wine. I always feel like I am in a different world when I pour myself a glass of wine, I feel rich and confident. The handling of the glass, the ardour and food pairings, I just love that.

    How often do you do events? I have had 2 events since launching McDuck Wines, one event was “Live” on my Facebook profile (Bulelani Kenny McDuck Dada) and the other one was at “Unity Lifestyle) in Umzimkhulu. Due to McDuck Wines is self-funded, there have been little events done however, there are a couple of Clubs, Pubs and stores (Tops at Spar) that I am still in talks with to have the wine in for sale and to also have a couple of events with them.

    Do you partner with events and how can promoters partner with you? I have partnered with Unity Lifestyle (Umzimkhulu) and we now have an agreement with Marley’s (Ixopo) to have monthly events, they are also purchasing a couple of boxes from McDuck Wines.

    How many employees do you have?McDuck Wines currently has one employee which is I.

    What inspired you to start a wine company? I was inspired by the love of wine. I remember at some point in 2015, we were having a chat with a friend of mine, we were chatting about business in general, we spoke about the amount of money we spend when going to events, one thing that he said to me was; “Why don’t we just businesses on the things we love doing on a daily basis?

    The idea just came straight into my mind, I said to myself; “I love drinking wine”, the question was; “How do I start a wine brand?” That is when the research began.

    Where can people purchase your wine People can purchase wine at “Unity Lifestyle” (Umzimkhulu), “Marley’s” (Ixopo) and by placing an order through my Facebook Profile (Bulelani Kenny McDuck Dada), Facebook Page (McDuck Wines) or through WhatsApp (0769765177)

    Are you self-funded or do you have sponsors? McDuck Wines is 100% self-funded

    Tell us about owning a wine company and how do you keep on your feet? Running a business is not easy at all especially in this economic crisis that we are currently in at the moment, South Africans are doing their best to sustain their lifestyles, some are even cutting on their social activities due to the pandemic that we have seen almost destroying the whole world. One has to be passionate on what business they do in order to not give up, we as South Africans are now starting to pick up the pieces of the pandemic, slowly but sure we will tap into this multi-billion wine industry.

    What other projects are you currently working on? I am currently working on two projects, the first one which is also close to my heart is Craft beer and the second one is Sparkling wine. I am looking at launching both these projects before the end of the year. September might be the exact month that they launch as long as everything goes as planned.

     

  • Meet Leeh Nyathikazi From Ngoma Wines SA

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    We have been receiving such positive feedback from you guys about the series we started last week of featuring local Wine owners and this week we are very much excited to have chatted to bubbly Leeh Nyathikazi from KwaNdengezi in KZN. She is the founder of Ngoma Wines SA, see her story below:

     

    • Tell us about yourself, where did grow up upbringing etc; My name is Lee Nyathikazi from Kwandengezi ePitoli. I grew up without my parents and that makes everything hard. My mother died while she was giving birth to me and my dad passed on when I was 13 years old. My older brother raised me.
    • When was Ngoma Wines founded and what inspired the name? Ngoma Wine SA was founded last year October 2021. At the beginning I wanted to grow our surname as uNyathikazi (Ngoma). But when times went by we sat down and we looked at the industry that we are in, INGOMA (a song/music), when you are having a bad day – just drink NgomaWinesSA and listen to music – your mood will change.
    • Which ranges of Wines do you have and which is your favourite? We have Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc and Sweet Rose. 
    • Are you a genuine wine lover? I started drinking wine back when I was in a very abusive marriage, I would drink myself to sleep because I wanted ti get away from reality and what I was going through at the time. As time went it became my drink of choice going with different dishes and I was fascinated about the wine industry, my love for the wine industry grew from there and this is where we are now. 
    • Are you self funded or you have sponsors? I am self funded but I’m definitely looking for sponsors. 
    • Where can people purchase your wine? For now it’s only available at … Indawo Yethu restaurant. Alpha in Sunning Hill and they can purchase it directly from me. We are currently working on a website.
    • Difficulties you have come across ever since you started? Competition is very high in this industry, one needs to stay on their toes and always ready to make a move. It helps keep you focused. 
    • Where do you see your wine brand in 5 years? I see Ngom Wines gone as far as overseas and everyone will know about this wine. It’s huge, one of a kind. I see it in billboards. Everyone shouting “Ngoma Wines”.

  • Q&A with Siphakamiso Duma – Founder Of Duma Wines

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    We are going to be featuring Young Wine Business owners on a regular basis and dropping competitions here and there for you guys, just to say thank you for the continued support since the Wine Wednesdays journey began, in 2017.

    Today we chat to Award Winning Siphakamiso Duma, owner of Duma Wines.

    We are highly passionate about what we do, and strive to produce unique and accessible wines with consistent quality. Our wines are of a premium quality aiming to indulge your palate with a refreshing quality that is long lasting. We strongly aim to inspire young individuals to become role players in the South African wine industry.

    What inspired you to starting a wine business? My fascination for wine started back in 2016  with my current job at the time was being a Cashier, while having a major influence in the interest of wine. Sphakamiso was a very curious young individual who believed more in doing research on current interests, and that time my interest was on wine. I fell in love with wine while scanning out the groceries for customers, and my interest was in why do we have so many cultivars in wine. My curiosity gave me an opportunity to come across a wine course, which help me a lot in the understanding of wine and the industry. It was even more easier when I was given an opportunity to work as a wine controller ,and understood more about wine.

    How long did it take you to get the business off the ground? Getting the business off the ground was a bit of a hustle and challenging because the business was Self-funded, established at during the Covid19 pandemic period of time, where our type of product offering was banned in the country, plus the June/July 2021 unrest we encountered in KwaZulu-Natal. The challenges were for a passionate individual who has a vision to where there are looking to be in future.

    Do you have any investors, or is everything self-funded? Duma wines is a self-funded business which have managed to grow decisively with the assistant of our once-off investors which have help the company grow in the past year.  Our Sponsors where:

    .Gagasi Fm

    .YOCO

    .East Coast Radio

    .Hippo.co.za

    .Phantom Digital Designers 

    Have you always wanted to have your own wine business? I only realized that I’m in love with wine right after 2016 when I obtained a certificate of achievement from Wine Of South Africa and had an opportunity to be feed my mind with more wine knowledge until I obtained another certificated in 2019 called “The Science Of Alcohol”. Combining my wine sales, advisory experience within the wine industry together with my studies was a reason I gave birth to this business of wine and owning my own wine brand.

    Currently Duma Wines is working on ideas and strategies to grow the business decisively and recover from the negative impact brought by the recent pandemic and unrest to the business in the year 2021. But as a young business, we have a lot of projects ideas that will help us advanture into a different world of business in terms of growing while creating new opportunities for the next generation. 

    Awards and Winnings.

    1. Sunday World Unsung Heroes Awards 2021 – Category: Youth In Business – Awards
    2. KwaZulu-Natal Youth Business Awards 2021 – Categories: Food & Baverages – Nominatin Certificate.

    LOOK OUT FOR A COMPETITION SOON.

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