Finding the answer to those questions has defined my life for the last two and a half years. Telling their story has become an obsession. So much so, that anyone who speaks of my story must now include the Rangakas in the narrative.
In 2003, Malmsey and Diale became the first black family to own a vineyard in South Africa. The only thing more shocking than it taking 350 years for this to transpire is that they knew nothing about wine. Nothing! Do you know how difficult it is to cultivate dirt into a moderately adequate livelihood for a family of five? Do you know that it takes at least three years before you can even begin to sniff at the notion of a “return on investment” from estate vines?
There is a famous saying that goes, “If you want to make a small fortune in the wine industry, you should first begin with a large one.”. An absence of capital and technical knowledge in the wine business is grounds for psychiatric evaluation. In fact, I wonder who could’ve let this happen!?
Like some black people, I am quite sensitive – dare I say paranoid – and frequently see conspiracy theories. Selling the Rangakas a wine farm under the aforementioned conditions is what I would call, “the okey-doke”.
{White Farmer}: Can you believe these guys are buying a vineyard!? I mean, they’re not even from the Western Cape!! This is going to be gooood…!
That was seven years ago. The Rangakas did not beg mercifully for retreat back to their professional lives as a physician and aprofessor in Johannesburg, and in fact, quite the opposite. M’hudi (with the help of their mentors and neighbors at Villiera) has paved the way for blacks in South Africa’s wine industry, and are an inspiration to people of all colors worldwide. They are now accompanied by their close friends the Klenyhans family (Seven Sisters), as the sole black families that own any dirt in the entire Western Cape Winelands. They’ve captured my imagination, and ignited a quietly defiant spirit within that believes I too can change history.
So, as a first entry for Africa.com, I would like to take the opportunity to raise a glass to my “other” family for helping me find my other self. And, to toast all of the courageous pioneers, “firsts”, and the audacious revolutionaries who have made a better world for us all. Thank you.
Drink Well, Do Good
About the Author:
Stephen Satterfield
Founder & President, International Society of Africans in Wine (ISAW)
In February 2008, Atlanta, GA native Stephen Satterfield Founded ISAW, (International Society of Africans in Wine), a nonprofit organization creating economic opportunity in Africa through the business of wine. The Foundation supports South Africa’s black‐owned wineries, and socially transformative wine projects, through assistance in market access and marketing. ISAW is currently raising funds to build a training center on the M’hudi Farm in Stellenbocsh, South Africa, which is the first black‐owned winery in the country.
Through global grassroots campaigns and new media, Satterfield has created a dialog about the troubled legacy of South Africa’s wine workers, while establishing the Foundation as a leading voice and a platform on the subject in the US.
Additionally, Stephen speaks to MBA students on social enterprise, and is a frequent wine judge, and panelist for non‐profit summits and conferences. Stephen attended the University of Oregon for Undergraduate studies, and graduated with honors from Western Culinary Institute, in Portland, OR. He is a Certified Sommelier via the International Sommelier Guild, and spent 2 years as the General Manager of Portland’s, internationally acclaimed Genoa Restaurant. He currently resides in the Calveras County California Winelands, and is working with Emory University to produce a feasibility study on viticultural empowerment in Ethiopia, and is co‐producing a collection of short films on the subject of land, legacy, and transformation in South Africa’s wine industry along with the independent production company, Clear Films.
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