Originally posted in Wine Enthusiast
Founded in 2016, South Africa’s Black Cellar Club is working to support black winemakers and sommeliers in an industry that was once filled with inequality.
Sommeliers Pearl Oliver, Joseph Dhafana, Tinashe Nyamudoka and Gregory Mutambe work closely with the Black Cellar Club (BLACC), a South African association of wine professionals, to boost the profile of blacks in an industry once fraught with inequality.
Like many black wine professionals in South Africa, the four didn’t grow up in a wine-drinking culture. They hope to change the perception that wine enjoyment is an elitist pursuit. BLACC’s main target is the emerging middle class in South Africa and other African countries like Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The organization’s aims include investment in education and work opportunities for young blacks in the industry. It also seeks to increase per capita spending on wines in South African townships and to advocate for responsible drinking.
