Nomsa toasts art of wine
AT 31, Nomsa “Nomisupasta” Mazwai is an illustrious achiever, an author, singer, poet and Soweto Theatre’s general manager.
She was named in the top 200 young people in South Africa; a Fulbright scholar with a master’s degree in economics from New York’s Fordham University; and an SA Music Award winner for her album.
She is the youngest sister of Afro pop songstress Thandiswa Mazwai and poet Ntsiki Mazwai.
QUESTION: Having been instrumental in the staging of the Soweto Culture Wine and Food Festival at Soweto Theatre for the first time, is wine one of your favourite beverages?
ANSWER: (Laughs). Let me tell you, I never used to like wine. I used to think wine was bitter. But then I discovered I was drinking cheap wine all along. (Laughs)
Q: Which plonk were you drinking? Can you still remember?
A: Oh! my goodness (Laughs). Many of them. I used to run this small hotel-cum-retreat for artists in Hamburg, a coastal town in the Eastern Cape. One day I was approached by The Goose wine to stock their wine, and I agreed. But I said to them, “Look I don’t know much about wine”. Of course, when you live in this random place, where nothing much happens, you end up drinking the wine.
And I remember drinking my first quality wine, it was the same Goose wine, called The Gander ... iyoooo (clapping hands). I thought to myself, w-h-a-t is this? It was a Cabernet Sauvignon wine; not sweet but wonderfully smooth. It was such an easy-drinking wine with an amazing aroma that, from that day, I always drank it at the hotel; sometimes on the beach, and with food.
Q: What kind of wines are you enjoying these days? A: After my years in the Eastern Cape, I started dabbling with some really good wines in Joburg. I love Meerlust Rubicon. I love Jordan and Warwick reds. When it comes to white wine, I love Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay. Ja, now I can drink wine.
Q: Can you recall your most memorable moment drinking wine?
A: I had music legend Hugh Masekela visiting the hotel one day, and he tasted The Goose wine and he was impressed. We enjoyed the wine with another friend. The scene was beautiful. We were sitting outside on the hotel’s sundeck, after dusk, with the scene of rolling hills.
Q: How did you achieve the coup of bringing the Soweto Culture Wine and Food Festival to Soweto Theatre?
A: One of the organisers called last year and asked if they could hold the wine festival here. I told them that I don’t really like to do events, but I rather prefer partnerships based on vision and long-term relationships. And I am happy the organisers shared the same vision; we’ll have this partnership for the next three years.
Q: Is there a relationship between theatre and wine?
A: Wine is art. If you think of any winemaker, they are in fact artists. So the connection between wine and art is not a weird one.
“I never used to like wine. I used to think wine was bitter