Cheers to a good glass of Bakwena

ON RIGHT TRACK: HIS BOTTLE OF RED HAS EARNED HIM NOMINATIONS

The African story behind Mokoena’s grape catches UK’s attention.

He’s known for being an actor, gracing local and international screens, Thapelo Mokoena is also an owner and businessman in the wine and food space.

Currently a lead on Netflix’s Fatal Seduction and gracing the cover of the latest issue of Men’s Health magazine, in between his travels to shoots and being a dedicated father, he’s the successful owner of a premium wine brand.

His brand, Bakwena, and the Bosman family partnered up to create a red wine that took off in the wine space.

The partnership has earned the wine numerous award nominations, international distribution, and recognition on top wine lists.

Described as a classic Italian wine, the fruity flavoured wine that has a touch of bitter cherry and vanilla is Nero made from Sicilian grapes Nero’ D’ Avola, it is available at leading local retailers.

Celebrating the current success of the partnership and growth, Mokoena spoke to Saturday Citizen about his wine brand and the way forward.

How do you feel about the partnership with Bosman?

Any partnership that has respect and consistency in it has a good chance to bear fruit. I like our relationship because we all bring what we’re best at to the table.

Everybody is there to contribute their strengths.

How do you feel about the growth of Nero as a wine?

The first thing my partner, Pietrus Bosman, told me was that the wine industry is a marathon, not a race. You have to consistently grow the vines, take care of them and let them grow, and ultimately harvest the vines and bottle them.

Then send them to retailers and decide how you can position them. So the growth is really phenomenal.

Being able to put our brand out there, market it and allow it to be a part of people’s homes who want to let their hair down is beautiful.

It speaks to the story of how consumers are very much like everybody else, we are human we all want to feel happy and relaxed.

We all want to enjoy quality where things like beverage choices are concerned and quality needs to come from our shores here in South Africa.

The growth is gradual and the most encouraging part of the business is to see that it yields real results over time.

How did the people receive Nero as a wine in South Africa and also internationally?

It has really been incredible. Eight years released in South Africa and neighbouring parts of SA and about three to four years in the United kingdom, the wine was launched in the midst of Covid.

We managed to put it out and get into the right partnerships and shortly after got nominated for the Best New Drinks Arrival at the Drinks Business Awards in the UK, alongside the likes of Kylie Minogue.

They really loved the African story behind the grape and partnership.

We’ve enjoyed the attention and feedback in the UK.

In 2019, I was in New York where we hosted a round table, and got a few people to share their stories of resilience and wine. It was really a happy time and since then we’ve sold at Happy Cork in Brooklyn and other stores.

Also, we are in a couple retailers in the USA.

This tells you that the grape travels within itself, it tells you a story of fair trade, of people who work the soil in Africa. If our business model shows the care of the people who actually work those vines and grow the soil through ownership and equity, we are on the right track.

People build these brands and work the soil.

Our partnership as the Bakwena family brands just becomes a home for that energy to be shared.

One day at a time we hope our brand will become a comfortable household name throughout Africa.