Farmworkers' own wine on track for success

As part of an empowerment project, farmworkers at Kleine Zalze wine estate have released the first wines produced from grapes grown in their own vineyards. They spoke to Glenneis Kriel about their achievement.

-  Glenneis Kriel

The workers on Kleine Zalze wine estate near Stellenbosch in the Western Cape had often heard stories of other farmworkers across South Africa who had benefitted from empowerment initiatives over the past two decades. However, they never thought such an opportunity would ever come their way.

Gerald Snyman, vineyard manager at Kleine Zalze, says that while he dreamt about it, he didn’t think it was possible; and Alicia Alves, general manager of stock control on the farm, says the thought never crossed her mind.

But in 2017, Kobus Basson, then owner of Kleine Zalze, made his employees’ dream a reality when he negotiated a long-term lease agreement for 20ha of municipal land bordering the farm, and entered into a partnership with his staff. A year later, the Kleine Zalze Empowerment Trust was established and, through its collaboration with the estate, the black-owned Visio Vintners company was formed that same year. According to Alves, Basson initiated the project because “he wanted to give something back to his workers for their contribution to his success”.

THE MODEL

As it is with many other broad-based black economic empowerment (B-BBEE) projects in the agriculture sector, the empowerment trust owns a 51% stake in Visio Vintners, while the estate owns the remaining 49%.

The beneficiaries of the trust don’t hold direct shares in Visio Vintners, which eliminates the problem of what happens to the shares when people wish to sell them, or they leave their jobs at Kleine Zalze or pass away.