ENTREPRENEUR: Aslina winery's Ntsiki Biyela
The award-winning winemaker has developed her own, export-focused brand — but steers clear of the UK
Growing up in the village of Mahlabathini in rural KwaZulu Natal, Ntsiki Biyela considered wine to be no more than the name of a beverage. Yet she has gone on to become the first black woman winemaker in SA. After gaining her matric Biyela had a burning ambition: to become a chemical engineer. But it seemed a forlorn hope, as she had taken employment as a domestic worker to make ends meet. Then came her big break. In 1999 she received an SA Airways scholarship to study at Stellenbosch University. But the funds were not for chemical engineering. It was to study oenology and viticulture. "I was to find that winemaking involves a lot of chemistry," says Biyela, "as well as a lot of passion."
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