Each of us brings our skills, our heritage, our energy and our expertise

The HER Wines Team is comprised of a group of black women who, by grabbing at opportunity, working hard and relying on each other, have stepped into the world of business, previously unattainable to our families, particularly the women.

General Manager and Winemaker

HER team leader, Praisy Dlamini, is both winemaker and manager. A graduate of Elsenburg Agricultural College with 16 years’ experience in the wine industry, this dynamic woman is geared to think big. Having succeeded both in the corporate world, and in the creative space provided by a cellar filled with wine, Praisy has a passion outside of herself to open avenues for others.

Praisy’s beginning was not the obvious. She grew up on a sugar cane farm in Northern Kwa-Zulu Natal, and while in matric, she was offered a bursary by the Department of Agriculture. Of all the avenues open to her, Praisy chose winemaking because “it sounded interesting”, having never tasted wine before. “My family didn’t know about wine at all, but were proud of me for getting a chance to study further.”

After completing her winemaking training, Praisy was invited to be a Protégé by the Cape Winemakers’ Guild, spending a year each with 3 of South Africa’s best winemakers. “They each taught me so much, but it was my third year with Peter Ferreira of Graham Beck that really inspired my passion,” she says. “My experience as a Protégé rounded off my training, I learnt to become agile in the cellar, to apply my knowledge and experience in whatever situation.”

But her passion does not stop with the wine in the bottle, she sees a bigger role for herself: “For me care means empathy. I must go the extra mile and put myself into someone else’s shoes so that I can see things from their point of view. And once I am there, I need to do something about it. Care is meaningless unless it is followed by action.”

Viticulturist

Ruth Faro originally wanted to become a social worker and so studied People-Centred Community Development through UNISA. She was then selected for the work readiness programme presented by the Pinotage Youth Development Academy (PYDA), an NPO which focusses on skills capacity development within the wine industry. After that she completed the Skills Fusion programme facilitated by VinPro where she learnt about Plant Production amongst other wine industry skills, becoming the viticulturist for Adama Wines.

“As a viticulturist, my job is to ensure that our vineyards stay healthy,” explains Ruth. “So I need to constantly analyse the soil and examine the root structure of the vines. And then there is canopy management which includes the pruning and suckering of the vines to make sure the grapes ripen evenly and remain healthy until it is time to harvest.”

“Personally, I want to create a platform for more young people to enter the world of viticulture. There are so many opportunities for advancement in this sector, there is space for young people who are fully committed and want to be the difference in their community and the environment.”

Junior Brand Manager

Onida loves to organise and make pretty. She grew up in Wellington and after matriculating at Huguenot High School, studied Tourism Management at CPUT, completing her internship at the Afrikaans Taal Monument where she gained ample experience as a tour guide, event planner and content manager.

Keen to work in the Winelands, the HER Wine Collections was the perfect place for her to apply her knowledge and organisational skills, quickly slotting in to present wine tastings and setting up events. “I like pretty things, and I like making things pretty,” says this pert, young dynamo. “It’s exciting to start something new. I can learn so much from someone like Praisy, she is an inspiring person but she gives me space to grow.”

Onida is excited about the future of the HER Wine Collection: “I have so many ideas. I can apply all my knowledge to this brand. I am young and I am excited about the future here.”

Logistics

Jody-Ann Appollis grew up on a wine farm in the Bovlei of Wellington, the fourth generation of her family to live and work there. After school she started working as a cleaner in the cellar, however, things soon began to change. Someone was needed to drive into the village every week to get supplies. So Jody volunteered to get her driver’s licence. After all, driving was in her family, as her father has been a truck driver on the farm for decades. But emboldened by her new found mobility, Jody decided to enrol for a Business Administration course at the local college and after 3 years of part-time study she duly qualified and was employed in the Logistics Department, handling the complex distribution and shipment of wines across the world.

Today Jody-Ann handles all the logistics for the HER Wine Collection with the same precision and attention to detail as always.

Human Resources Officer

After school Jeanine worked for several years in fast-food outlets as an assistant manager. In this role, she had to deal with human resources issues and decided to make this her career. So she started studying for a diploma in Human Resources part-time at a local college. “It was really hard juggling a job, a family and my studies,” she says, but eventually Jeanine completed her studies and interned at a local agribusiness in Wellington. After the prescribed 18 months, she was appointed permanently at Adama Wines as the company’s HR Officer.

“I love working for Adama Wines,” she says. “Working with a team of women, each with their own vision and passion, is exciting.” Jeanine’s passion is around training and development: “I hope that my impact on Adama Wines will be to equip the team with the skills to do their jobs with excellence; to help them realise their own dreams; and to develop Adama Wines into a sustainable business.”

Accountant

The daughter of Wellington farm workers, Janine studied for a diploma in Financial Management at the local technical college and then worked as an Accounts Assistant for a decade before taking on the role of Accountant for the HER Wine Collection.

She is currently half way through her degree in accounting which she is doing online and after hours, a tall order for this single mother with a demanding job.

“I love working for this all-women business. It’s a good story. It’s about showing that women can grow and it sets an example. This is something us girls can do for ourselves in a male dominated industry.”

Production Clerk

Nichole’s family has lived for generations in the Bovlei of Wellington, so working in the wine industry was a no-brainer. She studied to become a Management Assistant at the local technical college, completing her internship with the HER Wine Collection.

“I love this work,” she says enthusiastically. “Every day I learn new things. I have learnt so much about what goes into producing a wine,” she continues. “It is such a complicated process! People just see wine in a bottle, but they don’t think about the bottles and labels and screwcaps and all the other dry goods that need to be ordered. It has been hard work but a lot of fun to launch a new product and I can see a great future for myself here. There is still so much for me to learn.”