25 July 2012

Socially Conscious Wine Wins in China

Submitted by: Abram Molelemane

 

“There’s a saying that goes ‘the richer a wine’s history, the more value it carries’”, said an elated Stedson Williams, Bayede! Marketing and Sales consultant, upon hearing that the company’s Prince Red had just won the Wine Hub Cup Award at the 2012 International Wine Competition in China.

Bayede!’s Prince Red won in the category of Best Red Wine in retail price ranging from 51 to 200 RMB. The wine is produced exclusively for Bayede!, a Paarl-based job creation initiative and the first “By Appointment” luxury brand and wine range in South Africa.

Williams was delighted at the announcement. “This is a big achievement for us. This award will help grow the local and international profile of our wines, which will result in more people buying it and more jobs being created,” explained Williams.

Bayede! was established in 2008 after a meeting between Cape-based wine farm owners Hansjueurg and Francesca Saager, social entrepreneur Antoinette Vermooten and the King of the Zulu Nation, King Goodwill Zwelithini. The King was eager to endorse the concept of a powerful social enterprise that could create jobs through the marketing of luxury products under the Bayede! brand, which means ‘Hail the King’ in isiZulu.

The company is increasingly becoming known for their impact in terms of job creation. Bayede! products currently include a range of wines, clothing and bed linen, leather products, handcraft, beadwork and other items. The product range has been developed with maximum job creation potential in mind.

Their wines, for instance, are decorated with beadwork crafted by rural women from Kwazulu-Natal (KZN) and Western Cape, thereby resulting in additional job opportunities beyond the production of the wine itself.

The Wine Hub Cup Award was awarded by a panel of 11 judges, made up of professional wine judges and Chinese wine importers. Among the judges along was Rao Dao, the President of China’s International Wine Tasting Association.

Bayede’s wines are growing as a brand, and recently they even developed a special wine for the 70thbirthday celebration of President Jacob Zuma.
Bayede is also a participant in the Old Mutual Legends Programme, a Business Development initiative which supports small and community-based businesses through mentoring, skills training and other support. “Legends has been a huge help with our marketing and strategic focus particularly,” explains Bayede! CEO Antoinette Vermooten.

Williams is optimistic about the future of Bayede!’s wines, pointing out that there were “46 different bottles of wine from around the world in that category, however it was the ThePrince Red that won the award!”

 

By Abram Molelemane and Anton Ressel

For more information about Bayede!, it’s products and various job creation initiatives, visit, www.bayede.co.za

Abram Molelemane is a third year journalism student at the Tshwane University of Technology, he is currently doing his experiential learning with Fetola.