There are certain moments in life when you have to pinch yourself. This was one for me…
Being invited to a private tasting of five House of Mandela wines at Toronto’s iYellow wine cave will be a moment in life I’ll never forget.
House of Mandela was created in 2010 by two extraordinary female entrepreneurs – Dr. Makaziwe Mandela and daughter Tukwini Mandela; Daughter and granddaughter of Nelson Mandela.
Truly international women, they have lived and worked all over the world. With a communications, fashion, advertising and marketing background Tukwini Mandela is the current Marketing Director for House of Mandela.
Dr. Makaziwe Mandela is the eldest daughter of Nelson Mandela and with a background in social work, a Masters in Sociology, and a Doctorate in Anthropology, she is currently the Chairman of House of Mandela.
Incredible women. Inspiring women. The type of women you want to just listen to and soak up for as long as possible in hopes some of their eloquence and grace might just rub off.
Now to the wine!
Inspired by the values instilled in them and their passion for family, we tasted five of their Thembu Collection of wines.
Consisting of a summer friendly Sauvignon Blanc, now available in Manitoba and Ontario, a super fresh and low in sugar Merlot-based Rosé, their medium-body Shiraz with a hint of white pepper, their Cabernet Sauvignon that has a slight taste of berry and chocolate and finally their quintessentially South African Pinotage.
This was their stand-out product for me. This fruit-driven wine was different than most Pinotage that tend to have a coffee or toasted flavour. I really enjoyed it and hope it’s made available in Canada soon.
Another thing I loved about House of Mandela was their use of fair trade grapes and promotion of women in industry. The wine industry is primarily run by men and these two bold, smart and passionate women are making inroads into changing that paradigm.
From talking about travelling to South Africa (the ideal months I was told are March, or late October and November) to our shared love of the History Channel, this was a lunch date that was both memorably special and delicious.
Check your local wine store for the Thembu Collection… You’ll be pleasantly surprised by the price point and love the taste.
And one last thing – the design of the labels are truly beautiful and mirrored after the Indonesian-style shirts Nelson Mandela was known for wearing. Oh, and the bee on their logo is a literal translation of Nelson Mandela’s name – Rolihlahla.
M Fab PinchMe
