00:00Every vineyard tells a story.
00:07How did the son of a former wine farm labourer eventually become the first black South African
00:12to own a wine farm?
00:15I was raised on a farm not far from here, about 17 kilometres.
00:20And at the time, the narrative of farm workers' children being the next generation of farm
00:28workers was very much prevalent.
00:31And for a very long time, I wanted to get as far away from the farm until I did a holiday
00:40stint in a cellar and later on in a tasting room.
00:46My perspective of wine changed.
00:49And at that moment, I wanted to become part of the wine industry.
00:57This beautiful wine farm in Franschhoek, Cape Town, didn't always look like this.
01:02When Paul first bought it, it was badly dilapidated.
01:05But after saving for 15 years, it was all he could afford.
01:09Meet Paul Sigurka, the first black wine farm owner in South Africa.
01:14The biggest barrier to black people accessing the wine industry is access to land and access
01:21to capital.
01:22The moment we crossed that barrier, the next barrier was that we are new as first-generation
01:31farm owners.
01:33What quality, what kind of product are we going to put onto the market?
01:39And from the word go, we said that we're going to do high-end quality wines.
01:46The transformation of this farm was just as intense of a process as pressing the grapes
01:50to make wine.
01:52But before we find out what wine production entails, let's start with what it took to
01:56get this farm up from scratch.
01:58It was in the market for more than eight years and nobody would buy it.
02:02There was disease on the vines, which I saw first hand.
02:05The first thing I saw when I got here was that there's disease on the vines.
02:09These buildings were dilapidated, but the farm spoke to me in terms of its location.
02:19And I could see the potential.
02:21So we started on the land.
02:24Good wine is made on the land and not in the cellar.
02:31Growing up as a son of a wine labourer is one thing.
02:34The challenges that come with the label, first black vineyard owner, is another.
02:38What weighs heavier for Paul?
02:40When we bought the farm, a lot of my black friends, especially those up in the north,
02:45said that you need to change that name to reflect who you are.
02:50I decided against it for two reasons.
02:53The first reason is that this building was built in 1905.
02:57I was not here when that happened.
03:00I felt that we need to pay homage to the people that were here before us, pay respect to their
03:06heritage.
03:08But also, the second reason was that in the past, wine brands with black names were perceived
03:17as to being inferior.
03:19So commercially, it made sense to keep the name.
03:24In the addition to the Afrikaans name, he incorporated his Isit Khasa identity into
03:29the logo by incorporating the Southern Ground Hornbill, his family crest totem.
03:34We have a totem, which is the Southern Ground Hornbill, that is known to us as Nzingi.
03:42That's how we brought in our identity.
03:45The fleur-de-lis on which the hornbill is standing on is the French symbol.
03:51So just like with good wine, you can blend in different components and have something
03:57beautiful.
03:58Now that we're clear on the family matters and history, what about the winemaking process?
04:05This is actually a very special bottle of MCC, Method Cup Classic, that's been named
04:10after Paul's mum, Noma Roma.
04:13Usually when people arrive here at the farm, they ask for Noma Roma.
04:16They don't ask for a Champagne or a Method Cup Classic.
04:19This wine, Paul's mum worked for more than 30 years at Paxbrick in the wine cellar, degorging
04:24and wriggling MCCs.
04:26I myself also had the honor to work with her in the MCC room, and the process of making
04:32this wine is 11 months first in French oak barrels, and then also another 48 months on
04:38the lease.
04:39So this will always be the style of our Method Cup Classic, but the other thing is that this
04:44is also to give credit for mothers that worked on the land.
04:49My mother is an optimist.
04:52She always believed that her children would be successful, but I don't think she ever
04:57thought that we would own a wine farm.
05:01In fact, when we first got her to the farm after the purchase went through, and it was
05:07in the state that she is, she was pretty much surprised, shocked, but also, I think, a little
05:16bit worried as to whether we will make this one work in terms of a career and in terms
05:22of a viable business.
05:25But she always says that until you've pulled a lot of others with you, created the jobs,
05:32we have not achieved success.
05:34For us as children of farm workers, where both Paul's parents and my parents worked
05:38on the farm, it's an honor for us to be here, and even for me also to be on the farm.
05:44I mean, it's a legacy that we want to put down.
05:47I mean, one day maybe our children can take over from us.
05:51This is really putting up a big stamp out there into French oak, into the valley, into
05:56people that work, children that worked on farms, that it's possible.
06:01If Paul and Rod can do it, then others can also do it.
06:07In the rolling hills of Franschhoek, Paul Sikora has transformed a once dilapidated
06:12farm into a symbol of heritage and hope.
06:16Bridging past and future, Klein Guderist is now a beacon of change where every bottle
06:21of wine tells a story of perseverance and pride.
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