M'hudi Wines at Mandela Rhodes Place during 2010 Cape Town Festival launch

Wednesday the 24th of June 2009 will see the grand launch of M'hudi Wines into Fish and Winesense, an exclusive Fish and Sushi Bar based at the glitzy Mandela Rhodes Hotel in Cape Town. The wine is produced by the first winery to be owned by a black family in South Africa.

The wines were extremely well received by renowned chef, Yuen and Whaheed (Marketer of Fish and Winesense), when we met last week Monday at the restaurant. In fact, the new kid on the block caused such a stir, that the place nearly came to a standstill with patrons and hotel residents buzzing around our table to see what the fuss was about.

Vanessa Marawa, winner of Survivor South Africa, and former 5FM and Bush Radio jock, Monde-Kapa, were some of the recognisable faces and names that were raving about the wine. "Ïs this wine really black-owned?", asks one of the gentlemen as he swirls his glass almost in disbelief. "100% black-owned, managed and run!" I replied. Luckily he didn't misunderstand me and take-off.

It's almost as if people expect black-owned wine to be mediocre at best and are consistently stunned when this unfortunate mindset is blown out of the water by the outstanding M'hudi Wines. At M'hudi Wines we under-promise and over-deliver. We don't want to produce the best black-owned wine, we want to produce the best wine period. M'hudi Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot and Pinotage were sipped late into the night as we celebrated our newly formed partnership.

If you're in Cape Town for the 2010 Cape Town Festival launch on the 24th of June, please pop into Fish and Winesense at Mandela Rhodes Place, meet the Family and enjoy the fabulous wines.

M'hudi in Trinidad and Tobago

Every year Port of Spain, the capital city of Trinidad and Tobago, hosts the Emancipation, a week long festival that culminates with a invocation of the ancestors and a festive march-dance through the city on the 1^st of August. The march ends at the stadium where various entertainment events are presented and a trade show take place on the grounds. 2007 was no different in some respects but in others it was not going to be the same. To start off it was 200 years since the emancipation of slaves in British colonies and this was a date to pause and mark. Then there was our intrepid Diale who turned up for Emancipation accompanied by a few (too few, it turned out) cases of M’hudi wine. There was no way M’hudi was not going to be at the show, celebrating and aiding festivities. But more importantly the highlight of the entertainment of the event was the performance of none other than Lorraine Klaasen, a fellow South African, international Diva, now resident in Canada. I marched from city center, dancing in gay abandon all the way to the stadium with that happy crowd in its multicoloured Afro finery. The repeated downpours did nothing to dampen our spirits although we squelched in our shoes and wrung our clinging clothes. Lorraine did her opening act and on hearing that I was at the South African stand she needed no invitation and came over to meet the incredulous, elated M’hudi contingent, me, and taste the wines. The camera caught her beaming with nostalgic delight clutching a Merlot. At the end of the opening show our stand was simply snowed under, everyone wanting to meet the South Africans and their wines. Word of the tasting got out and the cases soon dwindled leaving a milling crowd of the unhappy, who had not had a taste and the agitated who had, and had come back for more (I did say they had been too few!). But I then got a chance to go dancing in the rain to the dulcet cadences of Lorriane’s mzansi-bred voice. You got to love TT. - Diale 'Oupa' Rangaka

M'hudi Wines - The Family (Malmsey, Tseliso, Lebo, Oupa and young Kwena)

The Rangaka Family are the founders of the M'hudi brand and the main characters in the M'hudi Boutique Wines adventure. Having left our successful professional careers we settled down to learning new and specialised skills of viticulture and wine making to establish the now blossoming M'hudi Brand. In 2003, the family moved to the Western Cape and settled on a 42-hectare wine-grape and fruit producing farm in the Koelenhof area just 15km from Stellenbosch. Far from being a Cape winelands jewel, the farm was derelict, but to us it was the first step to participation in a lifestyle, culture and economic sector few Black people had the opportunity to partake in.