Passion drives entrepreneurship

Turning her passion for wine into an iconic brand, Janine Petersen founded j9Wine (Pty) Ltd in 2016. After having worked extensively with big names in the South African wine industry, Petersen used her experience and ventured into creating the j9Wine range.

With a passion and determination, Petersen sold her car and invested her life savings to get j9Wine off the ground. Since starting the business, she continues to expand her knowledge and is a wine maker who sources grapes from across the coastal region and collaborates with some of the best wine makers in South Africa. J9 Wine has a staff complement of 10 and has created 30 direct and indirect job opportunities through their projects and events.

Wine of Colour SA assists grass root level businesses in the wine industry

Looking out for opportunities within the wine industry, in 2019, Petersen decided to start an organisation in the wine industry called Wine of Colour SA in partnership with Mbali from Ngiyi Mbali wines. Wines of Colour SA is a membership organisation which assists grass root level businesses in the wine industry to gain access to market opportunities. It also provides education, facilitates land acquisition, and lobbies government and industry on behalf of its members.

Petersen and her team opened their first tasting room at the historic Hout Bay Harbour in Cape Town, in which they list all their members’ wines, promoting them through special events and wine pairings to locals and tourist.

The Hout Bay Harbour Wine Hub by #wineofcoloursa is a retail tasting room as well as a state-of-the-art urban winery where wine makers and wine lovers can live out their creativity. It’s a place where culture, diversity and creativity are celebrated.

The vision that Petersen and her team has is to create and hold space for the future of females and wine producers of colour in South Africa, ensuring that they get the necessary support and resources to run a successful wine business. ■