dyton mupawaenda
For a long time, wine making and production has been dominated by wines made from grapes in the bigger North American and European wine markets. In Africa, only South Africa is the biggest producer. Zimbabwe, too, though small has produced vineyards which have received awards in international competitions. Times are changing and Zimbabwe has many undiscovered gems of wine. Researchers at the Great Zimbabwe University (GZU) are touching the edge of exploration and possibility by harnessing indigenous wild fruits such as hute — to challenge the dominance of South Africa and western Europe’s age-long dominance of the global wine business. They are contenders for sustainable, organic and biodynamic winemaking and are targeting to produce an initial batch of 2 000 bottles of Wezhira Wine made from local wild fruits commonly known as Hute or Mukute (Syzygium cordatum, waterberry).
In this report, Sifelani Tsiko (ST) Innovations Editor speaks to Professors Moses Chimbari (MC) the GZU Pro-Vice Chancellor, Academic Affairs, Research and Innovation and Jephias Gwamuri (JG) (GZU Director, Research & Innovation) about the Wezhira Wine Project which hopes to move the centre-ground of wine making in Africa.
ST: When did the Wezhira Wine making venture start?
GZU: The Wezhira Wines project started in May 2021.
ST: What motivated you and your team to venture into this wine making project?
GZU: The motivation of this project was based on addressing the issues pertaining to fruits wastage (especially through rotting) and value addition of traditional fruits which is line with the Education 5.0 doctrine. Also, it was done to promote mass consumption of indigenous fruits through developing products that appeal to current markets.
ST: How do you feel about this Wezhira Wine making project?
GZU: The wine project brings unique tastes into the market (local and international) since we are developing most of our wines from indigenous fruits. This is appealing to international markets and it also helps to preserve national heritage. The wine project has massive potential and can have a positive impact especially in communities where the resources are located. We are however mindful of the importance of propagating the trees for sustainability
ST: What motivated you to call it “Wezhira Wine?” Do you think you can grow this brand on the back of this name? What are your thoughts on this?
GZU: The name was motivated by the place — Masvingo — where the term weZhira expresses as sense of belonging. It’s more of a geographic indication.
ST: What are the planned production levels for entry into the wine making business in the country and abroad?
GZU: Initially the production levels will be medium sized and as we gain experience and establish a market presence, we will explore regional distribution to potentially reach a broader consumer base nationally, then enter the global village.
ST: How do you intend to grow this project? What is the level of capital you will need to operate optimally?
GZU: Our strategy is to launch our products and organically grow our market share. This is to avoid over-investing in a business that may fail the test of time viability
ST: Do you have sufficient hute stocks to sustain this project? If not, how do you intend to ensure there is enough stocks to sustain the Wezhira Wine making venture?
GZU: Currently feedstock mapping is ongoing and we have located places like Bikita, Marondera and Seke as areas where hute trees are concentrated. To ensure the sustainability of the project we have proposed the development of plantations for all the fruits that we will be using to develop our wines. Also, we will use different fruits (depending on those that will be in season) to develop different wines under the Wezhira brand. As we establish the plantations of demand trees we will carry out studies on “potency” of fruits of plants from various regions so that we select the best trees for wine production.
ST: Can you tell us more about the distinct taste of the Wezhira Wine? How different is it from the ones on the Zimbabwean market now?
GZU: The uniqueness of the Wezhira brand is that we are using traditional (indigenous) fruits to develop our wines (eg hute, baobab, mazhumwi, nhunguru, etc.) which present unique tastes to the winery industry. The deviation from grape based wines will appeal to the market.
ST: Once the project is fully operational, how many jobs will be created? What are the potential earnings of the wines?
GZU: The project will create jobs starting from the plantations, manufacturing industry, and the sales and marketing units. Other jobs include plantation workers and managers, manufacturing workforce (eg Laboratory technicians, brewmasters, etc), distribution and sales team (e.g. sales and marketing officer, customer service, executive, accountants/cashier and so on. Supporting services for logistics, transportation, packaging, and maintenance may also create jobs.
ST: Looking into the future, how do you intend to boost the Wezhira Wine making venture?
GZU: We intend to diversify our products by producing blended wines and also by making distilled products such as whisky, gin, vodka and brandy.
Online Reporter