{"title":"Tembela","description":"","products":[{"product_id":"tembela-wines-syrah-2022","title":"Tembela Wines Syrah 2022","description":"\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\"Tea leaf and savoury aromas on the nose follows through with white pepper as the wine opens. Notes of black fruit, a hint of fynbos and black pepper comes through on the palate. The wine shows good acidity and fine tannins, with violets and sweet spice coming through as the wine opens up. Pairs well with venison and ribeye.\" Banele Vakele, Winemaker\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e#Tasting#\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"article__sub-heading\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eA man on a mission, Banele Vakele of Tembela’s journey into wine is nothing short of extraordinary. Growing up in the township of Khayelitsha outside of Cape Town, he earned a scholarship to a smart Constantia high school and it was here, and a vineyard that his classroom overlooked that Banele used to stare on to at particular moments of ennui mid-class that so drew him to wine. Today, he now works as assistant winemaker for Duncan Savage in Salt River, where he makes his own wines. In Xhosa, Tembela means to have faith, hope and belief, all sentiments that his mother had in Banele's decision to pursue a career in wine. The wine label pays tribute to the things that are most important to Banele: women wearing traditional Xhosa attire carrying wine barrels, infusing two matters that are most important to him: his culture and his love of wine. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"TEMBELA","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43286752886969,"sku":"STEM02R7522","price":34.5,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/2466\/1541\/files\/BC_Upload_49e3270e-8d86-4bed-b03a-60bb0d6f2f08.png?v=1699460269"},{"product_id":"tembela-wines-syrah-2024","title":"Tembela Wines Syrah 2024","description":"\u003cp\u003eVintage on vintage, you can feel Banele gaining experience and finding his voice as a winemaker. We loved his very first wines too, but they are entering a new level that is extremely exciting and we're so happy for him. This 2024 is magnificent. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVery fine, elegant and not big and over ripe, but still possessing guts, beautiful guts! It's very much in the restrained Northern Rhone Hermitage kind of style, with fine pepper notes. The grapes come from one of the most sought after sources in Stellenbosch. Banele is getting noticed and we couldn't be happier for him - both Neal Martin of Vinous.com and Tim Atkin MW have praised his wines, and Banele was commissioned by the Tate Modern in London, to make a wine for the launch of a year of modern African art.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e#Tasting#\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eBanele (pronounce Ba-nel-ee) grew up in Cape Town's largest township, Khayelitsha. He still lives there, looking after four younger siblings, after his mum died. He earned a scholarship to a Constantia high school and his classroom looked out over a vineyard, he sat there daydreaming about what life in wine would be like. He got a degree at Elsenberg Agricultural College and enrolled on the Cape Winemaker’s Guild Protégé programme, where he did stints in Burgundy, Oregon and Yarra Valley. The final stage was with Savage wines. Such was Duncan's fondness and respect for Banele as a person and winemaker, he was there for nearly 6 years, just finishing with him before Christmas to fully focus on his own project, supported and encouraged to do so by Savage himself. Banele has named his wine after his late mother, Tembela, which means faith, hope and belief. The label pays tribute to women wearing traditional Xhosa attire carrying wine barrels. \u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"TEMBELA","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55277462061442,"sku":"A4456124","price":34.5,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/2466\/1541\/files\/BC_Upload_2782e63f-817a-4b72-9a6d-1383311d54e7.png?v=1749568378"},{"product_id":"tembela-wines-chenin-blanc-2024","title":"Tembela Wines Chenin Blanc 2024","description":"\u003cp\u003eA beautiful example of Chenin Blanc from rising star winemaker Banele Vakele. Gorgeous and textured on the palate with notes of orange and beeswax. Mineral and classy. This is SA Chenin at its best. Banele is getting noticed and we couldn't be happier for him - both Neal Martin of Vinous.com and Tim Atkin MW have praised his wines, and Banele was commissioned by the Tate Modern in London, to make a wine for the launch of a year of modern African art.#Tasting#\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBanele (pronounce Ba-nel-ee) grew up in Cape Town's largest township, Khayelitsha. He still lives there, looking after four younger siblings, after his mum died. He earned a scholarship to a Constantia high school and his classroom looked out over a vineyard, he sat there daydreaming about what life in wine would be like. He got a degree at Elsenberg Agricultural College and enrolled on the Cape Winemaker’s Guild Protégé programme, where he did stints in Burgundy, Oregon and Yarra Valley. The final stage was with Savage wines. Such was Duncan's fondness and respect for Banele as a person and winemaker, he was there for nearly 6 years, just finishing with him before Christmas to fully focus on his own project, supported and encouraged to do so by Savage himself. Banele has named his wine after his late mother, Tembela, which means faith, hope and belief. The label pays tribute to women wearing traditional Xhosa attire carrying wine barrels. \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"TEMBELA","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55277473071490,"sku":"A4446124","price":34.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/2466\/1541\/files\/BC_Upload_af935e2d-74ea-4556-a9c7-ec93cb1b1d99.png?v=1749568568"},{"product_id":"rondavel-hills-syrah-tembela-wines-2024","title":"Rondavel Hills Syrah 2024","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\"We had the Rondavel Hills yesterday with our roast- absolutely brilliant.\" - E.B.D\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-teams=\"true\"\u003eFrom the winner of South Africa's New Generation Winemaker of the Year, Banele Vakele of Tembela wines! Rondavel Hills Syrah is delicious. It's both easy to drink, while being serious.  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-teams=\"true\"\u003eFrom Syrah vines grown in the Swartland. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e#Tasting#\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eBanele grew up in Cape Town's largest township, Khayelitsha. He still lives there, looking after four younger siblings, after his mum died. He earned a scholarship to a Constantia high school and his classroom looked out over a vineyard, he sat there daydreaming about what life in wine would be like. He got a degree at Elsenberg Agricultural College and enrolled on the Cape Winemaker’s Guild Protégé programme, where he did stints in Burgundy, Oregon and Yarra Valley. The final stage was with Savage wines. Such was Duncan's fondness and respect for Banele as a person and winemaker, he was there for 7 year. Banele's wine, Tembela, is named after his mother, which means faith, hope and belief. \u003cspan class=\"im\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBanele has chosen the name Rondavel Hills for his other wines, as it reminds him of the huts dotted around the rolling hills in the Eastern Cape where he was born.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Rondavel Hills","offers":[{"title":"DUTY PAID","offer_id":56275875103106,"sku":"A6906124","price":16.95,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/2466\/1541\/files\/RondavelHillsSyrah2024_jpeg_b7445a3d-f6a9-457b-a5f2-540daa672a6e.jpg?v=1769520692"},{"product_id":"rondavel-hills-chenin-blanc-tembela-wines-2025","title":"Rondavel Hills Chenin Blanc 2025","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-teams=\"true\"\u003eFrom the winner of South Africa's New Generation Winemaker of the Year, Banele Vakele of Tembela wines! Rondavel Hills Chenin Blanc is delicious. T\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ehe nose has melon and peach, with a hint of chalkiness and minerality that comes across on the palate as a nice streak of citrus. It's full but not too full, showing tension and restraint. It drinks so easily. We had it with chicken and courgettes and it could not have been a better match. In fact, it slipped down so easily that we reached for a second bottle.  This will be excellent with so many dishes. But it's gorgeous to sip and have with nibbles. And it's only 12.5% alc!\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"im\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003eOld vine Chenin grown in the Swartland, produces this rich, texture and joyous wine that is bright and so nicely balanced too.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e#Tasting#\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eBanele grew up in Cape Town's largest township, Khayelitsha. He still lives there, looking after four younger siblings, after his mum died. He earned a scholarship to a Constantia high school and his classroom looked out over a vineyard, he sat there daydreaming about what life in wine would be like. He got a degree at Elsenberg Agricultural College and enrolled on the Cape Winemaker’s Guild Protégé programme, where he did stints in Burgundy, Oregon and Yarra Valley. The final stage was with Savage wines. Such was Duncan's fondness and respect for Banele as a person and winemaker, he was there for 7 year. Banele's wine, Tembela, is named after his mother, which means faith, hope and belief. \u003cspan class=\"im\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBanele has chosen the name Rondavel Hills for his other wines, as it reminds him of the huts dotted around the rolling hills in the Eastern Cape where he was born.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Rondavel Hills","offers":[{"title":"DUTY PAID","offer_id":56318735024514,"sku":"A7016125","price":16.95,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/2466\/1541\/files\/img.png?v=1772806723"}],"url":"https:\/\/swig.co.uk\/collections\/tembela\/region-swartland.oembed","provider":"Swig Wines","version":"1.0","type":"link"}