Five years ago, Warren Griffiths was sitting around a firepit with his friends discussing the struggles of South African wineries.
The country’s government had imposed strict restrictions amid the pandemic, including bans on alcohol sales and exports. The goal was to free up hospital beds for COVID-19 patients rather than trauma cases caused by alcohol use — but the impacts on South Africa’s $3.6 billion wine industry were devastating.
“What ended up happening is you had all this beautiful wine being stockpiled,” Griffiths said.
Warren Griffiths, owner of Sondela Cellars.
Provided
With bottles from South Africa’s Western Cape region — ones often left out of the broader wine conversation — abundantly available, Griffiths saw an opportunity when he moved to Charleston.
He launched Sondela Cellars, a wholesale business whose mission is to seek out and present the best of South African wines to American drinkers. The 18 to 20 wines Griffiths sources from wineries in South Africa can be found at Charleston restaurants like Honeysuckle Rose and retailers like Somm Wine Bar, Rooted Bottle Shop and Wine Shop OV.
“I bring across a selection of them that I think resonate and would stand out on the menu,” Griffiths said. “These are the Napas and Sonomas of Africa, if you like.”
Sondela Cellars imports and sells wines like The Fishwives Club Chardonnay, a 12.7 percent alcohol-by-volume white with notes of melon and a subtle buttery finish, and the Harry Hartman Wine Co. pinot noir, a pale ruby red that’s light, dry and delicious with food. Sondela’s wines come from Stellenbosch, Franschhoek, Elgin, Paarl and other wine regions, most located in a mountainous area near Cape Town’s city center.
Western Cape winemakers produce everything from Chenin blanc and sauvignon blanc to Burgundy-style pinot noir, shiraz, Bordeaux blends and the pinotage that’s native to the region. Eric Asimov, the longtime wine critic at The New York Times, once called South Africa “one of the greatest sources for moderately priced cabernet sauvignon on the planet today.”
With Sondela — a Zulu word meaning “come together” — Griffiths hopes to promote a wine region with a strong history of production that dates to the 17th century.
Eric Asimov, the longtime wine critic at The New York Times, once called South Africa “one of the greatest sources for moderately priced cabernet sauvignon on the planet today.”
Parker Milner/Staff
In the 1990s, South Africa became known for the heavy whites and tannic reds developed by large corporate producers. Since the end of apartheid, though, when South Africans could travel to Europe for inspiration, a new generation of diverse young winemakers has spawned.
Years later, they’re still competing with the bulk producers accounting for about 60 percent of South African exports. Griffiths is on a mission to highlight the other 40 percent through Sondela Cellars.
“If you really want to represent South African wines effectively, you have to be selective,” he said.
The country’s wine industry isn’t yet built for mass distribution, especially for small producers. Waits for wines can be months-long, Griffiths said, challenging his new small business.
But once the bottle is poured and the wine is opened, he knows the effort to get it here was worth it. He hopes Charleston wine consumers decide to give it a chance, too.