Launching Son of the Soil wines by Denzel Swarts

Denzel's passion for education, upliftment and opportunity has been a game-changer for a number of youth and in particular Keelyn Witten and Keanan August from Mitchell's Plain, who are 2 of the young people he has mentored over the last few years, who shared their experiences with us. Such heart-warming stories.

Denzel's Son of the Soil Leadership Foundation has been funded predominantly by him since inception, often taking away money from his own family, but now he is putting systems and infrastructure in place to ensure this is continuously sustainable. He has recently also sourced funding from Winetech which will cover the orientation session for the next batch of youngsters.

Denzel has been the Brand Ambassador at Simonsig for years now, where he grew up and where his family worked on the farm as vineyard workers.  He has a passion for education and ensuring that opportunities are available for our young people and challenges the status quo wherever he goes.
The strongest focus of the SOS Foundation is to coach and mentor young people so that they can discover their true potential. Their belief is not to reinvent the wheel of development and life-skill programmes, but rather to collaborate and synergize with existing programmes that are working within our scope of development.

Good partnerships are at the core of many successful projects, and the SOS Leadership Foundation is no different. Denzel has worked closely with label designers, printers, bottlers, glass retailers, and of course his home winery, Simonsig, where he was able to make and forge his 3 wines which he launched at the Krystal Beach Hotel in Gordon's Bay on 1 May - aptly Workers Day.

The 3 Son of the Soil wines tell Denzel's story very clearly:

Break the Mould Chenin Blanc: This Chenin represents the early childhood phase, as we often tell children you can become anything you like to be and see how easy they are able to adapt. The cultivar Chenin Blanc has very similar qualities, besides it being the workhorse of the wine industry, it can adapt very quickly and it's able to produce from Cap Classique to Brandy (showcasing its versatility).

The Undiscovered Jewel Pinotage: Pinotage is South Africa’s first own cultivar and was very badly received by the international market, until it won on an international stage which assisted to restore its reputation. So too, this cultivar represented my Teenage years as a farm child who was discovered and after being assisted and polished up in his wine education, restored the perception with which many rural/ farming teenagers are struggling.

The Infinite Sparkle Cap Classique: This wine represents achievements and celebrations in everyday society. For me, this wine celebrates the farm workers on who’s shoulders I have built my career and achievements. It furthermore celebrates what was, what is and what is yet to come.  

The launch was a celebration of mountains of effort and Denzel was supported by his colleagues, friends, BLACC board members Wellington Muromba & Luvo Ntezo, as well as his immediate family and wine friends. All those who had supported him were given a special autographed bottle of his wine... certainly a keeper!  I made sure I bought the other 2 wines in the stable and got Denzel to sign them too - for posterity!

We heard from his passionate friend and sommelier at the One&Only in Cape Town, Luvo Ntezo, how Denzel pushed himself and others.   

His foundation is focussed on the Physical, Emotional, Mental and Spiritual and we look forward to your support by acquiring his wines, so that the profits can go towards making a difference in youths lives.

Do your bit - and buy some of his excellent wines and make a difference in our youth's lives.