Mvuselelo "Vusi" Dalicuba, winemaker at Vergenoegd Löw, joined the cellar and vineyard team as a 28-year-old in May 2021. He says it is very exciting to be growing with the brand and “be part of something big at Vergenoegd Löw”.
Vusi is originally from the Eastern Cape, but he was raised in Stellenbosch where his father, Msabalala, was a general worker at Distell.
He obtained a BTech in Agricultural (Viticulture and Oenology) and a Master’s degree from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. These had secured Vusi a scholarship at the Elsenburg Agricultural Training Institute in 2016, where he became assistant winemaker.
But how did he land up at Vergenoegd Löw? Corius Visser, Vergenoegd Löw’s managing director, says he realised the estate needed a dedicated, full-time winemaker again, so he called up his good friend Abrie Beeslaar at Kanonkop. Beeslaar didn’t hesitate in recommending Vusi, at that stage a talented young Masters graduate who had worked a harvest at Kanonkop.
Corius invited Vusi to spend a day at Vergenoegd Löw and “we gelled immediately”, says Corius. “He works hard and his attention to detail is excellent. We make a good team.”
Describing himself as a “chemist rather than an artist” when it comes to winemaking, Vusi says he felt immense pressure during his first harvest at Vergenoegd Löw in 2022. “Harvest is always stressful because you know if you mess up, it’s gone forever. I also knew a lot was expected from me. But Corius told me to relax and take things one step at a time. He has taught me you can always manage what you can measure: First taste, then analyse and never rush into decisions.”
In 2024, Vusi was the runner-up of the inaugural Fedex Next Generation Awards. He won this esteemed award for the Vergenoegd Löw Range Lara Cabernet Sauvignon 2022, which scored 95 points.