Praisy Dlamini is the general manager and winemaker of HER Wine Collection as well as the general manager of Adama Wines. A graduate of Elsenburg Agricultural College with 16 years’ experience in the wine industry, this dynamic woman is geared to think big. Having succeeded both in the corporate world, and in the creative space provided by a cellar filled with wine, Praisy has a passion outside of herself to open avenues for others.
Praisy’s beginning was not the obvious. She grew up on a sugar cane farm in northern Kwa-Zulu Natal, and while in matric, she was offered a bursary by the Department of Agriculture. Of all the avenues open to her, Praisy chose winemaking because “it sounded interesting”, having never tasted wine before. “My family didn’t know about wine at all, but were proud of me for getting a chance to study further.”
After completing her winemaking training, Praisy was invited to be a Protégé by the Cape Winemakers Guild, spending a year each with 3 of South Africa’s best winemakers. “They each taught me so much, but it was my third year with Peter Ferreira of Graham Beck that really inspired my passion,” she says. “My experience as a Protégé rounded off my training, I learnt to become agile in the cellar, to apply my knowledge and experience in whatever situation.”
But her passion does not stop with the wine in the bottle, she sees a bigger role for herself: “For me care means empathy. I must go the extra mile and put myself into someone else’s shoes so that I can see things from their point of view. And once I am there, I need to do something about it. Care is meaningless unless it is followed by action.”