Andile is originally from Sterkspruit in the Eastern Cape; Aliwal-North is the nearest large town. He attended Pelindaba Primary School and Mpumolela Senior Secondary School. Due to personal circumstances Andile left school in 2005; he was in Grade 11 at the time.
Andile joined Roodezandt Wines in 2005 and in the following years he was appointed as a temporary cellar assistant at the cellar. He was employed as a vineyard worker on farms in the Robertson district, but he always returned to Roodezandt Wines a temporary cellar assistant during harvest time.
Since 2009 Andile is permanently employed as a cellar assistant at Roodezandt Wines. He is team leader for the past four years in the red wine cellar, the union representative and the interpreter for the cellar.
Andile completed the Wine Training SA SKOP 1, 2 and 3, as well as other training programmes successfully. His family always had close links with the cellar. Both his brothers and late father used to work at Roodezandt Wines.
Andile always wanted to work in a cellar and a number of people played an enormous role in his life, for example Bertram de Bruyn, a previous employee of the cellar; Christie Steytler, cellar master and Jean du Plessis, winemaker. His sister and his children motivate him.
Andile enjoys all aspects of the wine making process. He prefers to work with red wine and the influence of wood on wine remains interesting and for this reason he enjoyed the 2017 Winetech study groups. Andile is since 2015 a participant of the Winetech study groups. He confirmed that both WTSA SKOP and Winetech study groups contributed to his knowledge and feels strongly about the importance of training in the workplace.
Andile is involved in the activities of his church, Bethlehem Apostolic Church of South Africa, in particular the youth and choirs. He is also a lay preacher and assists with the counselling of community members.
Andile believes that respect forms the basis of all relationships and that all humans should be treated with respect. Andile dreams to become a winemaker one day and would like “to grow old with wine”. It is also a dream to complete his Grade 12, but he is unsure if this is possible. His most important goal is to take care of his family and children.
Andile Ngwane’s message to his fellow cellar assistants are a message of gratitude; gratitude for the support and contribution from his colleagues. Andile believes that people should talk to one another, even if the circumstances are not ideal. He believes to be able to attend training of any kind is a huge privilege.