Tembela Wines

Tembela Wines

Tembela is a name that means faith, hope, and belief in isiXhosa. It is also the name of his late mother, whose memory he honors with every bottle.

Banele Vakele is one of South Africa’s most exciting young winemakers, and now it’s official. Named the overall best winner of the Winemag Next Generation Awards 2026, the country’s premier competition for young winemaking talent, Banele has arrived on the national stage in a major way. Tim Atkin MW calls him “a name to watch,” and after five vintages under the Tembela label, it’s easy to see why.

Having come up through the Cape Winemakers Guild Protégé Programme and then spending seven years as assistant winemaker under the acclaimed Duncan Savage at Savage Wines, Banele has received some of the most serious training the Cape has to offer. Now standing fully on his own, his Tembela wines are drawing comparisons to the country’s finest. He embodies the warm, unassuming spirit so characteristic of South Africa’s best winemakers, and his journey is just beginning.

Banele Vakele

Born in the Eastern Cape, Banele’s family relocated to Cape Town while he was still young, settling in Khayelitsha. A standout student, he earned a scholarship to a high school in Constantia, and it was there, daydreaming while staring at a large vineyard across the street, that a winemaking career first took shape.

In 2011, he enrolled at Elsenburg Agricultural College, earning a degree in viticulture and oenology. He then spent three years in the Cape Winemakers Guild Protégé Programme, interning at Ernie Els, Groot Constantia, and Savage Wines. His international education took him to Troon Vineyards in Oregon (where he studied biodynamics), Domaine Chevrot in Burgundy, and Sunshine Creek in the Yarra Valley of Australia.

Back in South Africa, Banele joined Duncan Savage as assistant winemaker, drawn to Duncan’s ethos of spontaneous fermentation, minimal intervention, and meticulous attention to detail. He made his last harvest as assistant winemaker at Savage in 2025, and the two have plans to collaborate on a Cabernet Sauvignon project going forward. “We want to teach the Stellenbosch boys how to make proper Cab,” Banele says with a twinkle in his eye. In the meantime, Banele continues to use the Savage urban winery to produce wines under the Tembela label full time.

The Label

For each wine, Banele commissioned a watercolor painting that commemorates his late mother, not simply by name, but by her image. Tembela appears in the foreground carrying an oak barrel on her head, a traditional isiXhosa custom for transporting goods. After much back and forth with the artist, Banele decided to add a second woman in the background, a deliberate choice to symbolize connections to community and place.

Banele’s commitment to art as storytelling extends beyond the label. In 2023, he collaborated with celebrated Malawian-South African artist Billie Zangewa, known for her hand-sewn silk tapestries depicting motherhood, family, and Black femininity, to create special edition Syrah and Chenin labels for the A World in Common exhibition at the Tate Modern in London.

Tembela Chenin Blanc

Made for Chenin lovers, this is an exceptionally fine, fragrant, and layered wine, orange blossom, stone fruit, and grapefruit zest filling the senses from start to finish. Banele seeks out the best old-vine fruit from Stellenbosch and Darling, producing a Chenin with the concentration and energy to age, though it’s absolutely delicious right now too. One of the award-winning wines recognized by Winemag’s Next Generation Awards 2026.

Tembela Syrah

Hailing from the Polkadraai Hills in Stellenbosch, one of South Africa’s most distinctive terroirs for Syrah, this is a seductive wine with tapenade, dark fruit perfume, and what Winemag describes as “impeccably managed tannins.” The esteemed Karibib Vineyard anchors the blend, the same site behind Lukas van Loggerenberg’s Graft Syrah and Reenen Borman’s Sons of Sugarland, very, very good company. The remaining 20% comes from Jakkalsfontein on the Paardeberg in the Swartland. Limited quantities are available.

Culture Wine Co. is the proud importer of Tembela Wines. For wholesale inquiries please reach out to us here