A day without wine is like a day without sunshine – French proverb

We live to eat – our daily meals consist of food simply prepared from the freshest ingredients we can find along with a glass of wine. Much of what we do in life is ultimately connected to our love of food and wine.

We entertain at home; pulling the treasures that we have discovered from our cellar; preparing food and breaking bread with friends; and, sharing good conversation. On many evenings we will whip up a few courses that would pair well with one or two of our wines and sit and enjoy one another’s company. Our gifts to friends and our community are centered around the food and wine theme.

When we travel, the journey always includes a destination where the focus is a food and wine experience. We seek out the places where the local people like to gather and eat; we ask about the wines that they enjoy and then search out the wineries – we will often end up in the cellar with a local winemaker sampling new wine from the barrel.

Many of our fondest memories are woven from the threads of these moments – and, this is how we have found the wines that constitute our initial portfolio!

 

 

Growing up in the winelands of South Africa we were blessed with many opportunities to experience food and wine as the foundations of a sound lifestyle. We lived amidst some of the world’s most beautiful scenery; there were many natural foods available to harvest from the wild; our meals were always made from fresh ingredients and were unhurried affairs often shared with extended family and friends. And, we were introduced to the appreciation of wine at an early age.

 

Both of our families had connections to the wine and food industries. Dianne’s parents owned vineyards and she thus learnt a great deal about vineyard management through her close relationship with her father. Roy spent several years working on the production side for one of South Africa’s largest wine producers and several mentors helped shape his interest and knowledge. Friendships with winemakers provided us with access to some of the finest wines made in the Cape. In hindsight it seems inevitable that these influences along with our business experience would guide us to devoting our energies to launching a venture like Z Wines USA.