Addis Wine Culture

Wine evolved as part of life, culture and diet since time immemorial. As an enduring cultural symbol of fine life, the role of wine has evolved over time, changing from an important source of nutrition to a cultural complement to food and conviviality compatible with a healthy lifestyle. The art of wine-making has also evolved. Nevertheless, in this long historical path, one thing remains unchanged and has never been neglected: the association of wine with gastronomy, history, tradition, origin, local quality products and dignified social settings, writes Tibebeselassie Tigabu.



Former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is a well-known collector of wine with thousands of bottles making up his vast collection.



In 2014, some 5,000 bottles belonging to the 75-year-old Scotsman, including a vast amount of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, were sold off via three charity auctions organized by Christie’s. Highlights included six bottles of DRC 1999 sold with a signed Champions League shirt from 1999, a case of Pétrus 2000 and signed Imperials of Sassicaia 2005 and Ornellaia 2006.



French Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Romanee-Conti Grand Cru from Côte de Nuits, France, costs between USD 13,021-58,720 depending on its age.



Wine has for so long been associated with class, luxury, etiquette and special occasions. It has its own culture and is associated with a particular lifestyle.



This lifestyle emerged from the heart of Europe—France. Bordeaux, in southwestern France, is the world's major wine industry capital and is home to the world's main wine fair, Vinexpo. According to Forbes magazine, which quoted the preliminary numbers from the International Organization of Vine and Wine, in 2014 France was the world’s biggest wine producer. That year France was able to produce 47 million hectoliters (4.5 billion liters) of wine.



According to the same source, Italy follows with 45 million hectoliters. These countries predominantly led the production of wine and set the standard of what wine is and should be.



The culture of wine—particularly in Europe—predates the Romans. In ancient Greece, wine was praised by poets, historians and artists, and was frequently referred to in the works of Aesop and Homer. In Greece, however, wine was considered the privilege of the upper classes. Eventually, wine evolved as part of European life, culture and diet. Barrels for storing and shipping emerged, bottles were used for the first time, and even a rudimentary appellation system developed as certain regions gained a reputation for fine wine. As wine production became progressively refined, its popularity increased, and wine taverns became a common feature in cities throughout the continent and, in due course, spread to other parts of the world.



True to form, the world of wine has been evolving for millennia and in the last few decades “new” wine countries emerged and are producing massively.



Now Ethiopia is vying to join the elite winemakers of the word. Well, that may be a bit too ambitious but for Amity Weiss, head of marketing and communication at Awash Winery, one of the company’s export strategies is to introduce Ethiopia as a new winemaker.



Celebrating more than six decades of wine production Awash is on the verge of identifying strategic partners in order to export wine to the US and other Western countries. Weiss says that there are a huge number of Ethiopians in the diaspora who drink Ethiopian wine products but what the people at Awash are looking for is a wider market.



“We want to place Ethiopian wine on the map. We love the fact that diasporas drink our products but that is a niche market so what we want is to be positioned on the shelf next to newcomers like Hungarian wines,” Weiss told The Reporter.



The competition is fierce and the market is dominated by world renowned wine brands. And that is not an easy market for Ethiopian wines to penetrate. For Weiss the opportunity is the variety of taste in customers and the growing trend of preference for sweet wine. “For instance, in the US demand for sweet wine is growing. Palates are changing and we are focusing on those new consumers and those who are keen in tasting what Ethiopian wine is,” Weiss says.



Ethiopia has a long and extensive history of wine making, which, according to some sources, goes back to the time of the Axumite Civilization. “Woin yastefesih libese”, a popular religious quote in Ge’ez language, which is literally translated as wine excites the human heart, is testimony to that. Wine has been strongly associated with Ethiopian royalty and is used by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church as a sacrament for the Holy Communion. In addition to wine made from grapes, Ethiopia has its own distinctive local wine known as tej (honey wine flavored with gesho leaves).



The wine-making tradition—for more than half a century— has been gaining much traction and is now a gradually expanding industry that is meant to place Ethiopia firmly on the wine making countries list. Currently, there are two wineries in the country—Awash Wine and Castel Winery. And their combined production is almost 12 million bottles of wine per year.



The local market for wine is also growing and nowadays it is becoming part of the urban culture. Wine has now become a major gift item during various holidays, weddings, birthdays and christenings. This trend made wine the alternative drink in many households especially for those who prefer light concentration of alcohol.



Wine is also used in a unique cocktail here in Ethiopia. It is mixed with beer and Sprite or Coca Cola. The mixture, which is locally known as Turbo, is served with ice cubes and garnished lemon wedge. This cocktail is widely consumed in many butcheries in Addis Ababa.



Appreciating the cocktail, Weiss says that this mixture has become a very unique urban culture. “Ethiopia has a wonderful wine and mixing it with other beverages has become a very unique Ethiopian tradition. We have no desire to create a foreign wine culture here,” Weiss says.



Inspired by this unique cocktail, Awash is giving training for around 800 bartenders on service and mixology. They are also in the process of launching a guideline which has a variety of cocktails. Some of them include Classic Tekeshino(Awash Wine, beer, Sprite or sparkling water and ice cubes); Goudergria (Gouder Wine, gin or vodka, Sprite, ice cubes and slices of grapefruit); Keskisegn (Awash Wine, energy drink such as e-max, royal, XXL with ice cubes, and garnished lime wedge).



According to Weiss, they believe that with their products they were able to cater to a wider market at affordable prices. Awash make various products of wines including Awash and Kemila (white) and Gouder and Axumit (red). Apart from the old ones, they have recently launched a new complex type of wine named Gebeta. It comes in red, white, oaked red and oaked white varieties. Countries proudly present their wine brands as a representation of their country and that is what Ethiopian winemakers are trying to do.



The question is what makes it Ethiopian? According to Weiss, the distinction would not come from the grapes since they use imported seeds such as Sangiovese and Shamblin grapevine. However, according to Weiss, what make Ethiopian wine distinctively Ethiopian is the soil and climate. Another unique feature is that it is possible to harvest twice a year. “Ethiopia is the only country I know of that could do two harvests in a year, which gives Ethiopia an advantage. The weather is very conducive,” Weiss says.



Now with the flavors introduced there are more options for Nebiyou Moges who has been drinking wine for the past 15 years.

He started drinking wine with an older relative while feasting on raw meat. Though he has gastric complications the wine went smoothly. Nebiyou likes to taste various types of wine and thanks to his Italian friend, who also loves to drink wine, he has managed to taste wine from different parts of the world. So far, for Nebiyou, French ginger wine is quite good but his favorite is Awash’s Kamila white wine.



In urban Ethiopia wine is becoming a common drink and many restaurants dedicate a wine bar. Kuriftu Wine House, Michael Cork Wine Bar, Backyard Restaurant and Wine Bar and The Wine Circle are such places. Located around CMC area, Michael Cork Wine Bar has a collection of 150 types of wines including renowned French, Italian, and South African brands. There is also a brand from Chile called Sunrise Dry Wine. Decorated with barrels and various types of wine products the place caters to customers who want to discover tastes like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Chardonnay.



Firehiwot Bahta, founder and shareholder, says that since it is not affordable for many people they do not serve expensive wine brands. The most expensive one is 4,000 birr per bottle and a bottle of Ethiopian wine is sold for 180 birr. In most supermarkets in Addis Acacia Wine sells for 185 birr, Rift Valley for 210 birr and Gebeta sells for for 210 birr. In liquor stores the price of Acacia and Rift Valley is 175 birr with low-end joints selling it for 140 birr.



Having lived most of her life in England, Firehiwot says that the wine culture in London is vibrant. She says that starting from the ancient times wine has been used as a medicine to treat diseases including cancer.



Founded in 2011, her place is now gaining popularity. She says that there are challenges when customers ask for whiskey, vodka or beer. “People complained on the exclusivity of wine,” she told The Reporter. In order to create the wine culture they started having events such as painting exhibitions and music concerts. In addition to that, promotional works were done by Awash and Castle and that helped the demand to grow.



Most of her customers want sweet wine but she says that wine depends on the diet and situation. For digestion and meat red wine is recommended whereas if people are eating seafood or pasta sipping white wine has a relaxing mood. She also recommends that a glass of cold white wine after lunch is good and has a cooling effect if the weather is hot. Though most people refrain from drinking during daytime, for Firehiwot one glass after lunch is ok. “It does not have any danger; only benefits,” she says.



Looking at the demand she opened a new place named Premier Addis. The place is a wine and pizza joint around summit area.

With the growing local demand and favorable climate the wine industry is attracting investors. Castel Winery, which includes a string of Bordeaux Cru Bourgeois in its portfolio, is the latest entrant. The winery is located in the town of Ziway, some 164km south of Addis Ababa covering some 120 hectares. Castel Vineyards was established in 2007 as a partnership between the Ethiopian government and the Castel Group.



Weiss stresses that the demand is increasing and when they started they sold 6.1 million liters annually and now they are targeting nine million liters.



Awash’s vineyard is located in Merti Jeju of the Oromia Regional State. It is from there that the grapes are brought to their two wineries at Lideta and Mekanissa. After it was privatized the major change, according to Weiss, is investing in technological innovation and hiring expertise.



Henock Belay, a winemaker for the past 15 years, says that wine making is a blend of art and science which strongly needs an individual creativity and innovative technology. Henock says that the wine production starts with the selection of grapes which he stresses should be done cautiously.



According to Henock the wine passes through various processes including crushing and fermentation. Grape clusters are added to crusher/destemmer—a machine that squeezes the berries and breaks the skins, removing the grapes from rachis. Henock says that this process is crucial in deciding red and white wine making. He says that the color of the wine depends on the skins of the berries. Apart from the color this is the situation which determines the dryness or sweetness of the wine which is dependent on the seed. After that it passes a stage of pressing which separates the juice from grapes and grape skins.



Henock says that every stage has its own duration which might take a couple of weeks. The art or what make a good winemaker is in deciding the duration and also in choosing the processes it should pass through. After that the aging process starts. For Awash the maximum aging is one year for Gebeta Premium but the average aging for Awash’s products is eight months. Wine aging in many countries is longer but Henock says it is not economically viable for Ethiopia. “We want the containers to do the second cycle. If we age it more the expense we incur would increase and that will make the wine more expensive,” Henock says.



All over the world grapes are affected by disease and affected by change of weather. “Climate change all over the world is a major issue and that impacts our harvest. That is a challenge,” Weiss says.



Though there are challenges, she says the government is working in early warning system which would resolve the situation. The other challenge is accessing foreign currency.