Ntsiki Biyela never set out to become a winemaker.

Raised by her grandmother in rural KwaZulu-Natal, wine was not part of her world. After matric, a year working as a domestic worker in Durban was followed by an unexpected opportunity: a scholarship to study viticulture and oenology at Stellenbosch. She had never tasted wine.

That journey would lead to becoming South Africa’s first Black female winemaker, 13 years at Stellekaya Wines and, eventually, the decision to leave employment and build Aslina Wines, named after the grandmother who raised her.

In this episode of #ShiftHappens, Richard Sutton speaks to Ntsiki about the moments that changed the direction of her life, the culture shock of arriving in Stellenbosch, finding her place in an industry she initially knew almost nothing about, and taking the risk of building something of her own.

It is a conversation about opportunity, resilience, identity, leadership and the shifts that can happen when where you start does not determine where you end up.