Ntsiki Biyela, winemaker at Stellekaya in Stellenbosch was crowned SA Woman Winemaker of the Year 2009 in Somerset West at the Lord Charles Hotel on Thursday 30th of July.

Ntsiki beat 64 wine entries from 28 woman winemakers across South Africa in this year’s competition, which is sponsored by Landbouweekblad, the country’s leading agriculture and agri-business publication. The competition took place for the sixth time this year.

Nontsikelelo, or Ntsiki as she is fondly known, was born and raised in the rural village of Ulundi in Kwa-Zulu Natal. She matriculated from Mahlabathini High School in 1996 where she excelled in science. Ntsiki had high hopes to study engineering, but did not have the funding for full-timne study. Not deterred and determined to save money to pay for her studies, she started off working as a domestic worker. Coincidently her uncle introduced her to winemaker Jabulani Ntshangase, who assisted Ntsiki in applying for an SAA scholarship. Ntsiki was chosen as one of ten black students to pursue a bursary program to study winemaking at Stellenbosch.

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Six dynamic winemakers are through to the final round of this year's Landbouweekblad Woman Winemaker of the Year Award. South Africa's only competition for woman winemakers, now in it's sixth year, are sponsored by leading South African agricultural magazine, Landbouweekblad.

This year's competition saw 64 entries from 28 winemakers across the country. According to Lorraine Immelman-Steyn, organiser of this competition, the growing entries shows that women are now firmly settled into and impressing in the wine industry. “Not only in South Africa, but also in other parts of the wine world there are an increasing number of women entering the wine industry,” she said. “Across the world there is a growing awareness of woman winemakers, even through similar international competitions. Just think about the National Woman's Wine Competition, as well as the Women Winemakers Challenge.”

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After a blind tasting of 64 wines, entered by 28 entrants, our six finalists are:

1. Danelle van Rensburg, Van Loveren Vineyards
2. Corrien Geleijnse, Swartland Winery
3. Carmen Stevens, Amani Vineyards
4. Ntsiki Biyela, Stellakaya Wines
5. Corlea Fourie, Bosman Family Vineyards
6. Nomonde Kubheka, KWV

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This competition has always evoked some emotional responses and comes with it's fair share of controversy: why an award for a woman winemaker? Should she not compete on equal footing with her male colleagues?