They exist to bring two worlds together, craft great wine, share adventures & make a difference. It's about what lubanzi have in common.

Story

Cape Ventura is a South African wine start-up devoted to bringing incredible South African to the US market that punches far above its weight & creating a difference in the lives of labourers who live & work on South Africa’s wine farms in the process. Cape Venture wine is hand crafted by some of South Africa’s most prolific winemakers, sourced from some South Africa’s best wine regions & designed by some of South Africa’s most unique designers. 'LUBANZI' is the name of their flagship brand.

 

It was started in 2014, as two friends searching for an opportunity to make a difference in the world.

In 2014, while living in South Africa as exchange students, they set off on a 20 hour bus ride along South Africa's southern coast en route to the wild coast, a remote part of the country - famously the birthplace of nelson mandela - for a week long backpacking expedition. On second day, a wandering dog the locals called 'LUBANZI'  began following them on their adventure. He stuck with ‘em throughout their journey - for 6 days & 100 miles - until he disappeared in the middle of the night before their final morning. There's some poetic justice in that.

In the spirit of this adventure they returned to South Africa in 2016  endeavouring to launch a business that would connect people back home in America with a country and a people they had both been so struck by, and deliver some seriously top notch wines in the process. Together, they spent months in South Africa sourcing and developing their wine; they met with over 40 producers, ranging from small family run farms to large co-ops (independent growers banding together across huge regions), to wine negotiants and independent winemakers to source wine that could be part of what they were trying to build: a young, innovative, and socially responsible wine brand built on the concepts of collaboration & exploration, with a 'locally run, globally minded' mantra. They found those partners in their winemakers, Trizanne Barnard & Bruce Jack, & their designers, Fanakalo, who became friends and collaborators, and who have helped bring 'LUBANZI' to life.

 

Named for a wandering dog who led 'em 6 days & 100 miles hiking across South Africa’s wild coast, Lubanzi Wines is the product of some amazing travels throughout South Africa and an inclination to do some good in the world. The project is a collaboration between two young American travelers and a consortium of winemakers, farm laborers, and humanitarians in South Africa. With roots in adventure and global citizenship, Lubanzi operates as a social enterprise bringing the wines of South Africa directly to the American table & trying to build relationships, inspire community, and improve the world along the way.

Lubanzi believe that people should be in touch with what they consume. They should be conscious of the origins of products and understand their impact on the world from farm to table. They started Cape Venture Wine Co. & Lubanzi not only to share the beauty of South Africa and its wine & make a difference in the lives of those who live and work on South Africa's wine farms, but also, to make Lubanzi world more globally conscious - connecting their consumers with the people 10,000 miles away whose very hands cultivate wine. They strive to always be optimistic about the future and transparent in the way they conduct themselves. 'LUBANZI' hope every consumer feels connected to South Africa through each and every bottle of their wine they purchase.