by Thinus Ferreira
The People's Planet (Openview 115) channel has added a new 4-episode series, A Journey of Firsts: From Soweto to Stellies, with the Soweto influencer Mpho (Arthur) Magadze, known as Soweto Hippie, exploring the wine culture of the Cape.
A Journey of Firsts: from Soweto to Stellies, that started 25 November, was produced by Chen Swan and Walla Films for Delheim Estate in Stellenbosch.
It follows Arthur Magadze's one-week experience on a South African wine estate as he spends time immersing himself in the wine and wine-farm activities on Delheim
Estate in Stellenbosch, while also taking in the broader Cape lifestyle.
The informative and entertaining series of four half-hour episodes focuses on his immersion into the Cape’s wine culture and its people, the natural
beauty of one of South Africa’s
leading estates, and the magical processes behind ripening grapes and
making wine.
"Making
this series saw me flying in an aeroplane for the first time and a
first visit to the Cape, a cool place I had dreamed of seeing for as
long as I can remember,”
says Arthur.
"Stellie's
side is too different from Joho. The guys from Delheim put me on – I
was there to sip. It was so great to learn more about wine culture, not
just the consumption
side. I learned so much! The best was to learn that nobody is wrong – I
could enjoy wine the way I experience it."
"I
will never take another bottle of wine for granted after experiencing
what it takes to make one, and I have been sharing my experiences and
stories with my community
and friends ever since returning to Soweto. This one is definitely for
the books. Now I will put people on about wine making and culture."
A Journey of Firsts was filmed at the start of Delheim’s 2025 harvest season and Arthur was taken under the wings of
Delheim directors Victor Sperling and Nora Thiel - the estate’s second-generation custodians - as well as the Delheim team.
From
selecting harvest-ready grapes to discovering the intricacies of cellar
work, the secrets of wine tasting, and enthralling stories from
Delheim’s pioneering wine history,
the series provides a compelling behind-the-scenes view of life on a
leading Cape wine farm beneath Stellenbosch’s majestic Simonsberg.
"What I'm saying is, once
A Journey of Firsts rolls, pour a glass of Delheim wine, kick
back and check out the Soweto Hippie doing wine. You’ll love this
journey as much as I did."
