In partnership with Africare
IMPORTING FINE WINE, EXPORTING GOOD WILL
In 1994, President Nelson Mandela invited the world to embrace the New South Africa. I traveled there soon after and fell in love with a land and people uplifted by truth and reconciliation. I discovered a 350-year old winemaking history (the eighth largest wine-producing country in the world), steeped in cultural diversity (eleven official languages), in one of the most significant biodynamic plant kingdoms in the world (the Cape Floral Kingdom).
I also witnessed one of the world’s largest humanitarian health crises unfolding in front of me: the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Although South Africa’s wine exports to the US grew 366% from 2001 to 2005, the number of AIDS orphans reached 1.2 Million and the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in pregnant women topped 30%. I believe profound experiences create life passions. My experiences in South Africa have given my life depth and structure. My wines are a personal initiative to have a conversation with you about Africa.
Each bottle, then, is an envoy of good wine and goodwill, bringing awareness of both the immediate delight and the ongoing disaster shaping Africa today. I believe that socially-conscious initiatives in for-profit companies foster positive change. Through Bob’s AFRICAN fine wines, I am giving back to the people and country which have given me so much.
Ten percent of BOB'S AFRICAN import sales benefits nonprofit international aid agencies fighting the pandemic in Africa. The company also funds a scholarship
program for a U.S. volunteer aid worker in South Africa. In 2007, Kendra Crump of Portland, Oregon began a year working at an orphanage and community center in Kwa-Zulu Natal.