It’s a question we’re answering all the time, at wine tastings and trade shows across the U.S., and even in personal conversations with our friends and family:
“What does Sebeka® mean, anyway?”
The name for Sebeka Wines (pronounced Se-BEEK-ah) was inspired by the work of Lente Roode. Roode is a wildlife conservationist whom we had the pleasure of meeting in 2006 while on a trip to South Africa to meet with our winery partner in Swartland. Her passion for animals and the African bushveld began in her childhood on her father’s farm, where she was gifted an orphaned cheetah cub to care for. Roode named this cheetah Sebeka, and has since dedicated her life’s work to the preservation of these magnificent creatures through the establishment of the Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre (HESC). To learn more about Lente’s work or make a donation, please click here.
We found it fitting to name our wines after Roode’s Sebeka because the South African cheetah, racing at full speed across the bright sunburnt plain, is an incredibly thrilling sight that few people have the good fortune of witnessing. Through its distinct wine style and little-known varietals like our Pinotage blends and “Steen”, Sebeka Wines aim to share with wine lovers the same sentiment of awe and excitement that one experiences when in the presence of a cheetah’s speed and prowess. The cheetah’s powerful grace is unparalleled, and our South African winemaker Andries Blake strives to evoke the same essence in the crafting of Sebeka Wines – bold, elegant, exotic… and perhaps even a little racy.
