A Wine Label From the Mandela Family

House of Mandela brings pride in the farming heritage of South Africa to wine making.

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Makaziwe (left) and Tukwini Mandela

Makaziwe and Tukwini Mandela bring to their new wine business one of the most revered names in the world. "Yes, my father is a great person," says Makaziwe Mandela. "But this is not about Nelson Mandela."

Makaziwe Mandela is the eldest daughter of the Nobel Peace Prize winner and former South African President. Tukwini is her daughter. House of Mandela, which launched in South Africa in July, is a negociant; the company sources grapes from several growers, blends them, and markets them under its own label. Its first three offerings -- a Chardonnay, a Cabernet Sauvignon, and a Shiraz -- should be available in the U.S. sometime next year.

Makaziwe Mandela, who five years ago started a business to broker mineral resources, got the idea for House of Mandela from a Norwegian friend who pointed out that "there are no prominent wine brands from South Africa," she says. House of Mandela is one of only a tiny number of black-owned businesses in the country's $3 billion wine industry.

The brand, Makaziwe says, reflects her pride in her farming heritage, which she traces back to the founding of the Madiba clan in the early 1800s. "The traditions and values -- such as courage and compassion -- that shaped my father shaped all of us," she says.

Leigh Buchanan is an editor at large for Inc. Magazine. A former editor at Harvard Business Review and founding editor of WebMaster magazine, she writes regular columns on leadership and workplace culture. @LeighEBuchanan