Hardy McQueen, a chef turned wine negociant founded Nice Beverage Co in July 2020, during an especially turbulent time in the South African wine scene. Although the global pandemic froze wine sales throughout the country, it provided an opportunity to reshape the white, male, and wealthy narrative that has long defined the world’s largest producer of Chenin.

As such, Nice Beverage Co has been designed from the ground up to uplift and give space to emerging wine talents, especially those of women, black winemakers, and those traditionally excluded from winemaking spaces. Today, all of the winemakers in the Nice Beverage co. come from marginalized communities in South Africa, fresh with the desire to prove their talents to the world.

There’s no house style for the winemakers, other than a general enthusiasm for lower intervention winemaking – only natural yeasts are used, for example – and championing the diverse terroir of South Africa. In addition, Nice Beverage Co prides itself on making the kind of wines that the winemakers themselves want to drink – no overclocked pinotage or blousy chenin, but fresh, lively wines that seem to, almost magically, empty themselves into your glass. We’re so proud to work with Hardy and his team, and can’t wait to show you all a new side of South African wine.