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MARYANNE NJOROGE
THE REAL
WINE CHICKS
OF NAIROBI
The association between women
and wine tends to conjure up
images reminiscent of the fun
and fabulous scenes in Sex And
The City.
Although that may sometimes be
spot on, in the unforgiving world
of wine sales and distribution
in Kenya glamour often takes a
back seat. Meet the ladies who—
through rain and shine—are largely to thank for the blossoming
wine culture in the country.
Kalika Ruparelia
MIA Wines
Kalika landed up in wine after
completing her studies in Chartered
Accountancy. She decided to try her
hand in the wine industry instead of
going into Accounting full time and
has never looked back since.
Dry or sweet?
Depends on the food…….drier wines
with more savoury dishes, and sweet
wines either on their own or with
well made desserts
Stemmed glass or wine tumbler?
Wine tumbler, I find the warmth
from my hands warms up the wine
slightly allowing me to enjoy the different aromas of the wine.
Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc?
Sauvignon Blanc from South Africa,
Chardonnay from France.
Young or old?
Every day drinking young wine. For
special occasions- older wine.
What makes MIA unique?
MIA Wines is unique in that apart
from being the home of a some major wine brands like Mara Wines and
Robertson winery , we have a variety
of 170 different wines and champagnes. As I personally meet the
wine makers and the farmers before
importing the wines, I am proud to
say that each wine has a story.
What is the story of Mara wine?
Mara Wines was conceived in 2006.
After much deliberation with French
viticulturalists, we decided that
South Africa would be the ideal location to grow wine grapes successfully. We are produced exclusively
by 2 farms in South Africa allowing
us to control the quality of the fruit
we use.
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