A stop at Ethiopia’s Castel Winery

I never imagined that Ethiopia produced wine until I arrived jet lag and weary at my hotel in Addis Ababa, went to the bar and ordered a drink. “Do you prefer red or white?” the gregarious bartender asked with a smile. “What do you have” I replied, being kind of a wine connoisseur. He rattled off the different wines starting with South Africa and then asked if I’d like to try an Ethiopian wine. Ethiopian wine? I was shocked. “Is it good?” I questioned trying not to sound like a wine snob. “Try for yourself” he replied with a knowing grin. I began with a glass of dry white wine and proceeded on to a delightful glass of smooth red. It was delicious! This would become my five o’clock ritual for the next two weeks in Ethiopia; a ritual I dearly miss since being back home where I have yet to find a bottle of Ethiopian wine.

Ethiopia’s climate and topography are prefect for making wine especially in the Rift Valley where the climate is mild with a fair amount of sunshine and adequate amount of rain for growing grapes. Although wine had been produced in Ethiopia since World War II, the Ethiopian wine industry has never been that well known and most of the grapes were grown near the nation’s capital. In 2007, French beverage giant Castel saw the potential for growing grapes and producing wine in the Rift Valley and opened the Castel Winery near the town of Ziway about 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of Addis Ababa. Ethiopia’s wine industry was about to change along with the image of Ethiopia itself.

Castel brought in their own grapes from Bordeaux planting 750,000 vines over 125 hectares for their varieties of Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay grapes. Per a recent article in the Guardian, “First Bottles of Ethiopian Wine Produced by French firm Castel“, the first production of 1.2 million bottles of Rift Valley wine has been completed. Half of the production is intended for export, and Castel plans to double production over the coming years hoping to compete with and rival South African wines.