This month we are acquainting ourselves with the person on the farm who – apart from the winemaker – probably has a hand on every bottle of wine produced: the logistics and warehouse manager. Adéle Basson became a part of the Oldenburg Vineyards team on the 1st of June this year, and stepped into a key role: managing the intricacies of our warehouse and taking care of the logistics around moving our wines – across the country and all over the world.
Born and bred in Bellville, Adéle still resides a mere 10km from her parental home. She followed in her dad’s footsteps by studying accounting but decided to double up and also complete a journalism qualification as she was not finding enjoyment in the accounting side of things.
She secured a bursary for her studies from one of South Africa’s largest FMCG companies, and after completing her degree she had the opportunity to join the Nederburg team as a financial controller. This job brought her into contact with wine for the first time when she was invited to taste the wines in the tasting room. After her first tasting, she was asked which of the wines was her favourite, to which she replied: “The sweet one”. To which the tasting room assistant replied, “We’ll set you right”.
Since then, Adéle’s interest in wine has grown, and she is particularly passionate about food and wine pairings. Her transition from accounting to logistics resulted from moving between various farms within a larger company. At one point, she found herself at a farm that had no logistics or export support structure and she was offered the opportunity to learn a new role – and the rest, as they say, is history.
Two years ago she booked a tasting for herself at Oldenburg Vineyards, and enjoyed what she calls the single best wine tasting experience she’s had in her life. She had always heard positive things about Oldenburg Vineyards, but after spending a few hours with Petronella, she fell in love with the farm. She promptly cancelled the other wine tastings she had planned for the rest of the day, as she felt nothing would match the Oldenburg experience. Nearly two years after her visit, a position opened, and everything fell into place.
A typical day in the warehouse is always busy, from labelling and packing to ensuring exports are taken care of, including adhering to all the international requirements. Orders are received through various channels from across the country and around the world. The warehouse is responsible for ensuring that these orders are delivered to their destinations in excellent condition. She loves working in the warehouse because she can see the pride every colleague takes in their work, and she and her store assistant take quality control very seriously.
In her free time Adéle loves music (she even plays a few instruments – drums, keyboard and guitar), she writes short stories and blog pieces and loves cooking and hosting her friends. Growth, she says, is achieved through doing new things so she’s always challenging herself to venture outside her comfort zone by signing up for new activities or volunteering to do things unfamiliar to her.
Her favourite Oldenburg Vineyards wine? As a red wine drinker, her favourite choice is Syrah. Looks like they ‘set her right’ in the end.
