A Kenyan who took her Wine-Making skills to California

​It is not often that someone goes abroad for studies and makes a detour to winemaking. It is even more uncommon that one would do so in a part of the world where less than one percent of wineries is owned by black people. Yet it is a gamble that Chris Wachira, the founder and CEO of California-based Wachira Wines, was willing to make.
Born and raised in Kenya, Wachira went to the US in the 1990s to study nursing, staying on to undertake her Master’s in public policy and later a doctorate.
When she started Wachira Wines in Eat Bay, California, the first Kenyan-American winery in the US, in 2017, it was unexpected but a desired direction in her professional life. The entry was tough, the investment substantially high. Then there was the initial scepticism.

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​After five years in the industry, the importance of branding has been one of her biggest lessons.
“People connect [with a product] visually before they taste it. If I do not like what I see, I won’t pick it up to taste it.”
There is also having a storyline that goes with the brand. “This makes it personable and relatable to people. Wine is as individualistic as the person who makes it.”
For her, telling the story of her brand is to tell the story of her Kenyan and African heritage as well. Nothing tells the story of her heritage better than the packaging that features one of the Big Five animals of Kenyan safari on each bottle.
“Each of the wines matches the characteristics of the animal depicted in its flavour profiles. The lion, for instance, which is the symbol of our sparkling wine, can start and end any party. A lion is commanding.”
She says this wine variety pairs well with lemon cake. ‘‘My mother makes lemon cake today as she has done since I was a little girl.”
Where she has failed, Wachira has taken it as part of the learning curve. Her debut production, for instance, was a disaster and never saw the market. With time, her craft has only gotten better.
On how far is she is from actualising her dream, Wachira says: “Some people have been making wine for generations. After only six years, we are still a baby that is still learning to crawl.”
Source: Daily Nation lifestyle.