Founded in 2016 by Ntsiki Biyela, Aslina Wines was inspired by the strength and determination of her grandmother, Aslina, who was the guiding light in her life. Ntsiki grew up in Mahlabathini, a rural village in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, and matriculated from high school in 1996. Having spent a year as a domestic worker, she was awarded a scholarship to study winemaking at Stellenbosch University in 1999. She graduated in 2003 with a BSc in Agriculture (Viticulture and Oenology) and joined boutique winery Stellekaya as their winemaker the following year.

Ntsiki’s ambition to create her own wines grew following a collaboration with Californian winemaker Helen Kiplinger. Her winemaking philosophy drew upon earlier experiences of harvest in Tuscany and Bordeaux, where she discovered a close affinity with nature that rekindled her own deep connection with the soil growing up in KwaZulu-Natal.

At the prestigious 2021 Wine Harvest Commemorative Event, Ntsiki received the Diversity and Transformation Award for her pioneering work in the industry in South Africa. Ntsiki was voted Woman Winemaker of the Year in 2009 and has been the finalist for two consecutive years for The Most Influential Women in Business and Government. In 2017, she was listed in the world’s top 10 most Innovative Women in Food and Drink by Fortune’s Food & Wine.