Wine that Gives Back

In 2014, while living in South Africa as exchange students, American friends Charlie Brain and Walker Brown set off on a 20 hour bus ride along South Africa’s southern coast en route to the Wild Coast, a remote part of the country, for a week-long backpacking expedition. On their second day, a wandering dog the locals called ‘LUBANZI’ began following them on the adventure. He stuck with the boys throughout the journey – for 6 days & 100 miles – until he disappeared in the middle of the night before their final morning. They thought, “There’s some poetic justice in that.”

The friends officially moved to South Africa in 2016, with the aim of establishing a young, innovative, forward-thinking and socially responsible wine company built on the concepts of collaboration & exploration, with a ‘locally run, globally minded’ mantra. Charlie and Walker became enamored with the idea of a more complete and equitable supply chain, and so partnered with The Pebbles Project, a non-profit that provides health & education resources directly back to the families who live and work on South Africa’s wine farms. They continued to discover more ways to deliver on the promise to be social & environmentally responsible – becoming a certified B Corp, shifting all farming to fair trade & sustainable, becoming carbon neutral, donating 1% of sales back to local environmental non-profits, and more.

“The Pebbles Project” Bus
Image courtesy of Lubanzi

Serendipity is honored to help expand the reach of these incredible, socially-conscious wines. All Lubanzi’s offerings, while relatively new, have been received with great critical acclaim. We are excited to announce that Lubanzi is now available in California! Want to get your hands on these highly sought-after bottles + cans? Check out the full lineup, then fill out the contact form below!