CORKSCREW CHRONICLES: Winemaker leading Nigeria's quality revolution

Wine has such a universal appeal that someday soon you might have the opportunity to sample products from the African state of Nigeria. Johnson Oduwole had a successful career as an electronic-mechanical engineer, with experience in physical distribution and marketing. Oduwole is a seasoned travel writer and wine educator. In 2021, his interest turned to agriculture. He currently grows bananas, potatoes, corn, yams, cassava, peppers and other vegetables on his farm and has developed a burning passion for grape growing and winemaking. In his younger days, he had been employed in Spain in Barcelona and the province of Catalonia as a vineyard worker and a cellar rat (the people who perform all the cellar operations in a winery), honing his winemaking skills with hands-on experience. A member of the Wine Educators Association of Nigeria, Oduwole has established a new vineyard in a mesoclimate coastal region of a Rock District in Oru Ijebu , Ogun State, Nigeria. This region is in a zone 10 growing region (very warm), similar to viticultural regions in Southern Brazil, and is located just north of the equator. The grape growing and winemaking landscape in Nigeria is currently barren. Wines are imported from the old world countries of France, Germany and Italy, with products available from Spain and South Africa. There are seemingly no potential producers seeking to be the first to build a wine reputation for Nigeria. Oduwole is trying to build a singular business, promoting wine culture, grape growing and local wine production. Oduwole began working on the challenges of growing grapes in the tropics in 2015, identifying varietals that are adaptable to his region's extreme climactic conditions. He is continuing his quest to find grapes that will thrive in his local environment and produce quality wine. He has established a vineyard and has set aside land to experiment with warm climate grape varietals to experience firsthand those that will be successful. Currently, youthful merlot, grenache, mourvedre and chardonnay vines are growing in his hillside vineyard while he sources other varietals to plant for growing and production trials. He also has hopes of developing some hybrids that will do well in Nigeria, and currently has a few grape species crossings that are showing success. Growing anything in Nigeria is not as simple as it sounds. There are venomous vipers and cobras and nonvenomous pythons that may be encountered in the fields, requiring a sidearm to constantly be carried for safety. Nigerian agriculture is certainly not for the faint of heart. To financially sustain his enterprises and his vineyard, winery and laboratory, Oduwole is also building a tasting room. He plans on sourcing wines, beers and spirits available in his region to sell by the glass on-premises and by the bottle for carryout. Through trial and awareness focused on premium wines, his goal is to build a clientele of appreciative wine lovers. As a wine educator, Oduwole plans to teach classes to educate his consumers and build their knowledge, appreciation and demand of finer wines. Another part of his focus is to offer a college within his facility for training young producers to make licensed beverages. Situated three miles from the nearest town makes this dream easily accessible to those who might want to study at his school. While building his production facility, Oduwole is including experimenting with a corn-based spirit which he sources from local distilleries and ages with oak chips for one year to offer it round, mellow flavors. He has plans for his own rooftop distillery in the future. I wish Oduwole's dream success and salute his indefatigable energy! Gary Twining is a certified wine educator who worked 34 years in the wholesale fine wine industry. Email him at winingwithtwining@hotmail.com.