Wine, women & wealth – a winning trifecta

As with all good stories, this one started with a glass of Champagne.

Wait, let’s take a step back. It all started with an invite. An invite to join Jenny Crwys-Williams for an evening of conversation around some of her favourite things – books, wine, and believe it or not, investing! The invite went on to read “It’s going to be a very casual evening. Just us in a wine cellar with plenty to eat, drink and talk about. We’ll also be joined by a surprise author who I’ll be chatting to over wine (naturally.)” We were sold.

*cue the Champagne*

We arrived at one of our favourite spots in Jhb, Great Domaines (who happen to be really good friends of CN&CO, and importers of really great wine) where we were welcomed by a glass of bubbly, incredibly delicious snacks, and friendly faces all around. The intimate setting proved to be ideal for what would be a beautiful evening talking wine, wealth and a phenomenal female author.

Things kicked off with a welcome by Jenny who touched on what we could expect as the evening progressed. Next up, a wine tasting of four different wines from the Swartland (one of Jenny’s favourite wine regions in SA) presented by Derek Kilpin from Great Domaines. It was amazing to hear about the talented wine makers that have come out of South Africa, and who are successfully competing on a global scale with some of the world’s best.

The transition from talking wine, to talking wealth, was seemless. Romi Appel, Brand Manager of EasyEquities (one of our clients under the Purple Group banner) delved into the importance and value of investing – of the easy kind. Attendees were intrigued as Romi went on to explain how navigation of www.easyequities.co.za is as easy as Facebook; purchasing and selling shares is as effortless a process as using Amazon; and the entire experience is as smooth and simple as using Uber. It’s scary to think that less than 0.5% of South Africans invest on the stock exchange – and that’s something EasyEquities is on a mission to change. We’re excited to be on board with them for that adventure.

That was wine and wealth, done.

The evening ended with a surprise visit from Cynthia Jele, author of Happiness is a Four-Letter Word. Cynthia was the winner in the film category of the 2011 M-Net Literary Awards; and winner of the Commonwealth Writer’s Prize 2011: Best First Book, Africa region. In addition to these accolades, Cynthia’s book is being made into a feature film – which is a great feat for any South African writer. Talk about girl-power!

We all sat and listened intently as Jenny chatted to Cynthia about the inspiration behind the book, her journey as a writer, and what we can expect from the film (which has just wrapped up shooting.) We’re counting down to its February 2016 release…

And that was that – an evening of wine, women and wealth. Not a bad way to end a Wednesday if we do say so ourselves.

Follow @JCWLife @JeleCynthia @GreatDomaines @EasyEquities @Romi_Appel @GabbiBrondani