A toast to South Africa’s black middle class

In the summer of 2005, South Africa–based entrepreneur Marilyn Cooper decided to give her neighbors in a suburb of the capital, Pretoria, a barbecue treat. Alluding to the inscription on her drinking glasses, “Soweto Beer Festival,” she asked her guests, “Why can’t we have a Soweto wine festival?” The economic situation was just right for such a celebration, she felt, as many residents of Soweto, a predominantly black township in Johannesburg, were already showing flashes of middle class life: buying new cars, modern electronics, mobile phones, designer dresses and houses. And they appeared to love a good wine.