NOT many people live in the place that holds all their childhood memories. Nikki Friedman, MD of Môreson Family Winery in Franschhoek, says she is lucky to be one of them.
"Now is a nostalgic time for me," she says. "I have three-year-old twins. And watching them at an age when I was first introduced to this place makes me understand why I love it as much as I do."
This almost didn’t happen. About five years ago, a change in management nearly resulted in her family losing the farm. After a conversation with her parents and three siblings, it was decided she’d take over.
"I’d never run a farm," Friedman laughs. "Yes, I grew up on a farm. Yes, I loved farming and I’d been at the dinner table when farming or business was being discussed. But could I do it?"
At the time, Friedman ran her own company as a copywriter, building stories for luxury brands. Those skills are needed in her new role.
"One of my biggest disappointments when working on other people’s brands was the dilution of a concept," she says. "I had these amazing ideas, but the brand wouldn’t have the guts to implement. And if a brand refuses to be brave, then passé is passé."
Things are different now. Managing the day-to-day operations at Môreson makes her a custodian of the brand.
While she doesn’t get it right all the time, she likes the fact that she’s accountable for her decisions.
"The wine industry is competitive," Friedman says. "You’ve got to get people to drink the Kool-Aid and fall in love. You’ve got to get every single person who visits to be a brand ambassador. So it’s about maintaining the experience, story, and authenticity of Môreson."
Although she believes they’ve found a "charming niche", trying to create and curate a special experience that captivates people isn’t easy. Running a family-owned farm, where the business has to be profitable with a limited budget, can be stressful. It helps that she’s dealt with similar challenges.
"If you’re in the same role, there’s a repetition of the big events that stress you out, whether it’s having to retrench somebody or having those uncomfortable conversations with people," she says. "When I started, these things were huge stress points for me; they still are. But I’ve dealt with them before."
She’s learnt that most stress is created in a "freak-out" about a situation.
She’s also learnt to talk herself down off the ledge and to surround herself with people who don’t feed the frenzy.
"I’ve got a few friends who, when I tell them about something, leave me feeling more anxious than before," she says. "And I’ve got other friends who, when I say what’s stressing me out, say three things that make me feel so stupid to even worry."
Friedman also considers herself lucky to have a strong support structure to help raise her twins. Even though she works only 50m from her home, she believes a work-life balance can be an insurmountable challenge.
"We grew up in households where it was possible to have a stay-at-home mom," she says. "But that’s not possible for most families today because you need the dual income.
"Some days I’m a 70% great businesswoman and a 30% great mom. Other days, I’m a 90% great mom and a 10% great businesswoman.
"The hardest thing is being okay with that.
"There’s this immense pressure to be tougher and meaner, but I think that a lot of a woman’s power is in her grace and her femininity. It’s not to say that a woman running a wine farm is better than a man: it’s just a different experience. And it’s okay to create those more nurturing environments."
Although she considers herself a perfectionist, Friedman loves that she gets to walk around her family’s farm instead of being chained to a desk. She sees her position as stimulating and inspiring.
"If you’re in one place all the time, you can see it in your work," she says. "And if you put any creativity out into the world, it’s so easy to forget to nourish it. You just don’t feel like you’re feeding it. You wake up, you’re busy, and sometimes you get to the end of the week wondering what you’ve accomplished. And even if you finish everything you have to do, you’ll get in on Monday and still have more."
Friedman considers herself a custodian — the third in her family — of the Môreson brand. She thinks her son is already keen to be a farmer, but she acknowledges that she may just be projecting, as a parent does. "As humans we always search for links and patterns and stories to help us. It makes life seems valuable and gives it a lot of meaning.
"So, this for me is one of those," Friedman adds.
"I’ve got this great story and I get to relive it. It’s romantic and I’m loving it."
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