Naretha Ricome lives between two wine worlds. One week she’s in the boardrooms of southern France, helping steer strategy for one of the country’s biggest wine groups, AdVini; the next she is in Stellenbosch, tasting chenin blanc, walking vineyards and talking terroir with local winemakers. For the past 16 years, she has built a career — and a portfolio — with one foot in France and the other firmly in South Africa.
As vice-president of AdVini South Africa, Ricome has helped transform a struggling estate employing just 11 people into a portfolio that includes L’Avenir, Kleine Zalze, Ken Forrester, Le Bonheur and Stellenbosch Vineyards. Today, the South African division of the group employs more than 230 people and is still growing.
“It was really just about being in the right place at the right time,” she tells the FM.
Yet timing alone is not the full story.
Ricome (née Smit) grew up in Pretoria. She was awarded a bursary to attend high school on Réunion Island, where she was immersed in French language and culture. That shaped her career. “My father simply said: ‘Go.’ Every job I’ve had since has been because I could speak French.”
She later studied political science and economics at Stellenbosch University, expecting a future in diplomacy and travel. She worked part-time on wine estates such as L’Avenir to pay for her studies.
Ricome spent about four years “flying the world and growing through multicultural teamwork” as an Emirates flight attendant.
After completing a master’s degree in France, she settled in the Rhône Valley. She joined AdVini, eventually working at one of the company’s flagship estates, Clos de l’Oratoire des Papes, in Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
Everything changed when AdVini acquired Laroche, a chablis producer that unexpectedly included two overseas wineries — one in Chile and L’Avenir in Stellenbosch. The intention was to stabilise these businesses before selling them.
But Ricome had other ideas. Having known L’Avenir during her student years, she believed the estate deserved a future. “I said: ‘Give it to me. I’m South African. I’ll fix it.’”
Within a year, L’Avenir was profitable. More importantly, AdVini’s leadership, including its board chair, Antoine Leccia, came to appreciate South Africa’s exceptional wine potential and Stellenbosch’s unique terroir.
Ricome had come full circle, and the estate was never sold. Instead, AdVini expanded its investment.
Ricome believes the reason for success is that rather than imposing French systems or identities, AdVini invested in local leadership while preserving the unique character of each winery. The company contributed capital, international distribution and commercial expertise while allowing each estate to remain authentically South African. That philosophy also shaped Ricome’s leadership.
For years she travelled constantly between France and South Africa. Today, with an experienced local management team in place, she visits every few months while maintaining close relationships with AdVini’s shareholders and leadership in France.
Her role has evolved from managing operations to connecting two cultures, helping both sides understand each other’s strengths and opportunities. She now performs that role at a time when the global wine industry faces significant challenges. Declining consumption, climate change, rising costs and changing consumer preferences have forced producers worldwide to rethink their strategies.
Ricome attributes AdVini’s continued profitability to disciplined investment, strong brands, international market access and a commitment to building value rather than competing on price alone.
She is passionate about “pushing for the value our [South African] wines deserve”, she says.
Despite her executive title, Ricome speaks less about corporate success than about people, trust and opportunity. She credits AdVini for respecting local expertise and creating an environment in which talented people can grow.
Her own career is an example of that philosophy. In an industry where senior leadership has traditionally been dominated by men and those with technical winemaking backgrounds, Ricome built her career through commercial insight, strategic thinking and an ability to connect people across cultures.
For years she worried that the business depended too heavily on her. Now that there is a strong local leadership team carrying the vision forward, she can relax.
“We’ve built something sustainable.”
Ricome’s husband, Nicolas, is co-owner of Château de Valcombe in the Costières de Nîmes region. Their son, Maxime, 12, speaks fluent Afrikaans, English and French.
It is a fitting conclusion to a journey that began with a young South African willing to embrace another language, another culture and an unexpected opportunity.
Being in the right place at the right time may have opened the first door. Everything that followed came from having the courage to walk through it.
