While most of the wines marketed on the market are made from grapes, Ghanaian Harrison Adjimah has opted for local raw materials to innovate in the wine industry. Its brand, Volta Winery, is a local alternative to imported spirits.

Harrison Adjimah is part of the diaspora that has chosen to return to his home country of Ghana to contribute to economic development through entrepreneurship. He created Volta Winery, a wine brand based on local products. Unlike other wine manufacturers who use grapes, he innovates by creating flavors from agricultural commodities little used in the manufacture of this beverage.

Cashew nuts, cocoa or coffee  are the raw materials he processes to obtain wine. The brand is also considered the first in Ghana to make wine from these agricultural products. Harrison Adjimah teamed up with entrepreneur Nadia Takyiwaa-Mensah, who herself returned from the UK in 2015 to found a coffee space called Sai Wine Cafe.

The Sai Wine Cafe attracts influential personalities from the capital Accra, who have the opportunity to share ideas, develop business projects and establish a network, through wine tastings, tea, art exhibitions, movie nights and many more. For the founder, the various meetings organized in this space contribute to promoting Volta Winery.

She believes the brand can compete with wines imported from Europe, South Africa and South America, and pairs better with African meals.

"I would even say that it is comparable to the complex range of wines available all over the world [...]. We think it's perfect for our palates accustomed to spicy foods. Sometimes foreign wines are rich in tannins and sulphites, which makes it difficult to combine them with a spicy dish," she said.

Cocoa and cashew wines are the result of a long period of pulp fermentation. Their elaboration requires craftsmanship and meticulous labor.

"You have to have a lot of patience. Our cocoa and cashew wines are, for example, the result of careful fermentation of the pulp for a year," said Harrison Adjimah.

Beyond innovating in the wine industry, the initiative of Nadia Takyiwaa-Mensah and Harrison Adjimah is also helping to add value to cocoa, coffee and cashew farms in Ghana.