Dodoma Wine Valley: Bihawana, Hombolo and Cetawico

Tell friends you are going wine tasting six degrees south of the equator in Tanzania and most will think you are joking. Yet the high, semi-arid plateau around Dodoma is the only commercial wine-producing region in East Africa and one of the very few tropical-latitude viticultural zones on earth, ranking second on the African continent behind South Africa in historic vineyard acreage.

Missionary origins, the Makutupora grape and two harvests a year

Viticulture arrived in Dodoma in 1938 when Italian Passionist Fathers at the Bihawana Mission (roughly 20 kilometres south-west of town) planted initial vine cuttings to produce sacramental altar wine. In 1969, President Julius Nyerere backed the establishment of the Dodoma Wine Company and the Makutupora Viticulture Research and Training Centre to give smallholder Wagogo farmers a drought-resistant cash crop.

Because central Tanzania has no winter frost, vines never enter cold dormancy. Instead, growers control dormancy through pruning and irrigation management across the dry and rainy cycles, allowing two distinct grape harvests every calendar year (one in February and March, and a richer, sun-concentrated vintage in August and September). Alongside international varietals such as Chenin Blanc, Syrah (Shiraz), Cabernet Sauvignon and Ruby Cabernet, the valley is home to the hardy local Makutupora red grape, prized for thick skins, lively acidity and dark plum and spice notes.

Wineries and Lake Hombolo estates to visit

Wine tours in Dodoma are intimate and unhurried; always ask your hotel or driver to call ahead so a winemaker or agronomist can guide you through the vats and fields:

• Cetawico (Central Tanzania Wine Company) and Alko Vintages: Dodoma's flagship bottling plants in the industrial and Hombolo zones, producing widely poured labels such as Sharye, Dodoma Dry Red, Image and Dompo fortified sweet wine.
• Hombolo Vineyards and Lake Hombolo (40 km north-east): set between the Chenene Hills and the shimmering reservoir of Lake Hombolo, where smallholder plots and boutique estates grow Chenin Blanc and Syrah in sandy granite-wash soils; combine a vineyard walk with a lakeside picnic.
• Bihawana and Mpunguzi (south-west along the Iringa road): visit the historic mission grounds where Tanzania's first vines took root and see farmers tending trellised pergolas along the seasonal stream beds.

Pair your bottle with local grilled dishes in our central cuisine overview and arrange transport via our Dodoma transport notes.