Topic: Creating palm wine sustainably without harvesting palm trees

Guest: Onye, founder of Ikenga Wines

Environmental Impact: Avoids traditional palm farming to reduce carbon footprint and forest clearing

Production Philosophy: Source-agnostic and rooted in molecular replication of palm sap

The Journey: From 2019 epiphany to today’s artistic exploration of flavor and sensory expression

Palm Wine Variants: Focus on oil palm chemistry; acknowledges coconut and raphia varietals

Wine Styles: Experimental, seasonal, and undefined—exploring a “white space” of winemaking

Vision: If money were no object, Onye would open a store with food service and a portfolio of underrepresented global beverages

Takeaway: Palm wine is just the beginning of a much bigger adventure in redefining tradition through innovation

Onye shares his pivot from Harvard University to launching a palm wine company

Discusses exploring Nigeria’s palm wine culture and production methods

Explains how palm wine can be preserved and bottled for U.S. markets

Insight into their sparkling palm wine labels and West African food pairings

Anecdotes about former classmates, including a researcher 3D printing a human heart

Talks about filling the beverage gap in fine dining experiences for African cuisines

Website sales live now; restaurant and retail distribution coming soon

Topic: Palm wine – an ancient, non-grape wine made from palm tree sap

What is Palm Wine? Naturally fermenting sap collected from palm trees; typically consumed the same day

Traditional Use: Morning (low-alcohol, sweet) vs. evening (higher alcohol); if left too long, it turns to vinegar

Innovative Twist: Onye creates a molecular palm sap from plant-based sources, allowing for controlled fermentation

Wine Style: Sparkling, pet-nat-inspired, unfiltered and hazy

Alcohol Content: Traditional palm wine: ~3–4%, Ikenga Wines: ~8–10%

Fun Fact: Palm wine may date back to prehistoric times and is naturally consumed by animals like bats and primates!