Wine skills flow in the family
OWNER of the Glenview Guest House in Durban North, Johannes Wessels, admits that wine in his household is definitely a “family affair”. His son, Jo, has just won the Sommelier Cup of the German Wine Institute last week and his daughter, winemaker Susan, has had three of her wines included in the SA Top 100 Wine Challenge in 2017.
Son Jo, who was on holiday in Cape Town this week from Germany, said he was “ecstatic” to have won the coveted Sommelier Cup – and he may well be the first non-German to do so.
The 31-year-old, who is studying Wine Economics at the University of Geisenheim, is also a part-time sommelier at the Michelin-graded restaurant Ente in Wiesbaden.
“I was shocked. I really didn’t expect to go so far. Being a student and working parttime, I was up against full-time sommeliers who technically have a lot more experience. I went into the competition to participate and I didn’t think I would end up in the top three, let alone win it. I am ecstatic about it, I think it’s a mix of shock and excitement,” he said.
Participants in the Sommelier Cup, which was held over two days in Mainz, have to prove their knowledge of the varietal characteristics of German wines with data on viticulture and the wine market. Then they were tested on their knowledge of winemaking, as well as legislation and regulations applying to wine.
After further testing on the characteristics of German wine regions, vineyards and cellars, there were tastings in which wines from all the German regions had to be identified.