Zim's finest wine makers:
WHEN the globe’s mostly regarded wine connoisseurs gather in France today for the World Blind Wine Tasting Competition, four male Zimbabweans will be part of this highly acclaimed global event.
Flying the flag for Africa would be four Zimbabweans Joseph Dhafana, Tinashe Nyamudoka, Pardon Taguzu and Malvern Gwese aka Team Zimbabwe, who will be among some of the greatest global sommeliers from some of South Africa’s most prestigious cellars.
Team captain Dhafana is representing La Colombe, Nyamukoda the Test Kitchen while Taguzu represents Aubergine Restaurant and Gwese for the Cape Grace Hotel and they went along with Team South Africa.
To those that might be wondering what a sommelier is it generally refers to a person responsible for all aspects of wine service as well as food and wine pairing at a restaurant.
This is no ordinary waiter, but a welltrained and knowledgeable wine professional with a lot of experience who has passed certification course for sommeliers.
This is a profession much more demanding than of regular waiters, so no wonder sommeliers of top restaurants enjoy a great reputation, matching reputations of their respective chefs.
The Team Zimbabwe are members of the Black Cellar Club and are award winners in their own right. Taguzu and Gwese have made it to the top 15 of the Cape Town leg of the South African Blind Wine Tasting Challenge.
Nyamukoda won the 2013 Cape Legends Inter-Hotel Challenge and Dhafana was in the same international competition two years ago.
In an interview with The Saturday Lifestyle, the guys were happy to be representing the country at the prestigious event.
“We are so excited to be here as Team Zimbabwe for the first time and we arrived here in Burgundy on Tuesday. It is not an easy competition but we are looking forward to win,” said Nyamudoka.
Nyamukoda dismissed notions that being a sommelier is a profession only for the elite.
“Most people think that this kind of job only belongs to the elite but that’s not true.
“Anyone can be a wine taster. All you need is to understand the wine and have a good trained palate. There are different professions in the whole value wine chain,” he added.
He took time to explain how he got into this line of business.
“I became involved with wine when I started working as a waiter in the restaurants. Being involved in wine made me to appreciate and enjoy drinking it and I decided to enrol with Cape Wine Academy to be fully knowledgeable about wine,” he said.
Dhafana who is the founder of the team made efforts to register Zimbabwe for the international competition and was successful.
“This was an idea I thought of in 2015 after I was the first Zimbabwean to represent Africa in the championships. I discussed with my South African Team Coach Jean Ridon about forming a Zimbabwean team and it was established this year.
“We applied for Zimbabwe to be recognised at the competition and was successful then I got in touch with my colleagues who also live in South Africa and we met regularly to test and discuss wines,” he said.
Are there any special requirements needed for one to become a wine taster?
Depending on the type of premises where one works either fine dining restaurant, “plain” restaurant, wine bar, sommelier duties vary.
Sommelier may be responsible for creating a wine list as well as for education and training of other staff.
Furthermore, a sommelier works closely with the kitchen in order to be fully prepared to give wine recommendations in accordance to food pairing to guests.
This responsibility certainly requires a lot of experience in food and wine pairing techniques, as well as excellent knowing of restaurant’s menu and wine list.
Dhafana who is now a guru in the industry said he tasted wine for the first time in his life on his birthday in 2010.
“I will never forget the day I tasted alcohol for the first time in my life on my 28th birthday celebrations in South Africa. I drank MCC Sparkling wine the taste was so bad but little did I know that one day I will become a wine expert,” he said laughing.
He was stunned by how someone could convert grapes into something so special and became his guiding light and calling into the industry.
In 2011 he got a job as a barman and that was the beginning of a new era in his life.
“I got a job in a restaurant as a barman and that is how I got to learn more about wine. I decided to go to Cape Wine Academy in 2013. The following year I bottled my first wine “Fraternity” which is made at the Antebellum Wine Estate in the Swartland.
Fortunately, a year later after receiving a bursary from South Africa’s wine critic I qualified as a judge,” said Dhafana.
This kind of profession is popular in few countries in Africa. The leading country is South Africa followed by Kenya among others. The profession is much more popular in Europe and Asia where there are many wine schools and international boards that support and oversee the activities. The first successful Master Sommelier examination was held in the United Kingdom in 1969. By April 1977, the Court of Master Sommeliers was established as the premier international examining body.
The Court of Master Sommeliers was established to encourage improved standards of beverage knowledge and service in hotels and restaurants.