Team SA has been representing South Africa at the World Blind Wine Tasting Championships since 2013, thanks to the dedication and hard work of Frenchman Jean Vincent Ridon.
And now, for the first time, he has also managed to get Team Zimbabwe to participate and the 4 musketeers will be flying off to France to compete in October, alongside Team SA.
The sommelier community has a number of very passionate young sommeliers, and it will come as no surprise that Team Zim consists of the following dashing lads:
- The captain of Team Zim is Joseph Tongai Dhafana (who in fact was in Team South Africa in 2015, and currently working at La Colombe (one of the world's top restaurants)
- Tinashe Nyamudoka is well known and has been the sommelier at another one of the top restaurants in the world - The Test Kitchen - for the last 2 years, and is also the winner of the first Cape Legends Inter Hotel Challenge - held in 2013.
- Pardon Taguzu was in the top 15 of this year's Cape Town leg of the South African Wine Tasting Championships, and South Africa will be sorry to lose him to Team Zim. Pardon is currently the sommelier at Aubergine Restaurant in Cape Town.
- Marlvin (Tinashe) Gwese has already shown his mettle while participating in the Cape Legends Inter Hotel Challenge for the last 2 years and recently also made the Top 15 of the South African Wine Tasting Championships in the Cape Town leg. Marlvin works at The Cape Grace Hotel in the V&A Waterfront.
Well done to all these knowledgeable and charming young men, who, collectively are doing so much for South African Wine at their establishments.
Team Zim needs your support to get to France to compete for the first time this year.
wine.co.za is proud to have been a supporter of Team SA since inception and we are delighted to be able to support Team Zim in their inaugural trip. We will be supplying the team with branded shirts for the event!
We challenge other companies to support both Team SA and Team Zim, as they represent the best of the best tasters currently in South Africa, and do a great deal to represent the South African Wine industry while abroad.
If you are keen to assist Team SA - please contact Jean Vincent Ridon
If you are keen to assist Team Zim in any other way - please contact their captain Joseph Dhafana
Thanks to their first sponsor - Gavin Withers - from The Wine Taster - who is their photographer, and whose pictures you can see attached to this article.