Since its creation in 2013, the South African Wine Tasting Championships (SAWTC) has identified the nation’s best wine tasters and selected Team South Africa for the Revue du Vin de France Blind Wine Tasting World Championships. The competition has celebrated exceptional talent, including the four Zimbabwean sommeliers whose inspiring story was told in the award-winning film Blind Ambition.
While many Team SA members have gone on to become leaders in wine and hospitality, the team’s composition has not always reflected South Africa’s full diversity. This has limited potential sponsorship and slowed progress in developing a new generation of inclusive wine leaders.
To address this, SAWTC founder Jean-Vincent Ridon has decided to skip the usual winter selection for Team 2025 and focus resources on building a 2026 team that will include at least one fully supported industry protégé. This additional time will allow for better fundraising, targeted training, and the creation of mentorship opportunities from past champions.
For the 2025 World Championship in Jura, France, on 4 October, Team SA will be formed from former champions and past team members who able to self-fund their travel. This ensures that all available resources can be directed toward the development of the inclusive 2026 team.
Meanwhile, the SAWTC public event will return in a refreshed, industry-friendly format – a celebration open to professionals and wine lovers alike, designed to discover emerging talent while offering a fun and engaging tasting experience.
Updates on the 2025 event and 2026 team preparations will be shared via SAWTC social media channels and on wine.co.za.
For more information, please reach out to Jean Vincent Ridon at jv@ridon.co.za.