Direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales remain the most powerful and profitable engine for winery revenue. The tasting room provides the ultimate setting for visitors to connect deeply with a brand, laying the foundation for long-term customer relationships and repeat sales.
Recognising this potential, the wine.co.za DTC Academy set out to upskill tasting room staff with practical tools and commercial confidence. Over the past three years, we have continuously refined our training programs, expanding our original Wine Advisor framework into a comprehensive pathway designed to transform staff from traditional hosts into true Wine Sales Professionals.
The core Wine Advisor program now spans three intensive days of hands-on training. Candidates who complete all three modules and pass the final examination earn the official Wine Sales Professional Certificate along with an exclusive wine.co.za lapel pin.
We are thrilled to announce our very first class of graduates! Congratulations to the teams at Saronsberg Cellar in Tulbagh, as well as our Darling cohort, featuring three graduates from Darling Cellars and one from Blake Family Wines. These dedicated professionals are setting a new standard for tasting room service and DTC sales excellence across the winelands.
wine.co.za DTC Academy graduation at Darling Cellars: Judy Brower, Marchay Engelbrecht (Darling Cellars), Natasha Warnick (Darling Cellars), Louise Williams (Blake Family Wines), Neil Tabraham (wine.co.za DTC Academy), and Sylvia Sias (Darling Cellars).
We are pleased to have done second round of training at Saronsberg, with their team completed Wine Advisor Level 1 and 2 last year and culminating with 3 of them completing Wine Sales Advisor Level 3 and after passing the exam, graduating with the Wine Sales Professional Certificate recently.
wine.co.za DTC Academy graduation at Darling Cellars: Wine Sales Professional Certificate graduates Leonie Baadjies, Kundai Mbwenda and Janine Gabriel.
We have had very positive feedback from our candidates and their managers:
"We found the Wine Sales Professional training particularly valuable because it goes beyond wine knowledge and focuses on the full guest experience. The practical roleplay and relationship-selling approach gave the team useful tools that they can apply directly in the tasting room, and we are already reinforcing these principles in our day-to-day service. We are very proud of Janine, Kundai and Leonie for completing the certificate and representing Saronsberg so well. Thanks also to Neil!" - Luciana van Huysteen, social media and hospitality manager at Saronsberg
"The DTC Academy course gave me so much more confidence in tasting room. I use the sales techniques and guest experience tools every shift at Blake Family Wines, especially for wine club sign-ups and telling our wine stories. It's made me feel more professional and prepared. The only thing I'd add is more practice for super busy days." - Louise Williams, tasting room manager at Blake Family Wines
The Wine Sales Professional Certificate is the culmination of the 3 Wine Advisor courses, focusing on service and sales and engagement:
- Wine Advisor Level 1 (one day)
- Wine Advisor Level 2 (one day)
- Wine Sales Advisor Level 3 (one day)
- Wine Sales Professional Certificate Exam (to be done only on completion of all 3 courses)
Each course individually costs R1 900, but if you do all three, including the exam, the cost is only R5 700.
There is still time to get your team ready for the season, so please reach out to find out what we can do for you.
A reminder: we are working on a tasting room manager course for 2027, and your interest and input is welcome.
For more information, please contact Judy Brower at judy@wine.co.za, or visit our website: info.wine.co.za/services/learn.