AdVini SA enters historic partnership with Team Zimbabwe

AdVini South Africa, subsidiary of French wine company AdVini, has announced a ground-breaking partnership with four refugees-turned-sommeliers who will represent Team Zimbabwe at the World Blind Tasting Championships (WBTC) held in France later this year.

Making history

Blind Ambition, released in South Africa on 29 July, is an underdog documentary that tells the heartfelt story of four Zimbabwean nationals with a talent for wine-tasting, who endured great hardship and danger to make it across the border into South Africa as refugees after the Zimbabwean crisis of 2008.

WATCH the official trailer for Blind Ambition:

Under the guidance of eccentric coach Denis Garret, supported by a crowdfunding campaign, and organised by French sommelier Jean Vincent Ridon and wine guru Jancis Robinson, the four men – Joseph Dhafana (team captain), Marlvin Gwese, Tinashe Nyamudoka and Pardon Tagazu – were brought together as the exiled ‘Team Zimbabwe’ to compete at the prestigious 2017 World Blind Wine Tasting Championships.

And just like the Jamaican bobsled team of the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics (immortalised in the 1993 film ‘Cool Runnings’), these determined, passionate young somms faced down racism, poverty, and the European dominance of the wine world to compete at the highly esteemed World Wine Tasting Championships (the ‘Olympics’ of wine tasting) in France.

AdVini shaping the future

AdVini SA’s marketing and strategic development director Edo Heyns, who officially announced the partnership on 22 August 2022 at L’Avenir Wine Estate in Stellenbosch, says by showing support for Team Zimbabwe, AdVini hopes to empower more African wine tasters to this level of skill and international exposure.

“This is a unique opportunity to uplift and inspire more young Africans to pursue a career in wine,” says Edo.

Tongai and Marlvin both attended the partnership announcement at L’Avenir in August, along with two fellow Zimbabwean sommeliers Justin Bold Munjanja and Farai Magwada.

The four were treated to an informal tasting led by the winemakers at AdVini’s South African brands: Dirk Coetzee (L’Avenir), William Wilkinson (Le Bonheur), Bernard Claassen (Stellenbosch Vineyards), RJ Botha (Kleine Zalze) and Shawn Matthyse (Ken Forrester).

The sponsorship will include financial support that will allow the team to travel the 10 000 km to Champagne, France, to compete in the 2022 World Blind Tasting Championships in October this year. The trip will also include visits to various AdVini wine estates in France that will form part of Team Zimbabwe’s training.

A world of opportunity

Edo says this partnership sets the tone for future initiatives from AdVini to encourage young Africans to pursue a career as a sommelier. “We want to harness the inspiration of Team to motivate others. We know it’s not cheap to obtain the necessary sommelier and wine qualifications, and we want to help more young, aspiring sommeliers to reach their full potential.”

Edo feels that although team Zimbabwe and team South Africa will be competing against each other at the Championships, they’re also combining resources to make sure Africa makes the headlines again.

In the battle to gain an edge over competitors, wine brands often spend thousands of rands to understand consumers through focus groups, surveys and sophisticated analytics, rather than educating consumers on wine.

“Sommeliers play an important role in wine education. They work at the frontlines of the trade. Through their passion, they’re still the best ambassadors for the wine industry,” says Edo.

Team Zim ready to conquer

“Collaborating with a global brand like AdVini is such an honour,” says Marlvin Gwese, group sommelier at The Cellars-Hohenort.

Joseph Dhafana, sommelier and founder of Mosi Wine & Spirits, echoes the sentiment: “For AdVini to show support for a neighbouring country is a great example of the wine industry’s inclusivity, and we hope other wineries and brands in South Africa will follow suit.”

Joseph, who recently helped assemble and train Team Kenya for the WBTC, says the sommelier culture in Africa is nothing new, but has lacked exposure in the past.

“There’s always been a strong wine culture throughout Africa. Where many black Africans had this perception that wine was for the rich, they’ve now realised it’s actually consumed by all walks of life. We’re just recultivating what was already there.”

“The World Blind Tasting Championship is very much like the FIFA World Cup – you need to train and get match fitness by tasting as many wines as possible, especially international wines,” says Joseph.

Both sommeliers believe a win at the WBTC would be a massive achievement, not only for Zimbabwe, but for Africa as a whole. “Competing against the best tasters in the world can be an intimidating affair, and easily break your self-confidence,” says Marlvin.

But both sommeliers are confident about their chances at this year’s WBTC. “We’ve come a long way since the 2017 championships. Instead of overthinking it, our strategy this year is to stick with what we know. We have the tenacity required to win this. This time around, we’re more confident in each other’s role in the team and we play to one another’s strengths.”

While some might question the financial wisdom of backing the underdog, the passion and determination exhibited by Team Zimbabwe is proof enough that partnerships like these are a winning investment. WineLand Media, AdVini SA and many within the South African wine industry are 100% behind Team Zimbabwe. Go make us proud!

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