{"id":42045,"date":"2021-06-17T16:49:02","date_gmt":"2021-06-17T14:49:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/?p=42045"},"modified":"2021-06-17T16:37:19","modified_gmt":"2021-06-17T14:37:19","slug":"zim-refugees-take-on-the-world-at-wine-tasting-championships","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.cc\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/zim-refugees-take-on-the-world-at-wine-tasting-championships","title":{"rendered":"Zim Refugees Take On The World At Wine Tasting Championships"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press<\/a> – Zimbabwe<\/a>. <\/strong><\/span>TimesLIVE<\/b> – THE stories of Tinashe Nyamudoka, Tongai Joseph Dhafana, Marlvin Gwese, and Pardon Taguzu are unusual, to say the least.<\/p>\n

The Zimbabwean-born refugees have defied the odds and taken their seats at the table of some of the world\u2019s top wine tasters.<\/p>\n

The journey is recorded in Blind Ambition, a documentary film chronicling the perilous journey of the refugees from when they made their way to SA in search of a better life.<\/p>\n

Nyamudoka, Dhafana, Gwese, and Taguzu arrived in South Africa separately and started working menial jobs in the hospitality industry. In 2017 the four men, bound by their love and passion for the wine industry, formed Zimbabwe\u2019s first Wine Tasting Olympics team and competed in the World Blind Wine Tasting Championship in France, the Olympics of the wine world.<\/p>\n

Nyamudoka, 35, a winemaker based in Johannesburg who has a wine brand Kumusha Wines, left Zimbabwe in 2008 \u201cwith one change of clothes and a backpack full of certificates\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs someone who started right at the bottom working as a waiter, I feel honoured to be part of the documentary film. I didn\u2019t have any prior background in wine but I was eager to learn. I enrolled at a wine academy and trained as a sommelier, eventually training in wine business management.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a journey of perseverance and dedication from being a mere gardener and eventually training to be a sommelier, and finally having my own wine brand, Mosi Wines<\/p>\n

\u201cMy journey has been both challenging and rewarding as an immigrant coming to SA. My story is one of many thousands among immigrants risking everything for a better life, and I am fortunate my story gets to be told,\u201d Nyamudoka told TimesLIVE.<\/p>\n

Hundreds of undocumented Zimbabwean nationals cross the border into SA daily and for Dhafana, 39, this was the only way he could change his life for the better.<\/p>\n

He left Zimbabwe in 2008, crossing the border on foot and arriving in SA as an economic refugee.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started working as a gardener. Then I got a job as a bartender at a restaurant in Cape Town, tasting my first glass of wine at the age of 29. It\u2019s a journey of perseverance and dedication from being a mere gardener and eventually training to be a sommelier, and finally having my own wine brand, Mosi Wines. The documentary film feels like a full circle,\u201d said Dhafana.<\/p>\n

The journey from being a waiter to becoming SA\u2019s top sommelier has been a life-changing experience for Gwese, 34.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t exposed to wine in Zimbabwe and never imagined that one day I would be travelling the world as a sommelier and featuring in a documentary. With hard work and commitment, it made so many things possible,\u201d said Gwese.<\/p>\n

The documentary film is the story of winning against all odds, and for Taguzu, 33, the transition of leaving Zimbabwe for SA and now based in the Netherlands is a testament.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike most people I left Zimbabwe when things were really bad economically. I arrived in SA in 2012 but I couldn\u2019t find a job. I settled for a menial job as a runner in a restaurant. I was curious and filled with a desire to learn about wine, so I trained. Among my proud moments, apart from being the documentary, is when I was named SA\u2019s best young sommelier,\u201d Taguzu said.<\/p>\n

Blind Ambition<\/b><\/p>\n

is produced by Australian filmmakers Robert Coe and Warwick Ross and is premiered at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival in New York.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. TimesLIVE – THE stories of Tinashe Nyamudoka, Tongai Joseph Dhafana, Marlvin Gwese, and Pardon Taguzu are unusual, to say the least. The Zimbabwean-born refugees have defied the odds and taken their seats at the table of some of the world\u2019s top wine tasters. The journey is recorded in Blind Ambition, a documentary […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":42044,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,35,12,15],"tags":[1493,2189,19],"class_list":{"0":"post-42045","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-all-news","8":"category-homepage-english","9":"category-policy","10":"category-twitter","11":"tag-africa-press","12":"tag-africa-press-zimbabwe-2","13":"tag-zimbabwe"},"yoast_head":"\nZim Refugees Take On The World At Wine Tasting Championships - zimbabwe<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"TimesLIVE - THE stories of Tinashe Nyamudoka, Tongai Joseph Dhafana, Marlvin Gwese, and Pardon Taguzu are unusual ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/zim-refugees-take-on-the-world-at-wine-tasting-championships\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Zim Refugees Take On The World At Wine Tasting Championships\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"TimesLIVE - 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