Passionate About Wine
Top Zimbabwean Sommelier Tawanda Marume is passionate about wine and people particularly training and development within the industry.
A sommelier is a wine connoisseur, typically gracing fine restaurants and hospitality establishments. They oversee every facet of wine service, from procurement and storage to recommending pairings to discerning guests. Sommeliers possess an intimate understanding of wine, encompassing its history, production, and tasting nuances. With their expertise, they guide guests through the wine world, instilling confidence in their selections.
It was around 2010 that Tawanda Marume began his career in the wine business while he was employed at a restaurant in Cape Town.
“I was tasked to source wines for an office party before I drank wine or even knew what it was. Later, when I moved to Stellenbosch to stay with my sister, I decided to enrol in the Cape Wine Academy program to learn more about wine,” he says.
In 2020 he won Best Sommelier of Zimbabwe. From thereon he has received international recognition
in the wine world. In February this year, he was selected to participate in the Association de la Sommellerie Internationale (ASI) Best Sommelier of the World 2023 in Paris, France. The competition represents a collection of people who have sacrificed immense amounts of time and energy to reach this level of competition.
Tawanda is a passionate advocate for African wines. He believes that African wines have the potential to be world-class, and he is committed to helping them gain the recognition they deserve. Through his company, Expression Wines Africa, he shares the beauty and diversity of African wines with the world. The company focuses on importing and distributing high-quality wines from Africa and around the world.
He adds that “wine tastes better when you understand it”. Following on, he is on a path to develop an interest in all things wine. In November, at Sorrel Restaurant in Avondale, Tawanda Marume unveiled a new line of wines and captivated guests with an enlightening wine-tasting and education session.
Additionally, he taught and facilitated the first Sommelier Academy Wine Steward course in Harare, and achieved a 100 percent pass rate. The Wine Steward Certificate is an intense one-day course to prepare candidates to be efficient on the restaurant floor. Similarly, seven years ago, Tawanda took 18 candidates through the Cape Wine Academy Introduction to Wine Course in Tanzania where he achieved over 90 percent pass rate.
Tawanda notes that wine has stories that span millennia and one can spend the whole day just talking about the subject ‘’and wine education is at the core of it.”
He is an active member of The Sommeliers Association of Zimbabwe. The SAZ is a non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting the professional development of sommeliers in Zimbabwe.
The association was founded by a group of passionate wine professionals who saw a need for a dedicated organisation to represent the interests of Zimbabwean sommeliers.
