Sommelier Dhafana launches vintage wine in SA
TAWANDA MARWIZI
SOUTH AFRICA – Zimbabwean sommelier, Tongai Joseph Dhafana continues to gain top recognition as he launched a new vintage wine last night at Foxcroft in Capetown, South Africa.
SA-based Dhafana is the founder of Mosi Wines, and expanded his collection with the launch of the the Mosi “Flavian” Syrah 2017 and Mosi “Calista” Merlot.
He shared his excitement about launching the new vintage collection.
“I am incredibly happy and humbled to see my labour of passion shared among friends today as I launch my new vintage of Mosi wines. An intimate gathering of friends and supporters joined me at Foxcroft restaurant to celebrate this new chapter, I cannot wait to share it with the world,” said Dhafana.
He said he was happy that several wine enthusiasts have already endorsed it.
“Wine enthusiasts have endorsed it and I am confident that other people will definitely take a liking to it,” he said.
Born in Chirumanzu, Zimbabwe, Dhafana moved to South Africa in 2009 as a refugee, making his home on the streets of Johannesburg.
“I relocated to South Africa in 2009. I stayed at Musina refugee camp for two weeks looking for documents that would ease my travel. In Johannesburg I stayed at the Central Methodist Church,” he said.
The sommelier then moved to Capetown where he worked as a gardener and was later promoted to washing dishes.
It was when he made a move to work as a bartender that he started to develop his love of wine.
Dhafana narrates how he first tasted a glass of wine on his birthday.
“As a bartender I was encourages by my colleagues to taste a glass of wine. Previously I had seen people smiling while sharing wine and my first sip became the foretaste of a new life,” he said.
In 2015, Dhafana joined Team SA, which went on to win the 2015 South African Wine Tasting Championship. This quickly elevated this largely unknown Zimbabwean sommelier into a wine ambassador for Africa’s most industrialised economy.
The name of his wine, Mosi, is derived from the name ‘Mosi-oa-Tunya’ – meaning ‘the smoke that thunders’ – the original name of Victoria Falls.
