A JOINT ADVENTURE WITH A MISSION:ENJOYING WINE & GIVING BACK!

In 2016 the D’Alba family fell in love with South-Africa and South-African wine, after Belinda D’Alba had lost her heart to the country at an earlier stage already. When visiting the numerous top restaurants in and around Cape Town, they met top sommelier Pardon Taguzu, one of the ‘Zim Somms’, protégées of the famous Master of Wine Jancis Robinson. Together with Pardon they started their ‘joint adventure’: African Wines. Their mission: importing extraordinary South-African wines, made by wineries with a strong social commitment: Enjoying Wine & Giving Back!

Pardon Taguzu is one of the Zim Somms. These talented sommeliers from Zimbabwe came to the Cape in search of a better life and, without noteworthy wine education nor experience, made a dream career in the leading Cape Town wine and culinary scene. Meanwhile they have started making their own wine, on a small scale, and have their own wine labels.

Joseph Dhafana (restaurant La Colombe), Marlvin Gwese (Cape Grace Hotel), Tinashe Nyamudoka (The Test Kitchen) and Pardon Taguzu (Aubergine) even competed in the 2017 World Blind Wine Tasting Championship in Burgundy as Team Zimbabwe. Like Jancis Robinson, the D’Alba family committed themselves to facilitating their European tour. Read hereabout the tastings guided by the Zim Somms at Damiano D’Alba’s winebar Solo Vino and restaurant Steam.

2019 will see the release of a documentary film about the tour of the Zim Supersomms, made by the Australian team behind the successful wine documentary Red Obsession.

Italian-born Damiano D’Alba has been active in the Dutch culinary scene for 40 years. The D’Alba family owns 10 restaurants, 2 winebars and an Italian import company. African Wines was born out of pure passion: for South Africa, for wine and from the belief that enjoying wine and making the world a better place can go hand-in-hand!

For the D’Alba’s, the Zim Somms and more specifically their ‘partner in wine’ Pardon Taguzu are great examples of the possibility of realizing your dreams and helping and inspiring others to do the same. They cooperate with 20 extraordinary South-African wineries and import their wines exclusively for the Dutch market under the motto: Let’s make a difference together!