Tinashe Nyamudoka has a passion for wine. He started his journey into the sector as a waiter and has not looked back since.
When Nyamudoka moved to South Africa in 2008, he worked as a waiter in a variety of restaurants. The Zimbabwean born sommelier says that it was through working as a waiter that he developed a passion for wine. “I eventually realised that there could be a career in wine. Then I literally dropped every other thing I was doing. I was also doing an accounting degree by then. I just grew my knowledge and worked in different places.”
Nyamudoka started doing courses on wine through Cape Wine Academy and worked at hotels like the One and Only in Cape Town and the Oyster Box Hotel in Durban. It was while working at the famed Test Kitchen where he developed his wine brand, Kumushu. “I spent 5 years there and [it’s] where I developed my wine brand. That’s [also] where I got to really interact with Attie Louw, who is the owner of Opstal Wine Estate in Rawsonville.”
Nyamudoka’s collaboration with Louw and the Opstal Wine Estate resulted in the production of his commercial wines. They have been producing wine together since 2017.
ALSO READ: AgriSETA Learner Connect: Meet a cellar master
Kumushu wines is not yet widely available in South African retail stores and restaurants, with selected retailers stocking the wines in Cape Town and Johannesburg. But Nyamudoka says that this has not stopped his business from growing. “We do export to the United States, which is my biggest [market], as well as Zimbabwe, Kenya, Holland, and Ghana,” he says. “We still haven’t explored other big markets like the UK, Nigeria and Canada. So, we’re definitely going to grow.”
Nyamudoka gives us some insight into what it is like being a sommelier and wine brand owner:
Can you tell us what a typical day for you looks like, as a wine brand owner and sommelier?
The part of the commercial business I’m responsible for is sales, marketing and client size, so a typical day for me involves checking my inboxes for any orders. Usually, people tag me, especially on Instagram, sharing their experiences and I try acknowledging and retweet. Also, coming up with creative ways to market the wine and the brand. I also consult wine lists for restaurants around Johannesburg.
What qualifications do you think someone should have to work as a sommelier and wine brand owner?
I think experience trumps everything. Wine is so cool because you can learn on the job while doing it. It’s not like you have to study wine first, and then you just go into a job. Though, in terms of courses, I highly recommend the Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET), or the Cape Wine Academy. I also recommend people try to get attachments or try working in different sectors of the wine value chain. I learned skills like selling and tasting from the restaurant services. So I recommend people go to as many tastings as they can, or wine events.
I think, in wine, there’s no one stop shop. There’s no one qualification which can make you just stand out. If you can do different things which are aligned, like learning accounts or our even writing skills or communication skills, that can benefit you.
If you really want to go wine making, you obviously have to study oenology through Stellenbosch University.
What would you say are the characteristics that someone should have if they want to excel in the wine industry?
You have to have the will, the drive and patience. Any business is challenging, but [in the wine sector], you’ve got to have patience and passion. Otherwise, you will really get tired of it and quit soon. You also have to have a welcoming personality, be outgoing and you really have to enjoy what you do. There’s no way to pretend or any way to hide. I think you also have to be determined and have patience and passion.
Do you have any general advice for people who want to pursue a career like yours?
Reading widely helped me very much. There’s a lot of information which you can get in books, especially biographies of people starting businesses. Those have helped me a lot. It’s a good way to enhance your knowledge and learn from what other people have gone through and done. If you know you’re going into a field, you have to understand it and learn everything about it before you even go into it. The wine sector is not rosy, that’s the scary part. But it’s fun. Once the bug has bitten you, it’s fun.
ALSO READ: Tinashe Nyumudoka is driven by his passion for wine
