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An integral part of the booming food and wine industry in South Africa is the growing number of sommeliers employed countrywide. Becoming one of them has changed the lives of two young South Africans.
Restaurant dw eleven–13’s Mandla “Patson” Mathonsi is the current holder of the Eat Out Best Sommelier Award.
Mathonsi started his career in hospitality by working as a waiter. He discovered his passion for wine when he began working at dw eleven-13 in Dunkeld West, Joburg, five years ago. It started him on a journey that has seen him complete the certificate wine course at the Cape Wine Academy and the UK’s Wine andamp; Spirit Education Trust’s levels 1, 2 and 3 – as well as becoming a member of Brit Hugues Lepin’s Sommelier and Wine Academy.
“I want to continue growing, learning and enjoying all the fascinating aspects of wine. It is a fantastic career. I also hope I inspire diners to taste different wines, perhaps ones they would not necessarily have selected, and show how certain combinations work well with the food being served,” says Mathonsi.
There are plenty of contenders who could also one day lift the Best Sommelier title, including Moses Magwaza – a commis (apprentice) sommelier at Restaurant Mosaic, run by South Africa’s reigning Eat Out Chef of the Year, Chantel Dartnall.
Magwaza has successfully completed the certificate wine and South African brandy courses at the Cape Wine Academy and recently toured the South African winelands.
Next year he will be off to France to learn about the industry there.
Says Magwaza: “This is an oenophile’s dream excursion. It will hugely increase my knowledge and enhance my palate.”
‘Sommelier’ is a French word that means wine steward. A sommelier is a trained and knowledgeable wine professional normally working in a fine-dining restaurant. A sommelier specialises in all aspects of wine service, including wine and food pairing. In fine dining today, the role is strategically on a par with that of the executive chef or chef de cuisine – and considered far above that of a wine waiter.
Over the past five to 10 years, there has been a rapid rise in the number of sommeliers working in South Africa.
HOW TO BECOME ONE
Start learning about wine and develop your palate. Take a course through a recognised institution, such as the Cape Wine Academy.
Look for opportunities to be a server at a wine-driven restaurant, wine bar, tasting room, catering business, or as part of a hotel’s banqueting staff. These will give you great opportunities to build experience.
Launched this year in South Africa is the Mosaic Protégé Programme, a collaboration between the SA Wine Tasting Championships and Restaurant Mosaic, which has one of the finest wine cellars in the country.
The bursary will offer the winner three years at Restaurant Mosaic, where they will work alongside acclaimed French sommelier Germain Lehodey and Magwaza himself.
He or she will receive the formal education required to achieve the best professional knowledge and will automatically be a member of Team SA when they fly the South African colours in France at the World Blind Challenge in Chateauneuf-du-Pape in southeastern France in October this year, a dream for any budding sommelier.
Gauteng heats have already been held, with the Western Cape selections taking place in June and the KwaZulu-Natal heats in Durban in August. The finals are in Cape Town in September.
Says manager of Team SA and owner of the SA Wine Tasting Championships Jean-Vincent Ridon: “Someone wanting to pursue a career as a sommelier must understand that it is not all about wine. In the restaurant, the sommelier is the team captain, ensuring that the service, experience and enjoyment matches the creativity of the chef.
“A solid theoretical knowledge of wine is required – and other beverages, such as tea, beer or sake – but an understanding of the food is as important.
“Experience is the key to becoming a good sommelier. Theoretical knowledge will never replace the human touch, as the sommelier is here to turn good service and a good meal into a perfect experience.
“Apprenticeship is always the best way to train a good sommelier, and the Mosaic Protégé programme will probably change the way the industry looks at training professionals.”
Details and entry forms are available at sawtc.co.za, or contact the Cape Wine Academy at capewineacademy.co.za
