Tawanda Marume

Tawanda Marume’s wine journey started back in 2008 when, while working for an insurance company in Zimbabwe, he was tasked to source wines for an event. He realized then that there were not a lot of wines offered in the country at that point, so he decided to study further and one day bring wines into Zimbabwe. When he moved to South Africa, his first role in the wine industry was at Neethlingshof Wine Estate where he worked as a tasting room assistant before joining Wine Concepts on Kloof. Under the tutorage of Sue Proudfoot, he learnt a lot in the five years he worked there, and that catapulted his journey in the wine industry.

Tawanda’s first role as a sommelier was at La Colombe restaurant in South Africa, an intense experience that set him up even further. In 2015, he moved to East Africa and worked for Singita in the Grumeti Reserves in Tanzania in the Serengeti Western Corridor for two years. Under the watchful eye of François Rautenbach, he learned the value of putting guests first and making the experience always about the guests.

In 2018 he moved to Johannesburg and started a company called Expression Wines Africa, an agency that represents boutique wine producers from the Cape. The company not only offers sales and marketing but also wine service training and education to hotels, restaurants, lodges, and retailers.

Currently, Tawanda is the Vice Chairman of the Sommeliers Association of South Africa, in charge of Gauteng and the Northern territories. He also holds the inaugural Best Sommelier of Zimbabwe 2020 title. In 2023 he competed in Paris, France for the Best Sommelier of the World contest where 68 candidates from 65 countries participated, with only 4 from Africa.

Tawanda was voted as one of the Top 100 Most influential people in the African Food Industry 2023 by African Food Network.