Blind Ambition

Joseph, Tinashe, Marlvin, and Pardon are part of a wave of Zimbabweans who left their economically-hit homeland for a better life elsewhere. After their perilous journey, they arrive in South Africa, get jobs in restaurants, develop an interest in the intricacies of wine, become sommeliers, meet and bond with one another, and are encouraged to form the first-ever Zimbabwe team to compete in the World Wine Blind Tasting Championships—the Olympics of the wine world.

Held in France and primarily made up of western European teams, the championship requires them to sample twelve different wines and guess the country, winery and vintage—a challenge for any oenologist. Their sampling skills take them a long way, but it is their connection to their country, underscored by the comments and encouragement of parents, grandparents and children they left back home that provide the motivation and backbone.