Alcohol: 13%
Grape(s): 100% Chenin Blanc
Localization: Breedekloof, South Africa
Tasting Notes: Aromas of pear, white peach and lime on the nose. A juicy palate with flavors of cantaloupe, melon and papaya, following through with a crisp dry finish. Great with Chicken Caesar Salad or lemon & herb spatchcock chicken.
Notes: Chenin blanc from the Breedekloof Valley where fruit purity and freshness are always ever present. This wine is a combination of 2 vineyards – the first, 380m above sea level, dry land farmed and the other 38 years old and in great balance at that age of the vine. 20% of the wine spent 6 months in large oak casks (Foudres) and 80% in a combination of stainless and concrete. In total the wine spent the total maturation time of 7 months on its’ gross lees which adds plenty of complexity on the palate.
Kumusha in the Zimbabwean Shona language translates to ‘your home’, ‘your roots’ or ‘your origin’. Through a collaborative process where I respect the vine, the winemaker, and the consumer, I try to build a brand of wines that represent and honor their roots. - Tinashe Nyamudoka, Sommelier
The Domain: Born in Harare, Zimbabwe, Tinashe worked his way up to the position of manager at a grocery store when Zimbabwe fell into an economic crisis. After moving to Cape Town in South Africa, he found work polishing cutlery at the fine dining restaurant, The Roundhouse. After being promoted to the waiter and without any prior experience with wine, Tinashe learned from the beverage director, eventually landing a job as a wine steward at Nobu - an establishment of the One & Only group. In 2013 he wins the Reaching for the Young Stars Best Wine Steward Award. He then works at the Oyster Box hotel in Durban, before returning to Cape Town to become the head sommelier at The Test Kitchen.
Together with 3 other wine sommeliers who followed a similar journey to Tinashe, Team Zim is founded. Tinashe Nyumudoka, Joseph Dhafana, Marlvin Gwese and Pardon Taguzu form the first wine tasting team from Zimbabwe. With MW Jancis Robinson helping them to crowdfund the means to compete in the 2017 and 2018 World Blind Wine Tasting Championships, their trip to compete in the 2017 event is the first time they set foot off the African continent. In 2017 they place second last, but in 2018 they place a very respectable 14th position, beating some established first world teams like Team USA and Team UK.
Having fallen head over heels for wine, the ache to try his own hand at winemaking could not be resisted. A friendship with Attie Louw, a winemaker from the family estate Opstal in the Slanghoek valley, led to the opportunity for Tinashe to blend his own wines and in 2017 Kumusha wines was founded.
In 2020 Tinashe leaves his position at The Test Kitchen to focus on Kumusha wines and grows a range of wines exported to the USA, Zimbabwe, Kenya and the Netherlands.
