Original subtitles

(ambient theme music)

(audience laughing and cheering)

(ambient theme music)

(ambient music)

"Kumusha" is a Shona word for your roots,

your origins, your home.

It's not just a physical place,

it's where your ancestors are,

where your heart lives,

a place of healing

and our dreams always take us back there.

♪ Saguquga sathi bega nantsi Pata Pata ♪

♪ Saguquga sathi bega nantsi Pata Pata ♪

♪ Saguquga sathi bega nantsi Pata Pata ♪

♪ Saguquga sathi bega nantsi Pata Pata ♪

♪ Hiyo mama hiyo ma nantsi Pata Pata ♪

♪ Hiyo mama hiyo ma nantsi Pata Pata ♪

♪ Hiyo mama hiyo ma nantsi Pata Pata ♪

♪ Hiyo mama hiyo ma nantsi Pata Pata ♪

♪ Whoo every Friday and Saturday night ♪

♪ Nantsi Pata Pata

♪ It's Pata Pata time

♪ Nantsi Pata Pata

♪ The dance keeps going all night long ♪

♪ Nantsi Pata Pata ♪

♪ Till the morning sun begins to shine ♪

♪ Nantsi Pata Pata

♪ Hey Aya sat wuguga sat ♪

♪ Aya sat wuguga sat

♪ Aya sat wuguga sat

(meat sizzling)

Away my comrades.

[All] Away.

Away my comrades.

[All] Away.

(singing in foreign language)

[Joseph] We didn't know each other back in Zimbabwe,

it's actually wine that brought us together

here in South Africa.

(all singing in foreign language)

And it's quite crazy

to think we are gonna be competing in a few weeks time

at the World Tasting Championships

when a few years ago,

none of us had ever tasted wine before.

(chanting and cheering)

You've got these guys with no interest,

no knowledge of wine,

they get uprooted from their own country,

virtually force their way to the border

into a foreign country and what do they end up doing?

(cheering)

Go ahead and pour it.

(all laughing)

Anyone would say that Zimbabwe

was in any way famous for wine

or there is hardly wine in Zimbabwe in the same sentence.

(cheering and laughing)

It's probably like Egypt

putting together a team of skiers

to go and compete in the Winter Olympics.

Just getting a little surprise for the boys there (laughs)

And see if they're up for the game.

(indistinct background chatters)

(speaking in foreign language)

Joseph, you need to taste now then

and tell me what is happening in that glass.

For sure, it is fairly old, slightly saline,

I mean, this is a warmer climate wine,

New World, it could be...

2011 or 2012 vintage Chenin Blanc from Paarl.

Old World.

This is a Riesling 2007.

Tinashe?

I believe the wine is old, probably a Grüner Veltliner.

Possibly 2005 to 2007.

So you're going to Austria?

- But I'm not convinced- - For me it's just-

- Okay, seven minutes is going to be up just now guys

and the wine is a mystery.

2007 Grüner Veltliner.

- Yo, I know, I told you. - (all cheering and clapping)

I told you, I told you.

I told you and I know that wine.

I remember well my very first sip of wine

and I didn't like it.

So this is actually one of the finest Chenin Blanc we having

its quite and crispy very good for lunch,

a bit more (indistinct) with balanced acidity.

(ambient music)

Most foreigners are looking for jobs in restaurants,

they'd ask you about what kind of wines do you know?

I only knew red and white.

(ambient music)

Every time I could see other waiters

opening bottles of wine,

it is very fascinating,

like oh wine, must be nice, huh?

I drank it a little bit, little bit

and then I got sick for two days.

(ambient music)

I was raised in a Pentecostal church,

alcohol is not allowed.

Chenin, Chardonnay?

But at the same time, the first miracle that Jesus did

was to change water to wine (laughs).

(slow ambient music)

We're the only ones who know our story,

you try to explain it someone else,

they wouldn't understand you.

Looking in my life and where I've come from

and where I've been,

I think I actually do believe in destiny very, very much.

(ambient music)

(birds chirping)

(ambient music)

(speaking in French)

(ambient music)

Its like the Olympics of wine tasting,

so its extremely difficult,

it requires a lot of work, a lot of knowledge,

a good team cohesion which is very important

and a bloody bit of luck.

(car engine roaring)

Every year, I have a competition

to select the team in South Africa

for the world championship.

(birds chirping)

This one can go, can go, that can go.

Then we should cut this one here

(birds chirping)

And here there is a PT.

This year, I ended up to get,

Tinashe, Marlvin, Joseph and Pardon in the top twelve.

I talked to Joseph

and said "Why don't you start a Team Zimbabwe?"

And he was ecstatic by that.

A quick question.

Quick answer.

Jv is good friend of all of us.

You know whether that fits a bit-

- Yeah- - But we'll make a plan.

He called the organisers

and they said, it's actually possible

to get a Zimbabwean team.

So we decided we're gonna make a Team Zimbabwe

out of the four of us.

(all laughing)

The Zimbabwean palate hasn't been proven

at an international stage,

so for us it's a challenge to put it out there.

(all laughing)

We just needed to find the money to get to the competition.

My name is Joseph Dhafana,

I work for La Colombe Restaurant in Constantia.

As the team captain

for the first ever Zimbabwean team to participate

in the Blind Wine Tasting Championship in Burgundy,

we appeal to the world if there's anyone

who is keen or willing to help us with sponsorship,

we would be very very happy.

[All] Cheers!

I've never thought in my life

that at some stage I can represent my country

and I can be the captain of my country,

my own country of birth.

I'm living a life which I've never actually planned

(car engines roaring)

(indistinct chattering)

Now we are going to have something a bit interesting

and a bit different as well.

(indistinct chattering)

Thank you very much please enjoy.

(indistinct chattering)

Joseph, he stopped at my door one day looking for work

he was a refugee.

There was just such an honesty in his demeanour,

in his face, in his eyes and also a desperation

and this willingness to work

and to make a success of himself.

(ambient music)

I didn't have a opening or position for him at the time

but I said to him,

"I've got a vegetable garden here at the back

if you're willing to tend to the garden,

you can earn a bit of money.

I think it was his birthday

and I offered him a glass of champagne of bubbles.

And I think there is something just magically happened.

(ambient music)

Very soon afterwards he started asking questions,

how is this done and how is it made

and where does it come from?

And then just snowball.

That's when probably the wine bug

really started to follow me.

(ambient music)

Then Mynhardt asked me, "Would you want to be a waiter?"

I got so emotional and I almost cried.

(indistinct chatters)

I can still remember when I called my mum

and told her that I have chose my career path,

I am going to study wine now

and to her I don't think it sounded like real.

(ambient music)

(axe thudding)

(ambient music)

Things were really tough in Zimbabwe

and I really experienced that myself.

- [Radio Announcer] - Once the beacon

of the African continent,

Zimbabwe is facing its worse financial crisis.

Right now the economy is shrinking,

unemployment is rising.

[Radio Announcer] Corruption and economic mismanagement

have pushed Zimbabwe to the brink.

- [Radio Announcer] - Endless queues for petrol,

empty shelves in supermarkets and rapid inflation.

[Radio Announcer] Many parts of the country

are now without food and fuel,

seven million people face starvation.

I couldn't let my family starve,

so myself and Amelia decided to go to South Africa

so that we could actually get any job to feed the family.

But we made a decision

of leaving our two-year-old son behind,

we didn't wanna take that risk.

Many people died trying to cross the border illegally.

(baby crying)

They were getting shot by police or soldiers,

some of them were caught by crocodiles.

(car engine revving)

We paid these guys who could smuggle people via train.

They got us locked in a railway container.

It was very hot that day, I remember,

with no fresh air coming inside or nothing.

People were falling and fainting,

we started to be cooked inside.

Luckily we made it into South Africa,

but we almost died.

(bright upbeat music)

(speaking in foreign language)

Hey JV, how are you?

- How are you doing? - We're good men.

(indistinct chatters)

Okay, remember at the championship

to bring some white paper with you always.

I suggest as well that you get a small LED lamp

in case you're really in bad light.

They decide the table, we don't decide the table,

you might be in a corner and that's not cool.

- I mean it's too young or? - In 2017, we would-

- It's not the same as drinking wine at all.

You don't shove the stuff down your throat

and say, oh that's nice.

It's much more about the structure of the wine,

thing like acidity, tannin, sweetness, bitterness

and then you have colour and aromatics.

And you are using a different part of your brain as well,

you are using analytical side.

Nothing is actually gonna give you any pleasure.

First impression?

Marlvin?

- Gummy. - Kanashe?

No, first impression as a Syrah.

Okay.

Yeah, I thought it was like a Beaujolais as well.

Sangiovese from Chianti, 2011 Italy.

Okay.

And now it's time to discuss

because that's a difficult wine that there's no agreement,

we're all around the world.

What makes you go to Sangiovese?

- The acidity's too high. - Acidity is high.

It's very similar to doing a mathematical equation

and that's why the best tasters

are people who are quite logical

and quite binary by the way in their thinking.

(slurps)

But it's a team sport,

so it's not only by your ability to taste,

it's about trusting the other tasters.

How's Grenache?

- Grenache? - From where?

If you say Grenache then I wouldn't go to Rhone,

I would go to Priorat maybe, Spain.

But the tannins and the wood expression on the nose

as well for me it's leading me to Italy.

Remember it can be a blend,

which one do we have?

Grenache or the Pinot noir?

I think it's Nebbiolo.

We got Nebbiolo?

- I'm changing now. - (all laughing)

But you're saying Italy.

You try and come up with things that it could be.

Okay, okay, Nebbiolo.

And it is immensely rare for anyone ever

however expert to nail it absolutely.

So we're you gonna still say Sangiovese, a Chianti.

Okay, Sangiovese Chianti, Italy?

Any producer, any vintage?

I need an answer now the next wine is coming.

Vintage?

- '14. - 2014.

Guys, Sangiovese is 2014 Chianti.

- Producer? - Kettmeir.

Okay.

- You want the answer? - Yeah.

It's Grenache.

Mostly Grenache - Yeah.

85% Grenache.

They're good, they're really good,

but sometimes they're depressed

because in these trainings when out of ten wines,

you only recognise two, you feel...

Forgive my French, you feel like shit.

But that's the reality, it's extremely tough.

And just to give you an idea,

they've changed, they used to be in bottle-

- JV is very influential to most of us

and he pushes us to the limit

and we learn quite a lot from him,

technically, he's good in tasting

and he's good in his craft.

- Yeah. - Yeah.

He's one guy you can say has got an ego,

but he's good at what he does.

Fresh acidity.

I get challenged in his ego, I want to be better than him.

So I'm just gonna make a few blends

and see which one will come close.

Test Kitchen is actually the best restaurant in South Africa

for the past six years in a row.

The highest we've got is 22nd in the world.

And the Chenin I love, just gonna put a bit more.

Tinashe has been here for...

How many years..

How many years have you been here now?

Two and a half, it flies I say, it's ridiculous,

for the diner it's very much about the wine.

It's the first time I've worked with a sommelier

that really resonates and that I can really relate to.

And I think that if you go that connection,

the you can do special things.

We are getting there.

- That's better, all right? - Yeah.

I came to South Africa January 2008...

How much did I put in here?

I could sense things are really getting bad in Zim,

at that point, the money you'd get paid the whole month

wasn't even enough for your day's bus fare.

(ambient music)

(door opens and closes)

All of a sudden, I just said guys I'm going,

I packed my little savings I had

and followed the whole movement down south.

I had never travelled outside the country before then.

When I got there, there wasn't any person of colour

doing any sort of job I was doing back home

so the chances of me being a foreigner

getting that job was like impossible.

Those are the realities that hit you

like, back home of course things were bad,

but you come here, you can't do the same job.

That's when people started to say,

like, here this is what you do,

you have to start from afresh

and forget about your Zim life.

(ambient music)

I spent early part of my childhood

with my grandfather and my grandmother,

they were very, very hardworking people

like big farmers in the area.

(ambient music)

I used to go with my grandfather in the mountains,

I remember the joy of just reaching the top.

(ambient music)

It was a sense of achievement sitting on top of the world.

(ambient music)

It's awash with Zimbabwean fruits,

like Nhunguru and Nhengeni,

as a kid you're excited, you just wanna grab everything,

he'll tell you, no, this one is edible

or this is not edible.

He's teaching you, he's almost guiding you on your way,

I hope one day I can go back there

and plant the first vines on the slopes

and work the land my grandfather used to work.

(indistinct chatters)

Reading wine in the books is more European,

you get blackberries, blueberries

even strawberries or cherries,

it's not something indigenous to where we grew up.

It was something I had to learn,

probably going through supermarkets

and buying the blueberries, but the memory isn't the same.

(ambient music)

Then one day, I started picking up these berries

I grew up eating,

an environment I was so familiar to,

it almost took me back home.

(ambient music)

Of course, 'Wine of Origin', in the true sense,

is where the wine is from,

but I've never been to that place.

Why can't 'Wine of Origin' be where the wine is taking me?

(ambient music)

(indistinct chatters and laughter)

It was my pitch.

Thank you.

All right guys, we've got one minute.

Two minutes.

(clears throat)

I got into wine four years ago,

working in restaurants in South Africa

at the time when I was still saving up some money

to finish my computer studies

and started studying wines rather than computers.

It's just the work of God.

(singing praises in foreign language)

♪ We worship you father

♪ Oh yes we worship you ♪

Hallelujah.

I come from a very strong Christian background

and everything that we do,

we're always being told that you should pray

and God will always provide 'cause He is the provider,

He is your protector, He is your saviour.

(praying in foreign language)

Four years ago, I was blessed with a property,

then two years later,

then were blessed with another property

that we recently moved in,

so I think it's been blessings after blessings.

What is she saying?

- I love you mum. - Come sit here.

(indistinct chatters)

God is good, God is great,

thank you for our food, amen.

- Amen. - You can have a seat.

Here's your cornflakes.

I'm not a wine person,

but just because he is,

I've learnt to also know more about the wines,

I've also learnt to taste some of the wines with him,

just to give him support.

(indistinct chatters)

He is very dedicated,

he concentrates on what he does, he pushes,

he go over the boundaries even at home.

Number one.

(indistinct chatters)

I would say I'm competitive, I like competing.

Go, go, go.

(all laughing)

Two short ones.

I met Joseph when I moved to Cape Town

and he was working at a restaurant in Wellington.

(indistinct chatters)

Joseph was selling wine to a table

and I was sitting by the bar.

The normal watch the glasses that aroma actually come.

For me it sounded like nonsense at that time

I was like okay, you know what?

Just give them the wine then let them enjoy.

Then when he came to the bar, I said,

"I heard what you were saying to that table,

please tell me more."

(indistinct chatters)

He poured a glass of wine and he said, "Taste,".

I tried to be brave,

it is bitter and not very welcoming on my palate

then one sip was one glass,

one glass was two glasses to the bottle,

that was the start of it.

(indistinct chatters)

When we met we were working together back in Zimbabwe

then we moved to Cape Town working at the same place

so we are always together so there was no time to miss him.

- Numbers. - Number in what?

Numbers first.

- Right? - Colours.

Colours, no you are good at colours now,

we want to do numbers.

(speaks in foreign language)

Things were getting with back in Zimbabwe,

we have a baby, we have to eat, we have to pay the rent,

so it was way better to come here.

There was only two classes in Zimbabwe,

there was only the rich and the poor.

(ambient music)

My father died when I was five.

My mother was a domestic worker,

she literally raised my sister and me by herself.

(ambient music)

My idea of coming to South Africa

was I needed to actually become financially stable

so that I can support my mother,

take off some burden from her and support my family as well.

But when I made that move,

that's when she suddenly suddenly passed away.

It was hard to cope,

when I think of home it's only her that I think of

and for me to be going back there,

it means I have to face the reality

that she's gone, she's no more.

(ambient music)

I think she would be very proud.

She was the person who actually literally told me

every single day that you just like your father

because my father also likes to excel,

I feel that in me every time I challenge myself.

(ambient music)

(sirens blaring)

(car engine roaring)

When I see guys asking for employment,

it really reminds me of who I was

when I came to South Africa, I used to do the same.

Can I have two guys?

No no, wait, wait, I have to pick, I have to pick,

you can't just all come in.

Please, I said I want two guys.

- Only two? - I said I want two guys.

- I wanted only two- - Can you add only one?

I can even more when we need more.

What's your name?

All right cheers, please I'll see you later.

- So where are you guys from? - Zimbabwe.

In which part of Zimbabwe are you from?

Mutare and?

Masvingo.

So did you bring your family here?

- Yeah. - Is your wife here and-

- Yeah, my wife is here. - Children?

- Children in Zimbabwe. - Zimbabwe.

- Where do you stay? - At Nyanga.

I've read so many stories about people staying in Nyanga

in terms of being mugged, cell phones stolen.

If you don't have a certain Rand in your pocket,

they're going to stab you- They will stab you.

So they will stab you then they will say go.

Yeah, if you don't have nothing must just stab you.

- So you must have something- - Something in your pocket.

- For them? - Yeah.

I fully understand exactly where you're coming from

and what you're saying because

I came through the same route and the same channel,

I got mugged in Joburg, many times,

my coins, I only had coins, some two Rand,

they would take that,

at some stage they said, take off your jacket

if you don't have money, all these things

and it was done in front of my wife's eyes.

- Eish. - Yeah.

(sombre music)

It was a really dark side of my life.

We could pray but prayers

couldn't actually get us any help,

we didn't have any clue

when are we going to leave this place

and how are we going to leave this place

and where are we going?

I was just...

We're lost, we're in the middle of nowhere.

I don't think that people realised how difficult

it would be for them when they arrived in South Africa,

leaving a very desperate situation in their own country,

wanting to find work and a new life

and being confronted with very difficult circumstances.

(crowd jeering)

[Radio Announcer] This is the most brutal violence

the country has seen since apartheid,

dozens of immigrants are being beaten, stoned

or hacked to death in the settlements around Johannesburg.

(sombre music)

No matter how difficult things were,

people still felt that they were better off here

than if they were back at home.

It was a humanitarian crisis that hadn't been anticipated

in terms of the hundreds of thousands of people

coming to South Africa predominantly from Zimbabwe.

(singing in foreign language)

And luckily, there was a Methodist church pastor,

who's got a church in the CBD

where we could actually get our shelter there.

[Radio Announcer] This is how Zimbabwean refugees

in Johannesburg so out a

national holiday here last night.

These the flotsam and jetsam

of Robert Mugabe's repressive regime,

cramped cheek by jowl in a church.

There were already well over 3000 people

seeking refuge in the church.

Bishop Paul Verryn had a policy

of never turning anyone away,

he wanted to stand by every single person

that walked into that church

to provide a place of safety for people,

a place where they could get back on their feet

and move forward.

Please pray with me.

That man saved our lives.

Sorry I'm being emotional,

but there's so many people who helped me

in a way that I could actually be where I am right now

in different ways.

I owe so much to the world.

(sombre music)

I did what I really don't think I had an option to do,

the person who really has done it, is Joseph.

He has opened up the creative space in his mind,

he is recognised that there is a giftedness in him.

The world needs to wake up to the fact

that migrants are not cockroaches and pests

that need to be stamped out

and regarded as an invasion of our sacred space.

Some of the most profoundly developed

and incredibly wonderful minds don't fit

where we think they belong.

Look at the intensity of the colour

and I want the first point in one minute

because we all believe we got time

but during the competition,

trust me the next glass is coming much faster

than you can imagine.

- Do you pick up Gavi? - A little bit.

Pick up what?

- Tree bark. - Tree bark.

Tree bark, very fresh tree bark,

- they peel a tree bark back. - Yeah?

- Let's go Italy then. - It's Italy.

- It's Italy? - So we are now in Italy.

Okay, we got one minute now.

The odds are stacked against them

to train for a competition

where the wine could come from anywhere in the world

I mean London is a great place,

we've got access to most of the wines of the world,

but being in Cape Town on a tight budget

is really very, very trying.

The world of wine is very bad at diversity,

I mean, it's white faces wall to wall

and I thought if we can do anything to show

what we're missing by being so exclusively white,

then that's a good thing.

So I started a sort of crowdfunding initiative

and publicised it.

(xylophone music)

(phone chimes)

I'd say she's probably one of the wine gods.

It's actually it's spectacular,

everyone in the wine world wanna be involved with her.

(xylophone music)

(phone chimes)

I didn't have that much expectation

that we're going to actually reach the target in time.

It was like a dream every time I would look look through

the crowdfunding and I'm like 40%, now it's like 50, 55.

(bright upbeat xylophone music)

It was a worldwide thing.

People I've encountered through the restaurant

and they live in Britain, they live in Belgium

in the Netherlands.

It was a quite a humbling experience,

we needed a minimum of six and a half thousand pounds

in just less than a month and a half we got 8500 pounds.

♪ Rockas

♪ We are warriors

♪ The system can't hold us down ♪

♪ We are warriors

♪ Jah brought the chains

we afraid to move around ♪

♪ We are warriors

♪ We have a plan to the games they play ♪

♪ So we're doing everything one way, Jah way ♪

♪ We are warriors

♪ Yeah Morgan Heritage ♪

♪ Soulja (phone ringing)

Can you see us?

(all laughing)

(speaking in French)

Are you happy now?

Now we have a coach for France, we just chose him,

his name is Denis Garret, I know him quite well,

we're very good friends.

Tinashe is asking if you have extra wines

which you are gonna pack in your car

which we can taste, something interesting.

Or we can taste at your house.

Yeah (chuckles).

Okay, that's good.

Taste the whole cellar at your house (laughs).

So Denis, do you want to give your money at the airport,

the 400 Euros-

- Yes, it's better because I need it anyway

because I'm not rich I'm poor.

But you get the other 400 after the competition.

- Yeah, that's- - That's what we agreed.

Yeah, that's just to cover my expenses, okay?

We can't give you everything

because maybe you run away from Team Zimbabwe then what?

(all laughing)

And then you go to team Monaco.

(all laughing)

- Okay bye, bye. - Bye.

[Denis] Enjoy your day and take care of you, I love you.

[Joseph] Love you too, pass our regards to Alex, okay?

- Bye bye. - Bye bye.

[Joseph] Merci.

Oh, Danny Garret (chuckles).

He is a French crazy character, but in a good way

(chuckles)

His knowledge is just amazing,

he is more like wine encyclopaedia

he was once the best wine taster in the world.

Well, we also want to cut some costs,

was not budget to get a coach from this side,

fly him to overseas, so he is there already.

(pigeon wings rattling)

(ambient music)

Denis is a spectacular man, very bizarre.

You like the guy or you hate the man.

(birds chirping)

Do you think you can irritate people?

Oh, immediately.

(birds chirping)

When you speak loudly you irritate people...

You want to taste?

When you speak too much you irritate people again,

I like to interrupt people while speaking together,

I love it.

One is blue one is red, I just put the blue in first.

That simple, what I do every morning,

I'm sorry, I'm very old now.

Oh, immediately when I put that I hear the birds,

the songs of the wind and the road and I can hear you,

so now we can speak.

When I was young I shoot too much birds

and I lost one ear.

(imitates shooting)

So I have only one ear and I cannot hear on the right

or in the back, on the front,

I don't know where comes the sound.

(birds chirping)

One morning I woke up and I said to my wife,

I have one good news and one bad news,

I give you all my fortune and I leave immediately.

Because she was too much for me.

Blah blah crying, she was never satisfied by my behaviour

so I said it's better to be free alone, bye.

(ambient music)

I love to be alone on the bike,

I have no stress on the bike, and I just feel serenity,

freedom, freedom, La Liberte.

(ambient music)

I leave now day after day.

(door shuts)

(birds chirping)

Maybe I want to be poor.

(birds chirping)

Why to be a wealthy man?

(motorcycle engine revving)

Danny's been a friend for almost 20 years,

when I met him I organise wine competition

and I must say I was impressed.

Is he still a good taster?

No is not as good as he used to be,

that's clear and he admits it.

I think here what we need to focus on

is not the flower, the fruit, the cranberry,

it's the texture.

Violet.

When Joseph asked me what about coaching?

I said I cannot coach two teams,

it's impossible it's unethical,

I don't know I would,

he is a friend but he knows how much I focus on my team.

I offered them other sommeliers

and people that were willing to to help to train them

while in France and drive them.

Team Zimbabwe decided to keep Denis,

that's their choice, who am I to know better?

(motorcycle engine revving)

(car honking)

(birds chirping)

Nashe, you want to help papa pack?

(kisses) You gonna miss papa, huh?

Help papa close the bag.

(zipper zips)

I've got my passport here,

still clean, unstamped, I've got my lovely visa here,

so I'm waiting for that first one and am out.

Let's go, let's go.

- Papa. - Yeah.

My past week has been hectic,

I was working all week in the restaurant

and had a lot of flu,

so I didn't have much wine this week

I tried to stay off alcohol, so I'm clean, clean, clean.

Papa is going Nashe.

I hope the flu won't really effect

but yeah, we really fine tune,

we're ready to go, ready to conquer the world.

Give papa a hug.

Aah, love you.

Give me a kiss.

(kisses)

All right, good girl.

(indistinct chatters)

I'm a little bit nervous (chuckles),

I've never been out of Africa.

You're not smiling.

You are not smiling.

He doesn't even sleep, that's how excited he is.

(prays in foreign language)

Thank you.

Okay.

(car engine roaring)

(speaks in foreign language)

What's up, what's up?

How is it?

I'm calling my mum.

(phone ringing)

- Hello. - Hello.

- Hey mama. - Hey Joseph.

I am at the airport now with the boys

we are going now to France, so I'll see you when I get back.

Okay mama I love you all.

- Love you too- - Cheers bye, bye.

(ambient music)

♪ Lalaah lalala

♪ Lalah lalaaah

♪ Lala lalaah

We are going to pick up by friends,

I'm so glad they are in France now

and we are going to win the competition.

If the cameraman don't disturb them too much,

if they are very relaxed, okay?

Can you do it?

Thank you.

(phone ringing)

Hello, oh, how are you my friend?

You're here.

(indistinct chatters)

(indistinct prayers)

Okay. (both laughing)

Too short (laughs).

It's a double XL?

Denis must go to the diet, huh?

Yeah, you must tuck in your stomach.

(all laughing)

♪ Zvakatanga riniko zvichapera Seiko ♪

♪ Ah woye ah hiye woyere

♪ Zvakatanga riniko zvichapera Seiko ♪

♪ Ah woye ah hiye woyere

♪ Zvakatanga riniko zvichapera Seiko ♪

♪ Ah Zvichapera zvichapera

♪ Zvichapera zvichapera

♪ Were hiye woreye

♪ Wereyi I-I-I

♪ U-u-u-u u-hu-hu

Bonjour, my name is Danny, Denis.

(laughs)

Huh, how are you?

I'm fine, how are you?

Fine thanks very good to see you.

(birds chirping)

Good to see you (chuckles).

Everybody's here,

Good welcome to France.

Thank you, good to be here.

Hi Danny.

(indistinct chatters)

Both for Team South Africa and for Team Zimbabwe,

our problem is rare wines, unusual ones

and that's why I have put a programme together,

we're gonna do this tour, France, in Germany

arriving in Burgundy,

that's a holy grail for all wine lovers.

In the heart of Vaudeville-

- There's an African word we use in South Africa

which is 'Ubuntu, ' the art of sharing

and getting together to share, that's what we're doing now.

I could see many people trying to make,

Oh, make a competition Zimbabwe against South Africa,

I'm not interested in that, I want both seem to do the best.

Smell well the aroma, aroma-

- JV is a good friend of mine and JV is a great sommelier,

but for me, I would like to make my own tour.

I'm not disagreeing with everybody

but in the programme I have a few places I would like to be,

I cannot, so I follow the music.

Team SA come with me, Team Zim see you in 10 minutes.

(indistinct chatters)

The blue (indistinct) is waiting for you.

It's gonna be training every day, three four times,

every time we stop at least one bottle,

just to get their palate and their mind tuned.

Before lunch you only allowed to eat

if you can find what wine is that,

otherwise no food, that's (chuckles) motivation.

Can I see everybody?

- Africa. - Africa.

(camera flashes)

♪ Du bleu ♪ Du rouge

♪ Du jaune ♪ Du vert

♪ Du blanc ♪ Du rose ♪

♪ Du noir ♪ Du mauve

♪ Le ciel ♪ La mer

♪ Le soleil ♪ La Terre ♪

♪ La nuit ♪ Le jour

♪ L'été ♪ L'hiver

♪ Je veux de la couleur ♪

♪ Je veux de la couleur

♪ Je veux de la couleur sur mes mains ♪

♪ Je veux de la couleur dans ma vie ♪

♪ Je veux de la couleur dans mes nuits ♪

♪ Je veux de la couleur dans tes yeux ♪

♪ Je veux de la couleur

So we are two days away from the competition

which is a bit tight

so we trying to use each and every opportunity that we get,

just to keep our palates ready.

Even in the car we tasting,

yeah, everywhere we can.

(upbeat music)

We ended up testing wines 3 A.M, 3:30.

(bright upbeat music)

You really do have to try to avoid nerves,

the adrenaline starts pumping

and that moment all your taste buds are muted

and out of balance.

At one point I remember telling the guys

my palate is numb, I can't taste anything.

In the run up to the competition,

maybe do some other form of displacement activity

like reading newspapers.

♪ Je veux de la couleur

♪ Je veux de la couleur ♪

♪ Je veux de la couleur ♪

♪ Je veux de la couleur sur mes mains ♪

♪ Je veux de la couleur dans ma vie ♪

♪ Je veux de la couleur dans mes nuits ♪

♪ Je veux de la couleur dans tes yeux ♪

♪ Je veux de la couleur

♪ Je veux de la couleur

♪ Je veux de la couleur

♪ Je veux de la couleur

Nashe, are you sleeping?

Where is mummy?

Where is mummy?

(laughs)

Kiss mama for me.

All right, bye, bye Nashe.

- I love you. - Okay I love you.

- Good night. - Good night

good night sleep well.

- Love you. - Love you too.

Bye, you won't finish, bye, bye (chuckles).

This one is (chuckles) too much trouble.

(indistinct chatters)

This morning, I forced them to wake up early

and we decided to do something special for them,

what they want to do today, they want to taste great wine.

Denis has quite a lot of connections and many Chateaus

where we can go by his invitation

just because he knows the owners of the of the Chateaus.

(speaks in French)

At the same time JV wanted to have the two teams

travelling together everywhere,

Denis at that point said you know what?

I'm gonna put an end to this.

Danny just decided to try to get a new friend

so he brings teams Zimbabwe and the movie crew

to a place he wants to go,

I mean otherwise he will not be able to go in it

And he's fucking up all the plans,

doesn't care about the training,

but it's fine, it's okay,

it's okay, I'm not the coach, they do what they want.

I'm not sure even knows what his agenda is,

he just wanna make a new friend and gain legitimacy

or endorsements or credibility

that has been losing a long time ago, thank you.

(car engine roaring)

JV, he want to check and control everything,

you cannot do that.

He prefer I obey to him, must obey, no, no JV.

I do what I want.

Being a coach is first

thinking of what's good for your team.

(indistinct chatters)

I know my way to do it as well

because I've been doing that for five years,

so I know what works and what is a waste of time.

(all laughing)

(speaking in French)

The reason of my trip was not to do tourism,

is not to meet important people,

is to expose my team to wines

that they would not have tasted otherwise.

So when he decided to go to this wine estate

to taste one wine,

while we have been tasting 20 wines,

then I think Denis image became more important

than Team Zimbabwe's future.

(birds chirping)

(wine glugging)

I don't want blah blah, I don't want to speak,

I want just to help you,

if you need help, I can help you.

Danny, what's the whole procedure, must we...

[Denis] And I want to hear you because I am deaf.

That's it.

- No, no. - Okay, so?

What's the procedure here?

Are we writing everyone writing first or is...

So, the colour, is it an indication for you?

I think it's Swartland, 2014 Syrah Mullineux.

- 2014? - It could be.

It's not like this.

[Denis] Who wants to take responsibility for the country?

Can we conclude the wine, the four of us

then we give you all the results - [Denis] Okay, go, go.

Then from there we'll discuss the wine.

- I'm gonna go to Rhone. - Yeah, I'm Rhone.

I'm gonna go to Rhone, Southern Rhone.

- Southern Rhone. - Yeah, Southern Rhone.

- Syrah, New World- - Old.

What winery if it's South Africa?

No, but we're not going to South Africa,

we concluded it's Old World-

- No, no, I am not confused, I want just to go to the clue.

Are you giving us the clue to the wine?

[All] What winery?

Are you giving us the clue to the wine?

[Denis] One, two, three, we got that.

Okay, that is South Africa, Syrah.

What vintage?

- '15, I think so. - From where?

Wine number two.

When we get the wine like this,

just pour wine and leave.

Yeah, yeah, I give you the glass.

Leave us for two minutes.

Yeah, yeah two minutes no more.

You think it's a New World style or it's Old style?

Did you taste it before?

Wait, wait Denis.

So we think it's French, Bordeaux.

Right Bank, Pomerol, Merlot, Cab-

- Yeah. - 2000 vintage.

Château Trotanoy.

Okay, now we finish game.

It's Bordeaux 2001.

(all cheering and laughing)

We are going to win.

- 2001. - We are going to win.

(bright upbeat music)

Ooh la la!

This looks classy.

I leave my jacket, we probably fanned.

Yeah, but it's classy.

Classical.

(indistinct chatters)

Hold on congrats, you got the trophy.

- Nice to meet you- - Joseph.

Wine tasting is a very humbling experience,

you can be on top of your game one tasting

and then finish last the next one,

so you've gotta take it all, one competition at a time.

When you come you you want to finish first

of course, that's the French way to compete,

but we know that it's going to be tough.

We're not scared of anyone, not at all.

[Interviewer] Who do you see as your main rivals?

'Considering we finished in last place, everyone right?

Yeah.

(speaking over each other)

I know how worried you must be.

(all laughing)

Hi, very- - Lovely meeting you finally.

Are you happy?

- Is everything okay? - Very much so (chuckles).

(all laughing)

Lovely.

Very, very nice.

The amazing thing that the

Zimbabwean guys have done for me,

who's been writing about wine for 42 years

and is rather sort of blase about the whole thing

and takes wine for granted,

is rekindle the magic of wine really.

By my seeing what wine has done for them

and the awe with which they regard wine,

something very, very special.

(wine glass dings)

This is a lovely song,

which we have decided to actually sing for everyone

especially Jancis Robinson.

(sings in foreign language)

(all clapping and cheering)

Where I am coming from, where I am right now,

there is a massive difference.

A lot happened and I've seen a lot.

Every time when I think about it,

it's like watching a horror movie.

(ambient music)

We try our best to forget,

but then of course, it's there.

Our journey is actually tattooed in our brains

and in our hearts, it's difficult to take it off.

(ambient music)

(dramatic soft music)

(birds chirping)

When you're going into war, you get a war cry,

you might unsettle some of your competitors.

(chanting in foreign language)

Whenever I do something with that flag,

I feel proud of my country.

We can be the worst in the world

but I will never throw my identity in the ocean.

I'm Zimbabwean, I was born Zimbabwean,

I reside in South Africa, but I will die Zimbabwean.

(indistinct background chatters)

I think the whole mood was,

guy's, you're going to make history.

Which ear is deaf?

This one is perfect?

Okay, so I'll sit here on your left hand side.

We're proud to welcome you

because you're the best palates in the world.

(audience clapping)

[Announcer] Wine number one is about to be served.

(ambient music)

(dramatic upbeat music)

What vintage?

- Let's eliminate... - Sauvignon Blanc.

It's not Sauvignon Blanc, it's not Chardonnay.

It's not Sauvignon Blanc, it's not Chardonnay?

It's not Chenin?

Chenin?

You said Chenin, okay.

It's not Chenin, it's not Chenin.

It's not Chenin?

It's very medicinal.

Allez, allez, allez, quick!

Can we discuss please?

Let's discuss.

Hello, who's speaking?

- Vintage? - It's Old World, New World,

because of ripeness on my palate.

Do you know the wine?

We think so.

You're cool, what's that?

- Wait! - Allez, allez.

You know that?

Give me a moment.

- Old World? - Give me a moment.

Wait, wait, wait.

Don't push too hard, we gonna give you.

Just ask the aromas, what aromas are you picking up,

so that you can relate us to the grape variety,

if you push us too hard we're gonna lose it.

Okay go, go, go.

You have one minute.

He wanted to do everything in two minutes.

You need to concentrate, you need to focus,

those 2, 3, 4, 5 seconds really matters.

He was feeling a lot of pressure

and he couldn't manage it well.

If not to be done so go straight to wine.

(ambient music)

I think this is a wine from the hot climate,

because you can feel the alcohol.

I swear to God I still get that (indistinct).

And we seem (speaks in French).

(speaking in Chinese)

But I know where we are all going men,

I know where we are all going.

- Riesling 2014 - Good!

- From where? - Australia.

- Huh? - Australia.

- Australia. - Austria?

Australia!

You think from Austria?

Australia.

Don't, don't...

Then we go down to Italy,

but then what's the level of acidity on this white wine?

- What's that? - Acidity.

Okay the we might rule that out.

Okay, if I tell you Moshin does that ring a bell to you?

- Huh? - Moshin.

- It's Hermitage. - Write Rhone on top.

Just write Rhone on top here.

You want to lose points?

How do you lose points?

Because it's not right.

So you cannot put Rhone or Alsace or...

It's bizarre.

Denis, it's only one point, please do it.

- Rhone here. - Yeah, but...

So I told him what to do and he kept on doing some stuff

which I didn't want him to do.

(indistinct chatter)

I can't afford to argue and quarrel in an exam.

- Like it's tannin- - Uh-uh!

- Yes I promise- - Okay.

He is turning this against us.

What wine, what do you think?

(speaks in French)

Sorry please, explain to me please, in English.

You have two papers, the original one

which is supposed to be marked

and the other one where you use as a draft.

I don't know why he was writing on the original one.

Is the final answer but we are still arguing

and we aren't sure of certain wines.

(speaks in French)

You see, if you write something

and you want to change,

it's not possible.

Huh?

If you write something and say, Luvert, zero.

Shit.

I just ask him, he says if you want to change...

No, no, just give me that.

- No, you write on that one. - Write on this one.

But I said just-

- We ended up saying, you know what Danny?

Just sit there, we'll tell you what to do,

because otherwise you're gonna

just mess everything up for us.

Okay guys, don't stress, give it time,

we are not done yet so don't stress a lot.

- Okay. - Don't stress a lot.

Then boom we get our next wine.

(dramatic music)

It took me some time to actually get into the rhythm

communicating with the guys like,

okay I'm testing these guys I think I've got this.

(indistinct chatters)

You have to have confidence,

you have to be able to argue and convince

because the moment when you don't debate,

you can miss one or two points.

It got a deep purple taste.

The structure, the tannin, the weight.

Wait, wait- (indistinct).

(both laughing)

More, more, more, more, more.

(speaks in foreign language)

Sweating donkey it was (claps).

(speaks in foreign language)

Because Grenache is normally strong and forward.

Mulberry, cassis and grape fruit.

(dramatic music)

It's time, we have to come and collect now.

(indistinct chatters)

Okay go.

It is sweet.

- This is it. - Yeah, this is it.

Past six months we've been doing it.

(indistinct chatters)

The wines were just super challenging this year,

we struggled on a number of the reds-

- Number one, the first wine.

It started off really well, blocked completely.

It's always difficult, it's always difficult.

I think we're pretty cool, huh?

Yeah, we're pretty cool.

(cheering)

You hear all these people telling you

what should have been number seven,

so you just wanna block it out. I don't really believe the truth

until Philippe de Cantenac says, Great Britain first place.

(audience cheering and clapping)

First of all, I going to give you the list of the wines

you have been tasting this morning.

Yes, very excited about that.

Well, the wine number one, Chesler.

(crowd cheering)

Yes.

Switzerland, Fendant Fully, Cave des Amandiers, Valais 2015.

Those kind of wines, they're really quite obscure.

We were never gonna get it, so ...

maybe the next one we're gonna get it.

Wine number two, Vermentino, France, Bellet,

Clos St-Vincent, el Vintage 16.

[Joseph] And it was okay, oh my god,

Riesling, Germany, Sonnenberg Palatina Pfalz.

Friedriech Becker, Vintage 11.

Number four was quite a difficult one to swallow.

Chenin, South Africa (crowd cheers) Stellenbosch,

Ken Forrester, The FMC, Vintage '15.

[Joseph] From then on, it became a whirlwind.

The realisation came but soon afterwards,

I was like okay guys, I don't think we did enough

but I just hope we're not last.

Well, we're going to call now all the teams here, okay?

The last one but thank you for coming with 24 points,

it is Italy.

Stephania, yes we can applaud him.

(audience applauding)

Yeah, team 23, Zimbabwe Team.

(audience cheering)

With 46 points, 46.

Well honestly, it's been a journey,

what's important to us is just being here.

We're gonna make more friends here

and it's not the end of the journey,

we're gonna keep on fighting,

we're gonna come back again next next time,

thank you very much, thank you everyone,

thank you the organisers, thank you.

(audience cheering and clapping)

(ambient music)

After everything we had done

and where we had been

and probably in the end we were a bit overoptimistic.

[Announcer] This year or champion it's Sweden.

(audience cheering and clapping)

But I still felt the disappointment,

I couldn't hide it actually.

(sombre music)

(indistinct chatters)

Yes Caitlin, how are you?

It's Pardon, can I please speak to Batsie?

Is she at work already?

Yes. Thank you very much, bye.

I was trying to call her because she was mugged last night,

she was robbed as she was just being dropped off

at home by Uber and then people just came

and robbed her bag and her cell phone and her money.

I'm trying to get hold of her and see if she's okay.

Yeah, it's part of life,

life in South Africa.

(sombre music)

(birds chirping)

I was a bit disappointed, no one loves losing.

We are good tasters, we knew we could do better

obviously have to face your friends and family

who were really excited about you and how do you explain it

what you're feeling in your heart

like I've disappointed everyone.

(ambient music)

But the response really shocked me,

especially most of the people in Zim,

people getting motivated

and telling me I'm inspired of what you're doing.

(cheers and dancing)

(ambient music)

The most important thing was to represent the country,

I love Zimbabwe.

But I don't think they know what they have,

there's so much untapped talent in Zimbabwe.

If we all work together as a unit,

as one people, one person,

we can put our country back on track,

we just wanna help the country itself.

(ambient music)

The change won't come from politicians,

we are the change.

(audience clapping and cheering)

(dramatic sombre music)

(speaks in foreign language)

(laughs)

(dramatic sombre music)

This is such a special place,

when you're up here, your conscience is free,

your mind is running wild,

I can even feel my ancestors talking to me now.

Even with the struggles and tribulations

our country's going through,

I can still feel my feet are firmly rooted on this earth.

(dramatic sombre music)

Whenever I come here I know this is where my heart is

and this is where my heart will always be.

(dramatic sombre music)

(indistinct chatters)

(speaking in French)

(cheering)

♪ Shosholoza

♪ Shosholoza ♪

♪ Kulezo ntaba

♪ Stimbela siphubme Zimbabwe

(cheering)

♪ Shosholoza

♪ Shosholoza ♪

♪ Ai shosholoza Wen'uyabaleka ♪

♪ Shosholoza Wen'uyabaleka

♪ Ai shosholoza Wen'uyabaleka

♪ Shosholoza Wen'uyabaleka ♪

♪ Ai shosholoza Wen'uyabaleka

♪ Shosholoza Wen'uyabaleka

♪ Shosholoza Wen'uyabaleka

♪ Shosholoza Wen'uyabaleka

♪ Shosholoza Wen'uyabaleka

♪ Shosholoza Wen'uyabaleka

♪ Shosholoza Wen'uyabaleka

♪ Kulezo ntaba

♪ Stimbela siphubme South Africa ♪

♪ Shosholoza

♪ Shosholoza ♪

♪ Kulezo ntaba

♪ Stimbela siphubme South Africa ♪

♪ Wen'uyabaleka ♪

♪ Wen'uyabaleka ♪

♪ Kulezo ntaba

♪ Stimbela siphubme South Africa ♪

♪ Wen'uyabaleka

♪ Wen'uyabaleka

♪ Kulezo ntaba

♪ Stimbela siphubme South Africa ♪

♪ Kulezo ntaba

♪ Shosholoza

♪ Shosholoza

♪ Shosholoza

♪ Kulezo ntaba

♪ Shosholoza

♪ Shosholoza

♪ Shosholoza

♪ Kulezo ntaba

♪ Shosholoza

♪ Shosholoza

♪ Shosholoza

♪ Kulezo ntaba ♪

♪ Shosholoza ♪

♪ Shosholoza

♪ Kulezo ntaba

♪ Stimbela siphubme South Africa ♪

(bright upbeat music)

(singing in foreign language)