How to choose wine as a gift

As the festive season looms, this is the time l would typically begin to invade the cobwebbed section of my limited wine collection in search of Christmas gifts.

Due to the pandemic and months’ long ban on alcohol trade earlier this year, however, l found myself making more regular trips to the wine racks with fewer (or no) replacements being made. As a result, my prized collection is nearly depleted, and the only option left is to hit the Winelands and stores to hunt for bargains.

My aunt just turned 77 and she’s more a quantity over a quality girl, “Every glass l consume saves a job” she likes to say, reminding me of her very noble contribution to the cause. Thus, the only challenge to gift shopping for my aunt is her preference for Pinot Noir which, as we know, doesn’t come at a bargain.

Then there’s that one friend, who always happens to be “in the neighbourhood”, popping in often and leaving empty-handed never. Given his frequent and spontaneous visits, his wine gift is usually something I’ve pulled out of those discounted barrels at the store, where everything you buy is two for the price of one. R400.00 is more than enough to keep him at bay, and away from my reserves, for at least 4 months.

Then there’s my best friend – a man of incredible taste. He’s also someone who takes his passport with him everywhere he goes to remind us how well he’s travelled. For him, Checkers has some Chilean and Spanish plonk at under R150.00, and with a little talking up from me about its origins, he is always appreciative.

The nightmare is my cousin, who, thanks to the Vivino App, believes she’s some kind of wine genius and, to her, ratings are everything. So, at a bit of a splurge, she’ll receive five-star Platter’s wine and nothing less. She’s a banker, so with all this excessive gifting, I expect she’ll come in handy one of these days.

My neighbour, on the other hand, likes his wine in a box and so his gift is usually bought alongside household essentials, which l feel compelled to lie to the cashier and say is for cooking. This is thanks to my dad, who’s managed to convince everyone in the store that I’m some principal authority on wine.

Ultimately, wine gifting is so personal and, of course, quality is considered but the bottom line is even more considered. Christmas is a time to reflect, reward ourselves and those around us and do our best to create joy – do so with wine.

Wine Regards,

Luvo Ntezo

About Luvo Ntezo, head sommelier, One&Only

Luvo Ntezo of One&Only. Picture: Supplied 

Internationally recognized as the Best Young Sommelier in South Africa, Luvo Ntezo has emerged as the international wine community’s shining star, heralded as one of the best sommeliers in the world.

Born in 1983, Luvo grew up modestly in a small town in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. The middle child in a family of three, Luvo’s first introduction to the world of wine was as a pool porter at the Steenberg Hotel in Constantia. “I didn’t have any interest or knowledge of wine. My family had never been big wine drinkers. I just needed a job,” says Luvo.

After six months of working there, a guest ordered a bottle of wine. Luvo at that point had never opened a bottle of wine before, and after trying repeatedly, he had to ask the guest for help. Following the experience, Luvo went to winemaker John Loubser and asked him to teach him all there was to know about wine.

Under Loubser’s mentorship, the young porter gained a comprehensive understanding of both the production and the tactical side of winemaking. In 2003, Luvo left the Steenberg Hotel to accept a job as a glasswasher at the Twelve Apostles in Cape Town. During a chance encounter, and while polishing wine glasses at a wine seminar, the winemaker offered Luvo a taste of the wine.

While everyone else gave positive feedback on this wine, Luvo stated that he believed the bottle to be corked.

He was right.

The bottle was in fact corked. So impressed by his knowledge, understanding and inherent talent for tasting wine, the general manager offered to send Luvo to school and become a certified sommelier for the hotel. From 2006-2008, he studied at the Cape Wine Academy in Stellenbosch, while continuing to work at the hotel.

In 2008, he agreed to participate in the prestigious Young Sommelier’s category in the national Chaîne des Rôtisseurs competition in South Africa. He won first place that year, and in the years following. Luvo went on to compete in the international competition held in Vienna in August 2008 and was placed an impressive fourth in the world.

While training for the competition, Luvo was exposed to thousands of wines from across the globe and enjoyed regular trips to High Street Kensington in the UK to study with some of the best sommeliers in Europe. He soon developed tastes for wine outside of South Africa, including New Zealand, Australia and Canada.

While he grew a strong affinity for the Sparkling Wines of West Sussex, his favourite international grape remains the pinot noir from Oregon.

Luvo’s appointment as head sommelier at One&Only Cape Town in June 2011 came after his mentor, Clive Bennett, joined the prestigious hotel as managing director in December 2010.

His passion remains embedded in new wineries and emerging terroirs from South Africa. Luvo spends much of his time exploring the lesser-known wine-producing

regions of the Cape in search of new offerings to add to One&Only’s impressive collection of 5000 bottles – one of the largest collections in Africa. Visitors to One&Only Cape Town have the opportunity to interact with Luvo in The Wine Studio, a sleek and sophisticated space where key resort wine experiences such as the Sip & Savour and Wine Blending masterclass are held.

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