BLACC - The Black Cellar Club

FACES of BLACC: Silas Ndung’u Njoki @silas_thesomm

My story of wine began with a rather embarrassing moment when, as a newly promoted bartender, I was unable to provide my F&B Manager with a single recommendation of a wine when asked to accompany him to purchase new wine stock for the hotel that I was employed at, the Kempinski Hotel, Nairobi none other!

I found myself unable to understand what the sommelier was asking, let alone make any contribution during the subsequent tasting session. This sparked in me an admiration for the somewhat suave sommelier and ignited a burning desire to learn about the world’s fine wines and spirits.

I began my learning via online tutorials, happily accepted any basic courses that the Kempinski could offer me and then eventually invested in my future by flying to South Africa and taking the WSET Level 2 accreditation and a year later the WSET Level 3 (at the time, the WSET Courses were not available in Kenya).

With this new knowledge, the Villa Rosa Kempinski created a new position of Sommelier for the hotel, a position that I proudly held until 2019.

I now work for the international Azamara Cruise Lines with head quarters in Miami, Florida.

I will be in the Cape during September to attend the Sommelier Symposium organised by WOSA where a host of international wine markets will be represented. This will enable me to further my understanding of South African wines. I will be representing Kenya at the symposium (after winning the opportunity via a local Kenyan wine challenge ‘showdown’), which will benefit the local industry by me being able to return to Kenya as well as an international audience via Azamara with further knowledge of the Cape’s unique and versatile wines.

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