Luvo Ntezo

Luvo Ntezo, Head Sommelier

Internationally recognized as the Best Young Sommelier in South Africa, Luvo Ntezo, at 31, has emerged as the international wine community’s dark horse heralded as one of the best sommeliers in the world.

Born on St. Patrick’s Day in 1983, Luvo grew up modestly in a small town in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. The middle child of two siblings, Luvo’s first introduction to the world of wine was as a pool porter at the Steenberg Hotel in Constantia.

“At the time, I just needed cash to keep me going,” says Luvo who joined the hotel at age 20. “I didn’t have any interest or knowledge of wine. My family had never been big wine drinkers. I just needed a job.”

After six months working as a pool porter, Ntezo recounts a humbling moment that would forever change his life.

“I remember waiting on an English family that was staying at the resort,” says Ntezo. “At that time, most of our guests would just order a glass of wine from the bar but this particular family ordered a bottle. I had never opened a bottle of wine before and after trying repeatedly, I finally had to ask the family for help. The next day I went to the winemaker John Loubser – I wanted him to teach me 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, Ntezo left the Steenberg Hotel to accept a job as a glass washer at the Twelve Apostles in Cape Town – a more affordable commute from his home.

It was again during a chance encounter that he was propelled further towards his destiny as head sommelier at One&Only.

“I was polishing the wine glasses during a wine seminar with the staff of Twelve Apostles when the winemaker offered me a taste,” says Ntezo, who had hesitantly accepted. “They were all admiring the wine, commenting on the flavours and textures – when they asked me what I thought - I said quite certainly that the bottle was corked.”

Ntezo went on to educate the group on the wine’s faults – the brown colour, TCA taint and tart flavours. He was right. The bottle was in fact corked. Impressed by Ntezo’s knowledge, understanding and inherent talent for tasting wine, the then General Manager of the Twelve Apostles, offered to send Ntezo to school and become a certified sommelier for the hotel. Ntezo readily and graciously accepted.

From 2006-2008, Ntezo went on to study at the Cape Wine Academy in Stellenbosch whilst working as a sommelier 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 has won first place every year since. Ntezo went on to compete in the international competition held in Vienna in August 2008 and placed an impressive fourth in the world. Whilst training for the competition, Ntezo was exposed to more than 5000 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. Whilst he grew a strong affinity for the Sparkling Wines of West Sussex, his favourite international grape remains the Pinot Noir from Oregon, a region he dreams of visiting in the near future.

With his international education cementing Ntezo’s expertise as head sommelier, his passion remains embedded in new wineries and emerging terroirs from South Africa. Ntezo’s appointment as Head Sommelier at One&Only Cape Town in June 2011 came at an important time in the industry where mavericks are being celebrated and boutique operations praised for their purist approach to their craft. Ntezo himself 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 tri-level Wine Loft housing more than 5,000 bottles - one of the largest collections in Africa.

“The wine list at our hotel is massive and features both old and new world wines as well as many vertical vintages,” says Ntezo. “It’s my job to introduce our guests to new tastes and to help them celebrate their favourites – there are no golden or unbreakable rules with wine in my opinion.

We want to encourage people to explore their own taste preferences. If we can show them something new to enjoy along the way, we’ve done a good job.”

Passionate about sharing his knowledge with others, Ntezo works closely with the One&Only Cape Town sommelier team, helping them hone their skills and sharing academic material wherever he can. With such an enormous wine list, Ntezo’s challenge is to make wine accessible to diners at the hotel. Recent developments have included the monthly Wine & Dine evenings where small groups (up to 30 people) dine with Ntezo, South African Chef Reuben Riffel and a chosen winemaker.

“I like Reuben’s approach to food and his combining of South African and international flavours – this works very well with our wine collection which is based on the same principles,” explains Luvo. “I tell my team that we are the hosts at a dinner where our aim is to ensure our guests never forget the combined wine and food experience.”

Despite the slew of awards that have come his way over the past few years, Luvo Ntezo is a humble man, clearly passionate for the wine world that he so comfortably now inhabits. Thrilled with his role at One&Only Cape Town, Luvo, who is a father of two, takes great pleasure in the fact that he can walk to work – a luxury he did not enjoy years ago at the Steenberg Hotel.

“I’m enjoying myself and learning a great deal from working at One&Only,” says Luvo. “Every day I discover new things and meet new people; I’m lucky though - wine is a great unifier, it doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from, if you can share and enjoy a bottle of wine, you’re halfway there.”

To reserve a table at either Nobu or Reuben’s One&Only Cape Town, call +27 21 431 4511 or send an email to restaurant.reservations@oneandonlycapetown.com.