Not All Smoke And Mirrors: Mosi Tasting At Off The Vine

​We’re back at Off The Vine; Under The influence’s tasting room! At an exclusive wine AND gin tasting.
This tasting is quite special as it is being led by the owner and winemaker of the wines and gin himself, the one and only Joseph Dhafana. It is always endearing when one can have a tasting led by the person that is involved in the production of the wine as the personal connection to the wine really comes through, and the experience comes alive.
If your first thought is ‘Who is Joseph Dhafana?’, then I need you to put a pause on this article and run to Google. Better still, head to YouTube and search ‘Blind Ambition Trailer’. I’ll wait.
You’re back? Good. Now that you have familiarized yourself with the superstar, you can understand our collective excitement at this very special tasting. He is somewhat of a legend among us sommeliers. Although you would not be able to tell as he is a quiet, affable man who is very open and very inclusive. Were you to meet him, you would not know that he regularly rubs shoulders with A list stars such as Gabrielle Union and Dwayne Wade.
Personally, my first time meeting Joseph was in early 2020 at Sierra Brasserie when we were still blissfully unaware of Covid-19 and I was as excited this time around as I was then.

Walking into the tasting room I was served a refreshing glass of Cap Classique by Melissa Mwende which was a great start to the afternoon.
The room was buzzing with energy as everyone filed in, ranging from restauranteurs such as Wahome from Cellars Grill to wine enthusiasts that were personally invited by the importer.
The Mosi wines are named after the Victoria Falls – Mosi Oa Tunya- meaning, the smoke that thunders. An ode to Joseph’s homeland of Zimbabwe. The labels of these wines have a beautiful picture of the falls that have been digitally enhanced. If you get the ‘Label in Motion App’ and view the label through it, you are in for a surprise!
In fact, all of the Mosi products have a story behind their name, each very personal to Joseph and his journey.
We begin by tasting the Gin.
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Mosi ‘Wamambo’ Gin. Wamambo meaning, from the clan of kings.
Joseph crafted this gin with mindfulness and culture at the heart of it. He infuses local and foreign ingredients to produce a gin that is worldly yet authentic. He uses 6 botanicals. Lipia Japanica being the main one. Called Zumbani in Zimbabwe, he forages this wild mint that has for centuries been used as a local remedy for various ailments from the bushes of Chirumhanzu. Silverleaf treeberg, Rooibos, Schezwan pepper from China are also included with Italian juniper rounding out the aromatics. The gin has aromas of citrus and thyme and is polished yet sweet. It can be enjoyed in different ways. Joseph prefers it with San Pellegrino sparkling water and a lady in attendance called Meera emphasized that she would have it on its own on the rocks. Victoria Munywoki loved its different dimensions and called it ‘dangerously good.’ We all agreed as we downed our last sips.

Dianne and Joseph

We closed the night with Victoria and Dianne Chimboza of Under The Influence presenting Joseph with a gift from Kenya

​Whenever you have a bottle of Mosi Wines in your possession, please pour a glass and think of me your wine friend. Mufaro!!