The wine.co.za DTC Academy continues to expand its reach across South Africa's wine regions, delivering tailored training from Tulbagh and Darling to Franschhoek. This year, a structured 3-month rollout of the Wine Sales Advisor program (Levels 1–3) took place in Darling for teams from Blake Family Wines, Darling Cellars, and Groote Post. Spacing out training days allowed candidates to apply their learnings directly in the tasting room between sessions. Meanwhile, in Tulbagh, Saronsberg built on its 2025 Level 1 and 2 training by bringing key team members through to complete Level 3. Social Impact in Action The program continues to prove that upskilling cellar-door staff drives both business growth and social mobility. At Darling Cellars, staff with backgrounds in domestic and kitchen service stepped into wine education, proving that enthusiasm and quality training open entirely new career pathways. Young talent Marchay Engelbrecht was a stand-out candidate, demonstrating incredible drive throughout the course. The Inaugural Certified Class Candidates completing all three modules and passing the final exam earn the Wine Sales Professional Certificate and the official wine.co.za DTC Academy lapel pin. Congratulations to our first certified graduates: Saronsberg: Janine Gabriel, Kundai Mbwenda, Leonie Baadjies Darling Cellars: Marchay Engelbrecht, Sylvia Sias, Natasha Warnick Blake Family Wines: Louise Williams Keen to chat about your training needs? See more about our DTC Academy - please click HERE or email judy@wine.co.za