South Africa

Jeanette Van Der Westhuizen

Jeanette is the Front of House Manager at Black Oystercatcher Winery, a family run vineyard in the Overberg region of South Africa. Having struggled with her vision throughout her life, in 2019 Jeanette was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa. This condition means that Jeanette experiences tunnel vision, night blindness and eventually, complete blindness. Since being diagnosed, Jeanette’s vision has sadly deteriorated further, robbing her of her ability to drive and thus taking away much of her freedom. This got her to thinking of ways she could maintain her sense of independence and push herself further, before realising that there was an answer right in front of her that could not be taken away by her deteriorating vision: wine. Jeanette is determined to undertake the MW, and so she is now pursuing her DipWSET through our Grantee, the International Wine Education Centre, and with support from her Wearing Memories bursary.