Jo Wessels was a semi-finalist at the 2021 Best Sommelier of Europe & Africa which took place in Nov in Limassol, Cyprus.and was a quarter finalist at the Best Sommelier of the World in Antwerp in 2019 and is doing his BSc, completing a course in International Wine Business at HGU (Hochschule Geisenheim University).
His German victories are: In 2018, after winning the Rolling Pin Awards’ Sommelier of the Year 2018, being named the ‘Best Young Sommelier’ in the Meininger Nachwuchssommelier 2018 awards and coming first in the DWI (German Wine Institute) Sommelier Cup 2018.
In 2024, he was selected to lead the South African Sommelier Association's Team South Africa along with Jean-Vincent Ridon. Team South Africa is an elite group of the nation's most skilled sommeliers dedicated to representing South Africa in international wine competitions.