What does your job involve?
My role spans the entire journey from vineyard to bottle. In collaboration with our viticulture team, I oversee grape selection and determine optimal picking dates to ensure we bring only the highest-quality fruit into the cellar.
During harvest, I manage all production aspects, from daily grape intakes and team co-ordination to the core of my responsibility: the winemaking itself. This includes defining wine styles, designing experiments and implementing processes that enable us to craft world-class wines. Harvest is an intensely hands-on period for me.
Beyond the cellar, I manage departmental financials, oversee the bottling cellar and co-ordinate entries and strategies for wine competitions.
My role extends far beyond making wine. Developing people and enabling them to reach their full potential is one of the most meaningful aspects of being a senior winemaker.
You had planned to get to be a tennis pro; how did you end up in winemaking?
My journey to winemaking was shaped by an unexpected turning point.
From the age of 13, I represented South Africa in competitive tennis, and my first international tour took me to Australia as part of the national team. Tennis was my world, and in my final year of school, Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, offered me a four-year scholarship to study and play tennis. I moved to the US and studied actuarial science while competing for the university.
During a tournament in Colorado, everything changed. As I ran onto the court, my knee gave way and I tore virtually everything that could tear. In an instant, my competitive tennis career was over. After returning home I restarted my academic journey in South Africa.
The following year, I enrolled at Stellenbosch University to study a BSc in viticulture and oenology. My father was a viticulturist, so the world of vineyards and wine was both familiar and inspiring.
What do you think makes you good at what you do?
A combination of being deeply hands-on, having a finely tuned palate and being supported by an exceptional team.
My approach to winemaking is rooted in presence — being in the vineyards, in the cellar and in the glass. I taste constantly, question relentlessly and stay closely connected to every stage of the process. That engagement sharpens my palate and allows me to make intuitive, confident decisions about style, quality and direction.
But above all, I am only as strong as the people around me. I work with an incredible team.
What is the best career advice you have ever received?
“You work with nature — be patient, show compassion and lead with humanity. Winemaking is a team sport.”
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.