He was once a dedicated athlete, running many marathons in under 2 ½
hours, as well as an examinations officer and teacher for thirty years - so why
the switch into a life of wine?
"Wine came to me relatively late in life so I am
determined to make up for lost time. What stirred my interest in wine was
living near Australia’s Hunter Valley for a year. I remember relaxing in the
shade with friends at Peterson’s winery after a strenuous game of boules whilst
demolishing much of their wine and thinking how nice it would be to be more
involved with wine. On return to the UK I took a Saturday job in a local wine
shop to learn more.
I signed up for wine courses and passed the WSET Diploma
and completed – sadly unsuccessfully – the MW course in the UK.
I love travelling, and have spent all my holidays in wine
regions, including New Zealand, California, Chile, Spain, Italy, Austria and
all of France, as well as three consecutive summers in Germany’s Mosel region.
Moving here in 2009, I became a Cape Wine Master in 2012;
my dissertation looked at ‘Wine Investment in South Africa’. I have passed the
WSG Bordeaux Master Level exam with ‘Highest Honours’. I’m also writing
(including a review of Stellenbosch wines), judging for the Veritas Awards, the
Shiraz SA Awards and the Gold Wine Award and lecturing CWA students about what
I love ... it doesn’t get much better."