Mike qualified
as a business major before attending the University
of Adelaide and was in the first graduating
class for the Graduate Diploma in Wine Marketing.
Mike is Managing Director of his family estate,
Warwick which is recognized as one of South
Africa's foremost wine estates. Mike is also
Managing Partner and owner of Vilafonté,
the first and only international joint-winemaking
venture between South Africa and America.
Mike is a leader in the Cape wine industry.
In 1997 he founded Rootstock - an organisation
dedicated to the upliftment and education
of the youth of the wine industry with a practical
focus on marketing and management. He was
an instrumental participant in reigniting
the concept for a "Cape Blend" (Pinotage-blend)
which has since become an integral part of
the Cape high-end wine offerings. Mike is
a board member of WOSA, (Wines of South Africa)
the generic export promotion board for the
SA Wine Industry and has participated actively
on the marketing committee of the Stellenbosch
Wine Route. Mike has been keenly involved
in black economic empowerment and land redistribution
as Deputy-Chairman of the South African Wine
Industry Trust. (SAWIT)
Mike is President of the United States/South
Africa foundation, a registered 301(C) non-profit
fundraising charity based in Washington
DC. Mike is a regular international wine
judge, industry commentator and marketing
coordinator.
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