Ryan

My introduction and growth with wine is a bit like the French term known as terroir defined as grape, soil and climate. In the first part, I am like the grape that is growing, the soil describes my education, training and knowledge, climate is my development and growth working in places like the UK, onboard The Yachts of Seabourn, South Africa, Argentina & Uruguay facing all types of topography.

I was brought up in South Africa in the heart of the Cape Winelands, a stunning wine town called Paarl, which is very close to Stellenbosch and Franschhoek, the Napa Valley of South Africa. Our house was next to a vineyard, which used to grow grapes for the famous KWV co-operative in Paarl. My brother Luke and I used to climb over the fence as kids and help ourselves to these looming cluster of ripe Chenin Blanc grapes. The grapes were grown on the high cordon system, so my brother had to climb on my shoulders to retrieve them. The farmer used to walk around the vineyard with his rottweiler, so once we built the wall round the house and heard a few gun shots fired in the air, we decided it was time to look for new adventures. I have now grown up and the vineyard is no longer there, but that year of 1990 will always be memorable, and that was the beginning of The Wine Experience that brought me all the way to Uruguay.