Great Domaines was started by Wayne Visser and was born out of his pure passion to share great wine and great food. After studying law and completing his two year stint at the army Wayne skipped between working at the various Longhorn steakhouses in Johannesburg between 1984 and 1987.
His food and wine interest continued to develop when taking up a position at the internationally styled restaurant, Gatrilles & Son. After leaving in 1988 he began to focus on what he currently does full time, which is run a financial services company.
Wayne began buying wine for his personal cellar from various fine wine merchants in London in the early 1990s, and the passion developed further in the late 1990s when frequent trips to Burgundy were experienced. The purpose of the trips was primarily to seek out and buy/import wines which were elsewhere unavailable.
Derek Kilpin first started in the wine industry in 2000 when he worked at various wineries in Stellenbosch whilst completing his BSc degree. Most notably was the period at Waterford wine estate hosting tastings, cellar tours and just before leaving assisting in the winery during harvest. Holiday work at Asara wine estate continued to fuel the growing passion. He then left and went to Dublin in 2003 and after a temporary job at McHugh’s liquor merchants he found a more permanent position working with respected merchant Vaughan Johnsons. When his visa expired, he left Dublin on a four year stint to cut his teeth in arguably the world’s most sophisticated fine wine market, London.
Most notable was spending a year at Fine and Rare wines, a fine wine brokerage offering one of the widest selections of fine wine from around the world. Not content with not tasting enough of the fine wine he was selling, he found employment with a traditional English merchant, Decorum Vintners. Invaluable experience was gained travelling to Spain, France and Italy to visit and taste as the various estates on their impressive portfolio. Before leaving he completed the advanced level examination from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust . 2007 was when Derek returned home determined to somehow continue working with the fine wines of Europe. After meeting Wayne Visser and at the same time of Great Domaines securing the distribution of one of the world’s great champagnes, Pol Roger, his goal was realized.
Guy Harcourt-Wood has always had a fascination with wine but it was only once he arrived in London in 1999 that his vinous career truly began. After working for various catering companies and trying his hand at photography, he happened one day to walk past Chez Bruce, on the Wandsworth Common and for some reason he felt drawn to the place. And this is where Guy’s life changed completely, as his great journey into wine began. Fortunately, as it transpired, his table service skills weren't up to much and Chez Bruce almost gave him the boot. But the incumbent sommelier needed an assistant, and thus a career in wine was born. After two and a half years at Chez Bruce Guy left with a great practical knowledge of fine wine and a WSET Advanced Certificate, for which he studied while in London. He went on to work at Michelin-starred Establishments of Nobu, Pied-a-Terre, Theo Randall and The Ledbury. Guy left the service industry another 7 years richer in valuable wine, food pairing and service knowledge, having worked with extensive wine lists from all regions of the world. Numerous wine trips to Europe served to deepen his insight into some of the finest wine producing countries in the world.
Returning to the Cape in 2008, Guy began consulting to the trade and private clients, as well as hosting fine wine tasting events. Ultimately his love, and his nose for the greatest Burgundy, Barolo and other such fine things led him to the Great Domaines team, where he forms an integral part of this passionate team.
The People
