It's with great pleasure that we introduce the newest member of our panel of independant wine judges: Nick le Roux!

Owner and CEO of The Le Roux Collective. A specialist wine consultancy company focusing on winemaking, viticulture, trade and private wine curation and procurement, and design, manufacture and installation of custom wine cellars. His qualifications includes: Court of Master Sommeliers (2013) - Certified Sommelier,Stellenbosch University (2015) - Garagiste Winemaker and Small Scale Operations and Production, and a Cape Wine Academy Diploma (2011-2013)

I have worked closely with wine since I was a teenager, starting in the hospitality trade and falling in love with its nuances then. In pursuit of more knowledge and travel, I left for my overseas adventures at age 21, leaving our beautiful SA for almost 6 years while I travelled working as a pro sommelier. Being inducted in the Court of Master Sommelier ranks in 2013 was my first major step, completing a certification exam by a court often described as “the toughest exams nobody has ever heard of…”. This couldn’t be more true as there are no textbooks or teachers, you are simply expected to know everything there is to know about wine and spirits worldwide before you even stand a chance.

My travels as a pro somm took me to 102 countries over 5 years, and have had the pleasure of experiencing many of the worlds wine regions first-hand, while consulting, making wine, and drinking as much of it as possible throughout. My home (then) was in Brasov, Romania, where I lived during my travels. After moving back to SA I worked in wine sales, marketing and export for two years. I gained invaluable knowledge about the wine trade, but my passions grew stronger elsewhere. So I followed them. My passion for wine and spirit education led me into some of SA’s judging circles in the last two years, starting with RECM and Best Value Awards to now Judging for the likes of the International Wine and Spirits Competition (IWSC) and now (proudly) on the panel for the Wine of the Month Club. I am also a garagiste winemaker and produce my own wines under Loki Wines. I am an absolute purist and follow the code of the natural winemaker.

Wine is an expression of life and its celebrations, and should be followed with a whole heart and the moments seized at every turn – “bibamus moriendum est – let us drink, for we all must perish”. Seneka, 12 BC.


Source: ginjafood.com