Debbie Thompson

Cellar Master: Debbie graduated from Stellenbosch University with a degree in oenology and worked for a brief stint at Hazendal before joining Simonsig where she has spent most of her career.

Over the past two decades Debbie has proven herself to be one of the country’s leading winemakers, winning numerous awards including six Absa Top 10 Pinotage Trophies, as well as the title of South African Woman Winemaker of the Year in 2005.

Debbie hails from the wide, parched expanse of Namaqualand in the Northern Cape and had initially wanted to study veterinary science, but held back when she found out this entailed living in a big city, namely Pretoria.