Our People

"The only way to appreciate wine is when a few people, who understand and enjoy it meet together, feeling free to luxuriate in the delight imparted" TG Shaw / Wine, The Vine & The Cellar

Chief Executive Officer - Sterik de Wet
Sterik de Wet ,former Cellar master at KWV, has returned to is childhood valley of Robertson. With over 2 decades of wine making experience ranging from brandy production to concentrate, Sterik is nothing but an asset for Ashton Kelder. After completing his studies at the University of Stellenbosch, Sterik also enrolled for varies management courses at the USB. Throughout his career Sterik also travelled and made wine internationally.

Winemaker (Red) - Simon Basson
Simon realised that winemaking was his passion during his third year of studying B. SC at the Stellenbosch University in 1999. He changed his course to B.SC Winemaking and Viticulture and has never looked back. During his studies he worked at Koelenhof Cellar in Stellenbosch for two harvesting seasons. After completing his studies in 2001 Simon was appointed as assistant winemaker and viticulturist at Nordale Cellar in Bonnievale. In 2002 during harvesting season Simon was fortunate enough to work at Paraduxx Wine Cellar in the Napa Valley in California. He gained excellent experience in working with a variety of wine varietals and learned valuable new winemaking techniques. Simon joined Ashton Cellar in November 2007 and the cellar.

Winemaker - Heinrich Coetzee
Heinrich has a B Agric Cellar Management and Viticulturist Degree from Elsenburg and gained most of his work experience during his travels abroad. He assisted in the cellar in numerous countries such as New Zealand, Australia, France and USA. Up until he joined the Ashton team in September 2014 he was winemaker at one of South Africa's biggest cellars, Orange River Winery the Kakamas cellar. During his work experience he also specialized in the quality and food safety of wine against the requirements of the World Health Organisation and the Law on Occupational Health and Safety; BRC, ISO 22 000 and HACCP.

Financial Manager - Petrus van Eck
Petrus completed his honours degree in Managerial Accounting at Northwest University, Potchefstroom Campus. On completion of his articles at MD Accountants & Auditors Inc. he jumped at the chance to move back to Montagu where he grew up. He started off at Montagu Wine and Spirits Company and then joined the Ashton Vineyards team in May of 2013. Petrus has made a remarkable contribution to the company’s success and continues to do so on a daily basis.

Marketing Manager - - Helen Mason
Helen started her career in the wine industry at Arabella Wines. There she managed to bring the Arabella label into the foreground by consistently promoting her product and exploring new markets. Now she looks forward to new challenges as the Marketing manager of Ashton Vineyards. Part of her vision for the expansion of the Ashton Vineyards brand is to target emerging markets and to establish Ashton Vineyards as a trademark leader in the South African wine industry.

Finance - Carla Slabbert
Carla started her accounting career at Pleroma Insurance Brokers in 2005. After taking a year off to travel in 2013 she decided to settle in the picturesque Robertson Wine Valley. Carla joined the Ashton team in February of 2014 and brings with her more than 10 years’ worth of experience in her field.

Logistics Manager - Sandra George-Waterboer
After 13 years at Bergsig Wine Estate we managed to convince Sandra to join us here at Ashton Vineyards. Sandra has completed various courses at the Cape Wine Academy and also has a diploma in Business Management. Her title is Logistics Manager but in all honesty Sandra knows all there is to know about the wine industry. She is a valuable asset to our team.

Public Relations Officer - Michelle Haai
Michelle has a National Diploma in Public Relations from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. After completing her internship at Touchline Media under the PR department she moved back to the Robertson Wine Valley to embrace her love for wine and marketing it. She has previously worked as PRO for the Robertson Wine Valley, Klipdrift Distillery and De Wetshof Wine Estate.

Team Leader - Thobela Mbobo
Thobela, another loyal employee, has been with Ashton Kelder for just over a decade, having started here in 1995. He holds certificates for the Skop 1 and 2 courses and is currently the Team Leader for Red Wines, a position he deservedly earned at the end of last year.

---