Mike Ratcliffe

Mike Ratcliffe has the business of winemaking and wine tourism in his bones. For almost 3 decades Mike was responsible for the growth and management of the very successful Warwick Estate before exiting to a Silicon Valley Venture Capital firm in 2017. In this time he co-founded Vilafonté, the first American & South African joint venture which was named the 2021 IWSC ‘Outstanding global producer of the Year’. More recently Mike founded Wine Business Advisors, which he chairs, and successfully applies his broad experience to advising more than 50 clients around the world. Mike is shareholder and serves as Chairman of the board of The Banhoek Chilli Oil Company. Mike was nominated for the Wine Enthusiast ‘Wine Star’ Award for Global Innovator of the Year in 2015 & then again in 2017.

Mike currently serves as Founding Chairman of Visit Stellenbosch and speaks at the conference in his capacity as Chairman of Stellenbosch Wine Routes.