Harold ”Harry” Melck is an eighth generation descendant of the well-known Cape wine family and a chartered accountant by profession, He has had a varied career spanning 18 years – as a consultant or as a permanent member of their management teams, with his last corporate posting as Chief Operating Officer at Milpark Education.
Melck has diversified into many successful entrepreneurial ventures. He is co-owner of a chain of five steak and wine restaurants called Roxie, started in London seven years ago, and of a drone company called Aerovision, which includes vineyard mapping as one of its services. He has on occasion also teamed up with two other food-lovers, Stef the Chef and the Urban Hunter Gather, to deliver pop-up ”urban feasts” – foraging the immediate environs for the ingredients of the meal to provide a unique epicurean experience.
He has been working to align his career more closely with his passion for wine, with the aim of developing a holistic product offering for his wine partners and customers.
He is currently in discussions with an existing online platform to grow their premium wine and spirits offering locally and internationally. He has also partnered with ”Escape+Explore” to deliver quirky and unpretentious wine experiences that combine high end adventure such as surfing, SUPing, hiking and cycling with untraditional wine touring. His signature tour is called the ‘Crazies Tour’ which celebrates those past and present who have influenced the story of South African wine. He also has an informal blog called “Harry’s Big Wine Adventure” that demystifies wine for its followers and is often found giving tastings where he has garnered stories behind the wines to enhance the wine-tasting experience. He also consults to the wine industry about strategies to meet the challenges and opportunities facing wine business today.
He regards himself as a nomad, having lived in many of the major cities in South Africa. He spent six years in the UK before finally moving to Noordhoek, Cape Town where he, his wife Tracy and his daughter now live.
His CWA dissertation was titled ”Strategy, Vision and Business Transformation in the South African Wine Industry”.
