Willis, Geoff
Organizing and running the Cape Wine Academy in Durban and KwaZulu-Natal
Contact: cwadur
Website: CapeWineAcademy.
Geoff copmpleted a BA Hons Geography and Archeology in Ireland and a MA in Geography in Canada. He has lectured in Geography, at James Cook University (Townsville, Australia) and then lectured in Environmental Sciences at University of Natal (Durban) for 20 years, where he served as Assistant Dean for Social Sciences. He is now retired from the University and manages the Natal branch of the Cape Wine Academy.
Geoff's interest in wine was born in Australia. He started wine studies in South Africa through
the Cape Wine Academy in 1985 and together with his wife, Annalise, completed the Diploma in 1989.
He was awarded Cape Wine Masters in 1995. His research project was A comparison
of Sauvignon Blancs from New Zealand and South Africa. He reports that the research trip to New
Zealand was extremely cold.
Annalise &Geoff have traveled to most of the world’s wine areas for organized tastings including Cypus, Israel and the Czech Republic. He has not yet travelled to South America.
Aside from his wine travels, Geoff and Annalise have traveled extensively in Asia, to Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Laos. They are currently planning a trip to Myanmar and Australia.
Other interests include birding, cycling and fine dining. Geoff enjoys creative cooking.
