Roland Peens

Roland Peens
Roland Peens
Senior Wine Specialist (Consultant)

Studying economics at the University of Stellenbosch meant that Roland was surrounded by wine. He succumbed to its lures and, as soon as he had finished his BComm degree, he found his way into the industry. Roland worked in marketing, retail, exports and as a sommelier before joining Wine Cellar Fine Wine Merchants in 2005. As one of South Africa’s foremost importers and retailers of fine wine, Wine Cellar focuses on the traditional regions of Europe as well as on South Africa’s finest wines. Wine Cellar leads the industry in offering the biggest allocations of South Africa’s most sought-after wines. As a cellaring operation, Wine Cellar manages the holdings of 900 customers and some 450 000 bottles, constituting arguably, the largest collection of fine wine in South Africa. Wine Cellar has also helped develop the secondary market in South Africa by identifying and brokering local and international vintage wines. Since 2018, various wine investment portfolios have been launched, adding 35 000 bottles of South African fine wine to the future secondary market.

Local and international study, as well as regular travel, have added to Roland’s extensive insight into the wine world. You will find Roland at most of South Africa’s top wine events, judging, learning and exploring the world of wine, forever expanding his palate. Roland has been a taster for Platter’s Guide, Winemag.com and the Nederburg Auction, and participated in the world wine tasting championships in Bordeaux in 2013.

‘As prices rise, we have naturally had more brokerage requests. We see a serious opportunity for an open- market auction. No other auction house has the track record and experience in selling fine and rare assets that Strauss & Co brings to the table.’ – Roland Peens