Our Team
Owner/Producer
LES SWEIDAN
Insurance career by default; wine career by design.
Les Sweidan arrived in the Cape in the early 1970s and never looked back. If you ask Les, he’ll say his fascination with red wine started with a taste of Roodeberg back in 1973. While there’s more to that story, the desire to know more had begun.
He was inspired to produce a wine that paid tribute to South Africa’s peaceful transition to democracy, a new wine that reflected the nation’s new beginning. The High Road was born.
“I’m living the dream! I have been extremely fortunate to collaborate with a great team to produce a wonderful wine. Not only has our wine received outstanding accolades, but it has also opened so many opportunities for me to rub shoulders with interesting people, visit amazing wine regions, and of course, enjoy great wines.”
Co-Founder/Brand Ambassador
MIKE CHURCH
After a successful career in the insurance industry, Mike — like Les — was inspired by wine. He joined The High Road in 2003. Today, he pairs his time as an insurance consultant with farming cattle in the Eastern Cape.
“The High Road has proven to be the ideal antidote to spending my entire life working in the financial sector. The journey has been exciting and made even more significant by traveling the road with a good friend.”
General Manager
Lyzette Tanski
Lyzette Tanski is a wine professional with 9 years’ experience in the South African fine wine industry. Originally from Gauteng, she started her early career in Hospitality, spending almost 10 years working up the ranks. During this period, her exposure to the vibrant world of wines convinced her to make a brave career change.
With the generous support of her partner, and the encouragement of a dear winemaking friend, she left the big city and headed to the Stellenbosch winelands. She graduated with a BAgric degree in Cellar Technology at Elsenburg Agricultural Training Institute in 2013, obtaining top academic results throughout the program.
Lyzette enjoys sharing her in-depth knowledge about fine wine with people in a friendly, accessible and authentic style. She thrives on building strong professional relationships and augmented her management skills by obtaining a BBA in Marketing Management degree from the IMM Graduate School in 2020.
She has been employed in sales management roles at some of Cape Town’s top fine wine retailers for the past 9 years, working closely with local and international clients in selecting some of the best wines SA has to offer.
Consulting Winemaker (2018 Onwards)
MILES MOSSOP
Miles’ wine roots were laid down early on in his life. He is the son of Kathy and the late Tony Mossop, a Cape Wine Master and distinguished South African wine authority. After graduating with a BSc in Geology, thereby setting his foundation for understanding terroir, Miles went on to complete a further degree in Viticulture and Enology at Stellenbosch University, graduating “top of class” in 1998.
Miles has worked harvests with legendary South African winemakers and abroad. Miles’ dedication to his craft and consistent delivery of highly rated wines earned Miles a nomination to the prestigious Cape Winemakers Guild in 2012, being elected to sit on the committee of the CWG between 2014 and 2017 and to stand as Chairman for two years of this between 2016 and 2017. Miles recently left Tokara (May 2018) after nineteen very successful harvests. His focus now being 100 percent on his own wine brand and those he consults for and improving on the foundation already laid. Miles is passionate about surfing, wine and family (not particularly in that order).