Our Team

Founders

Dave Jefferson & Anton Roos

Dave Jefferson and Anton Roos met in 1997 when both were consultants in the wine/grape industry. They immediately hit it off well and shared a dream of establishing a productive wine farm in South Africa- which became Silkbush.  Since then Dave and Anton have become close friends, business partners and essentially family, with Dave often referring to the Roos’ as his “South African family”.

 Dave is a grape grower and businessman in Napa and Sonoma since 1973, has made more than 38 trips to South Africa since 1994 and just loves the country.  A Stanford MBA graduate, he has guided and mentored the company over the years, and his knowledge and broad network of friends and connections in the wine industry has been invaluable.

More about Anton below.

Anton Roos

Managing Director / Cellermaster

Educated at the University of Stellenbosch, in Viticulture and Enology, consulted for VinPro, the national viticultural service, and former Vineyard Manager/ Assistant Winemaker at a prior winery, Anton and his family have lived on Silkbush since 2001 and have planted almost every hectare. Anton also served for 10 years on the Board of Directors of a large, former cooperative winery in Breërivier, now a stock company owned by shareholder/growers.

Coenie Snyman

Consulting Winemaker

A well known and widely respected winemaker with some 30 years of experience in the wine industry, Coenie is a member of the Cape Winemakers Guild, and previous winner of the prestigious Diner’s Club Winemaker of the year award. Anton and Coenie studied at Stellenbosch together and have been working together on other projects since 2006. Coenie’s focus these days, is to produce terroir-specific wines with power, elegance and balance with produce selected from quality sites. Dedicated to state-of-the-art vinification and production as a commitment to customers, Coenie is a great asset to the Silkbush team. Silkbush wines are crafted in collaboration with Snyman Wines in Stellenbosch, with Coenie’s watchful eye and attention to detail, ever present.

Franci Roos

Administration Manager

From the inception of Silkbush, Franci Roos has been Anton's working partner in the development of a large vineyard as well as the mother of their three sons. She had the benefit of growing up on the adjacent Marais vineyard and fruit farm with talented parents who were wonderful life models. Franci learned about running a large vineyard from her childhood. Making up staff payrolls, running the farm store for resident employees, and then managing the lodging at the Kingsbury Cottage, Franci has far exceeded the role of "farmer's wife."

Johann Roos

National Sales and Marketing Manager

The eldest of Anton and Franci’s three sons, Johann obtained his BSc Microbiology and Physiology degree from the North West University of Potchefstroom. After his studies he worked as a Laboratory Technician for an Agricultural manufacturing company where he gained valuable experience in quality control, product development and organisational skills. He joined Silkbush in May 2023 to carry the Silkbush brand upward and onward.

Francois Roos

Production Manager / Viticulturist

Francois followed in his father’s footsteps and obtained his BSc Agric degree from the University of Stellenbosch with Soil Science and Horticulture as majors. He joined Silkbush in August 2021 and currently manages all production related activities on the farm and is also heading our project diversifying to apples, which kicked off in 2023.