“I was the smallest guy in the hostel in boarding school,” says Duimpie Bayly. “That’s where I got my nickname: Duimpie means ‘small thumb’.” And he’s never been called anything else since. I ask him what it says on his many awards or what was used in his professional capacity. The answer is of course, Duimpie Bayly. He says there may be a ‘Francis’, his birth name, on some documents somewhere.
So, I’ll use it here too. Duimpie began his long, groundbreaking career in the laboratory at the then Stellenbosch Farmers Winery in 1962 and went on to become Group Operations Director of Distell (the same company), retiring in 1995.
Duimpie was one of South Africa’s first Masters of Wine, and he has dedicated over 40 years of his life to the wine industry. He still serves on the Board of Distell, has judged on many local and international wine competitions and has likewise chaired numerous industry committees and societies.
He’s also a family man, and a small-scale cattle rancher in Stellenbosch’s Vlottenburg, where he’s lived in since the 70s. We’re down the road from his farm on a bright, Boland morning. The sun streams through the windows of Dalla Cia's Pane E Vino, lighting up his blue eyes as we delve into his story.
A son of the soil, his dad was a sheep farmer in the Karoo. When the family moved to the Free State, he was shipped off to “St. Andrews School for Young Gentleman,” as Duimpie calls it with a rueful smile. This was where he got his famous moniker. This was also where he discovered and nurtured a passion for science—and, well, wine.
“We had to go to chapel every day and twice on Sunday,” He says with a smile. “My first taste of wine was when some friends and I stole the communion wine.
With the taste of that sweet muscadel lingering, Duimpie completed his studies at St. Andrews and went on to Stellenbosch University. “My dad always wanted me to go to Stellenbosch. He wanted me to become a rugby player,” Duimpie chuckles.
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