Sandy is Cabrière's 'lady on the ground' in the Gauteng region, but also oversees Mpumalanga and the Free State and has been doing so for 6 years.

Sandy grew up in Springs but relocated to Pretoria to study Fine Art. It was while studying there that she met her husband Rob Nicol, now Meridian's General Manager, and the two have been together, and working for Meridian, ever since. Sandy cut her teeth doing telesales for Wine Direct, but jumped at the chance to move over to Meridian when this position became available.

"I love my job," she states emphatically. "Every day is different, with new challenges. It is also about relationships, and the people I meet with every day motivate and inspire me. Some customers can be tricky, but when I get offered a nice cup of coffee, or someone tells me a good joke, I bounce right back."

"I also have a great brand to work with; it's well-known and highly thought-of. Much of the groundwork is done at the farm. Everyone seems to have visited Haute Cabrière at some point and watched Achim or Takuan doing sabrage, so I can build on that." Last year Sandy was one of only four sales consultants to win an incentive trip to Phuket, Thailand. To qualify she had to achieve sales figures of 10% over her target: "It was hard work, but the trip made it all worthwhile, we had a fabulous time."

Despite the downturn in the economy Cabrière sales are doing well. "We have to get creative in tough times," says Sandy, "just looking at different ways of marketing the same product, and thinking ahead."

After hours, Sandy likes to spend time with her family. Rob and Sandy have two kids, Kieran (9) and Jemma (7) and the family regularly enjoy weekends-away fly fishing and relaxing outdoors. "I love my home too," says Sandy of their house in Irene. "We often invite friends over for a meal, but I also enjoy decorating it - that's where my creative flair gets put to good use."