Wine Talks British Business

The second part of the interview with Tom. See part one for further details.

Tom became the first wine journalist to specialise in Champagne when, after six years of research, he published Champagne (Sotheby's Publications, 1986). His Christie's World Encyclopedia of Champagne & Sparkling Wine (Absolute Press, 1998) reproduced a 17th-century document proving that the English invented sparkling Champagne six years before Dom Pérignon set foot in Hautvillers. This historical revelation ensured the encyclopedia itself made history by becoming the only wine book to warrant a leader in any UK national newspaper (The Guardian, 14 October 1998). Today Tom is the author of more than 40 books and has a regular Champagne column in The World of Fine Wine. He has judged at wine competitions in Australia, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, South Africa and the USA. In the UK, he held the chair of the Champagne panel for the Decanter World Wine Awards from its inception until 2012. Tom is the founder and chair of the Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships and during this year's judging which is taking place near Royal Tunbridge Wells, he took the time to meet Guy Haywood from the English Wine Collection to talk about his illustrious career and life in the sparkling wine world! The Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships The Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships (CSWWC) is the first and only terroir-driven competition judged exclusively by internationally renowned fizz experts, who all taste each and every wine submitted to guarantee an unprecedented level of consistency and accuracy of judging. Founded by Tom Stevenson, with the support and expertise of Essi Avellan MW and George Markus, the CSWWC provides both consumers and trade with the definitive annual guide to the best champagnes and sparkling wines on the planet.

For more on Stephen please see his website : English Wine. Stephen Skelton has been involved with growing vines and making wine since 1975. He spent two years in Germany, working at Schloss Schönborn in the Rheingau and studying at Geisenheim, the world-renowned winegrowing and winemaking college, with the late Professor Helmut Becker. In 1977 he returned to the UK to establish the vineyards at Tenterden in Kent (now the home of the UK's largest wine producer, Chapel Down Wines), and made wine there for 22 consecutive vintages. From 1988 to 1991 he was also winemaker and general manager at Lamberhurst Vineyards, at that time the largest winery in the UK. He now works as a consultant to vineyards and wineries in the UK and is currently setting up vineyards for the production of both still and sparkling wine. In 1986 Stephen started writing and lecturing about wine and has contributed articles to many different publications. In 1989 he wrote (and published) his first book, The Vineyards of England and in 2001 his second, The Wines of Britain and Ireland (Faber and Faber) which won the André Simon Award for Drinks Book of the Year. This was followed by three editions of the UK Vineyards Guide (2008, 2010 and 2016), Vine Varieties, Clones and Rootstocks for UK Vineyards (2014 and 2020) and Wine Growing in Great Britain (2014 and 2020). His latest book is The Wines of Great Britain (2019), one of the titles in the Classic Wine Library series. He has also written Viticulture – A guide to commercial grape growing for wine production which is aimed at Master of Wine (MW) and WSET Diploma students, plus anyone considering owning or establishing a vineyard anywhere in the world. Viticulture was originally published in 2007 but was revised and updated in 2019. This has also been translated into Japanese and Chinese. He also writes on English and Welsh wine for Jancis Robinson's Oxford Companion to Wine and Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson's World Atlas of Wines. Stephen was a director of the English Vineyards Association (EVA) from 1982–1995 and of its successor organisation, the United Kingdom Vineyards Association (UKVA) from 1995–2003. He was Chairman of the UKVA from 1999–2003. He was also at various times between 1982 and 1986 Treasurer, Secretary and Chairman of the South East Vineyards Association, Secretary of the Circle of Wine Writers between 1990 and 1997 and has served on various EU committees in Brussels representing UK winegrowers. In 1999 he took three years off from the wine business to do a BSc in Multimedia Technology and Design at Brunel University. While at Brunel, Stephen was awarded the Ede and Ravenscroft Prize. In October 2011 he received an Honorary Doctorate in Business Administration from Anglia Ruskin University. In September 2011 he completed an MA in Life Writing (Biography) at the Creative Writing Department of the University of East Anglia. In 2003 Stephen became a Master of Wine, winning the prestigious Robert Mondavi Trophy for gaining the highest marks in the Theory section of the examination. In 2005 he won the AXA Millésimes Communicator of the Year Award for services to the MW education programme. He served on the MW Education Committee from 2003 – 2009 and was the education course wine coordinator. In 2009 he was elected to the Council of the Institute of Masters of Wine and served on it until 2016. He was Chairman of the MW Research Paper Examination Committee from 2013-2021 and Panel Chairman for the English and Welsh wines for the Decanter World Wine Awards between 2009 and 2021. He was also Chair of the WineGB Viticulture Working Group from 2018 to 2022.

Simon has more than 30 years' experience in different commercial sectors of the wine industry, including senior roles with Waitrose, Constellation, Negociants and Fells. He has been a board member of both the Institute of Masters of Wine and the WSET, and continues to work with both organisations. Passionate about the British wine industry, he took over the role as CEO of WineGB in October 2020 and was appointed to the Board on 13th April 2021. Simon lives in the beautiful county of Shropshire, and spends his spare time with his wife Louise and three sons, walking the dogs, weeding the garden, exploring the rough of various golf courses, and coming to terms with the gradual fall from power (and possible renaissance) of his beloved Arsenal.

Simon has more than 30 years' experience in different commercial sectors of the wine industry, including senior roles with Waitrose, Constellation, Negociants and Fells. He has been a board member of both the Institute of Masters of Wine and the WSET, and continues to work with both organisations. Passionate about the British wine industry, he took over the role as CEO of WineGB in October 2020 and was appointed to the Board on 13th April 2021. Simon lives in the beautiful county of Shropshire, and spends his spare time with his wife Louise and three sons, walking the dogs, weeding the garden, exploring the rough of various golf courses, and coming to terms with the gradual fall from power (and possible renaissance) of his beloved Arsenal.

Annabelle Bond, OBE, earned the title "fastest woman climber in the world" in 2005 after scaling the highest peaks on the seven continents in just 360 days. At the end of 2003, she began intensive training with a Chilean team 6 months prior to going to Everest. She reached the summit of Mount Everest on May 15th 2004, the fourth British woman to stand on top of the world. After climbing Mount Everest, Annabelle went on to climb the other six mountains that comprise the Seven Summits, making her the only woman in the world to have achieved that extraordinary physical and logistical feat in less than a year. Her record stood for eight years before being broken. In April 2006, Annabelle joined SAS Prince Albert II of Monaco on an expedition to the North Pole. Using teams of dogs, the seven-person expedition reached the North Pole on April 16th. The expedition was conducted in conjunction with a project for the World Wildlife Fund that sought to highlight awareness of global warming. In August 2007, with the birth of her daughter Isabella, Annabelle became a single mother. She has since devoted her time and energy to being the best mum she can be, whilst still staying fit and engaged in endurance events and various business and philanthropic activities. In May 2009, Annabelle ran a 250-kilometer self-supported endurance race across the desert of Namibia as part of the Racing the Planet Series of Races. In October 2009, Annabelle ran the same distance across the Sahara Desert to raise funds and to highlight awareness for the Eve Appeal, which focuses on the prevention of Ovarian Cancer. In 2016 Annabelle raced in her first triathlon in Phuket, Thailand, winning her age group - the triathlon is just short of a half Iron Man, but the humidity, heat, and hills make it one of the toughest triathlons on the globe. Annabelle speaks regularly to corporations, schools, and charity groups on the importance of Setting and Achieving Goals. She works as well as an Advisor to Arbor Ventures, an all-woman venture capital fund. She remains passionate about health and nutrition. Annabelle has been awarded the position of honorary Colonel of the Chilean Army, and she was made a member of the Royal Council of Ingxotha by his Majesty King Zwelithini Goodwill KaBhekuzulu of KwaZulu. In addition, Annabelle has been awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by the Queen of England for her services to Mountaineering and Charity. For more on Annabelle visit her website : www.annabellebond.com

Part 2 of the interview with Steven Spurrier.

Steven Spurrier born 5th October 1941, was educated at Rugby School and the London School of Economics. In 1964 he joined the wine trade as a trainee with Christopher and Co (established 1665). In 1970 he moved to Paris and purchased Les Caves de la Madeleine, a small shop in the centre of the city, and in 1973 opened L'Academie du Vin, the first independent wine school in France. As a partner, he became involved in divers ventures allied to wine: Le Bistrot a Vin, a winebar/restaurant in the business quarter of La Defense; Le Chemin des Vignes, a warehouse and bottling plant on the outskirts of Paris; Le Moulin du Village and Le Blue Fox, a restaurant and winebar near the Caves de la Madeleine. Spurrier is perhaps best known for having created the tasting between top Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon wines from California and France in May 1976, subsequently referred to as The Judgement of Paris. A recreation of this event was held 30 years to the day on May 24th 2006, simultaneously in London and Napa In 1988, he sold his wine business interests in Paris and returned to the UK to become an independent wine consultant. His clients have included Harrods in London and Hediard in Paris, Singapore Airlines and Christie's for whom he created the Christie's Wine Course in 1982. He is also Consultant Editor for Decanter Magazine and Chairman of the Decanter World Wine Awards, now the world's biggest wine competition, since its inception in 2004 and Chairman of Decanter Asia Wine Awards, Asia's largest wine competition, since 2012. He is the author of eight books on wine of which two: L’Academie du Vin Wine Course and L'Academie du Vin Guide to French Wines have been translated into several languages. Some of the prizes and awards that Steven Spurrier has won include "The Bunch Award" for articles in Decanter in 1996, "Le Prix de Champagne Lanson” in 1997, "Ritz Carlton Millienia Lifetime Achievement Award" in 1999 and "Le Prix Louis Marinier” for writing on Bordeaux in 2000. In 2001 he was awarded "Le Grand Prix de l'Academie Internationale du Vin" (only the third time this award has been given since 1982) and also "The Andre Tchelistcheff Maestro Award” from California. He is married, with two grown-up children, and lives, when not travelling, in London and Dorset. After much reflection and research, he decided with his wife Bella to plant a vineyard on their farm in south Dorset. There are now 25 acres planted to 55% Chardonnay, 25% Pinot Noir and 20% Pinot Meunier to make English Sparkling Wine under the name Bride Valley Vineyards, the first vintage being harvested in October 2011, the month of his 70th birthday. In 2017 he was made Decanter Man of the Year and also Honorary President of the Wine and Spirit Education Trust. In 2018 his memoirs were published under the title “Wine a Way of Life.” In 2019 he created with partners the Academie du Vin Library, which will publish new books and re-publish old classics for world wide distribution.

Image of Simon taken in the Directors’ Dining Room at St James’s Street. Image Credit Jamie Coreth (the artist) Simon Berry joined Berry Bros. & Rudd - representing the seventh generation of his family to do so - in 1977. He became Marketing Director in 1987, was elected to the Board in 1994, and was appointed Chairman in January 2005. He retired on his 60th Birthday in November 2017. He spent two years working in France for various wine producers before joining the company, including Moët & Chandon in Champagne, M. Chapoutier in the Rhone, Ch. Mouton-Rothschild in Bordeaux, and Prosper Maufoux in Burgundy. Simon was awarded the Wine & Spirit Education Trust Diploma in 1979 and the Diploma of the British Institute of Marketing in 1983, and in 2003 graduated from the Owner President Management Executive Education program of Harvard Business School. He is a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Vintners, a member of the Académie du Champagne, and a Chevalier du Tastevin in Burgundy. He served on the Executive of the Wine & Spirits Trade Benevolent Society, and was Chairman of the Benevolent in 2008. He was a Council Member of RADA, on the Board of RADA in Business, and Chairman of the RADA Development Board. He was appointed Clerk of the Royal Cellars in 2008, and was the holder of the Royal Warrant of Appointment as wine merchant to HRH the Prince of Wales and HM the Queen. For many years he was a regular feature on the Decanter Power List – the fifty most influential people in the wine world. Simon’s main area of responsibility at Berry Bros. & Rudd was marketing, and the development of new projects for the Wine Division. Examples include the establishment of the company’s Duty Free wine shops at Heathrow’s Terminals Three and Four – the first instances of a specialist wine merchant operating such outlets in the world. These shops won the coveted Duty Free Specialist Liquor Retailer of the Year in 1996, and Wine Magazine’s award for Retail Creativity in 2004. He was also instrumental in setting up Berrys’ Internet site (which won Wine Magazine’s Website of the Year eight of the nine years the award was made), and initiating BB&R Press, the company’s publishing arm. In 1999 he spent 6 months in Hong Kong, establishing the company’s first wine subsidiary in Asia, the Berry Bros. & Rudd Fine Wine Club. Simon has lectured on wine on many occasions, and to many institutions throughout the world, including Oxford and Exeter Universities, Stowe, Woldingham, Wycombe Abbey School and Eton College, the British Embassy in Tokyo, the Chalke Valley History Festival and Harvard Business School. His articles have been published in several magazines, notably Vogue, Debrett’s International Collector, The Economist Review of the Year, The Financial Times and regularly in The Spectator. He has also contributed to many television and radio programmes, most recently How Britain was Built and Wine: the Firm.

Hugh Johnson OBE is the world’s most pre-eminent and prolific writer on wine. Starting out more than fifty years ago as a wine correspondent on Vogue magazine he has progressed through the world of wine, writing, editing and broadcasting giving us some of the most influential information around, including The Story of Wine to his Pocket Wine Book now in its 37th edition. Hugh has also won almost every wine book award in existence. Along the way he has received numerous medals and awards, been the Director of a French Champagne house and helped to save wine production in Hungary, all the while combining this with a second career as a gardening expert and writer. With his engaging style and vast knowledge Hugh brings us a fund of stories about his lifetime in wine in this rewarding, inspiring and indepth interview.

With a career in wine spanning more than sixty years and still at full throttle Cliff Roberson is a titan in the drinks business. Starting out as a £3 a week assistant at Peter Dominic he has travelled the world developing his knowledge of wine and run several successful wine companies including Buckingham Wine where sales reached 40 million bottles a year and Roberson wine which he is still in charge of. Then, in 2013, fuelled by his sense of adventure, and with substantial investment on his part, he opened London Cru, the capital’s first urban winery which now produces wine entirely from grapes sourced from English vineyards and which has won many awards. Cliff has been given a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Drinks Retail Awards but there is still much more for him to do it seems; as he says “you have to keep the pot on the boil”.

Natalie Vranken, along with her husband Paul Francois, are responsible for one of the most famous Champagne’s - Champagne Pommery. After completing her degree at the Sorbonne she started her own marketing agency at just 22 and went on to run the Montaigne Committee, an association of luxury stores in Paris which included launching the distinguished “Montaigne Grape Harvests”, a biannual event renowned around the world. Natalie heads the marketing division of the Vranken Pommery Monopole Group which holds the distinction of being the largest vine grower in Europe. Their main brands are:- - Champagnes Pommery avec Cuvée Louise st POP - Champagne Vranken avec Cuvée Diamant et Cuvée Demoiselle - Champagne Heidsieck & Co Monopole - Champagne Charles Lafitte - Porto Rozes et Sao Pedro - Vins des Sables de Camarge: Domaine Royal de Jarras - Vins de Provence: Chapelle Gordonne Additionally Natalie is responsible, on behalf of Domaine Pommery, for developing and implementing the company’s close connection with art through the Vranken Pommery Foundation for Contempory Art. Through its patronage the greatest artists of the world are invited to exhibit their work in the company’s wine cellars in Reims. In a wonderful conversation Natalie speaks openly about her career and how the well known Champagne house constantly drives forward in innovative ways.

The Wine and Spirit Trade Association represents over 300 companies producing, importing, transporting and selling wine and spirits. Miles has overall responsibility for the WSTA business, including organisational strategy, public affairs, member services and public relations. Miles joined the WSTA in 2012 from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, where he was Deputy Director for EU and international agriculture policy. He was previously deputy director for European and global issues at the Cabinet Office and spent much of his early career at the Department of Communities and Local Government. Miles has worked across a broad range of public policy, including urban regeneration, drugs policy and social exclusion, and has been involved in significant negotiations at national and European level. He has also worked closely with senior Ministers in successive governments.

Tim Triptree MW is International Director, Wine & Spirits, at Christie’s. Tim’s main role is sale curating, planning and execution of Christie’s wine auctions internationally. Based at Christie’s London, his role includes sourcing wine consignments, inspection and authentication, developing client relations, hosting wine events, master-classes and as a wine ambassador for Christie’s worldwide. Tim joined Christie’s Wine Department in 2005 after graduating with an MBA Distinction (Wine Business Management). He completed the WSET Diploma, gaining a Distinction in 2008 being awarded the Sherry Institute Scholarship and Constellation Scholarship, which involved wine visits to Jerez and New Zealand respectively. In 2013, Tim was seconded to Christie’s Hong Kong for four years focusing efforts on raising the department’s profile in the region as well as developing wine auctions in Hong Kong and Shanghai. He became Head of Sale, Hong Kong before returning to London in 2017 and became International Director in June 2018. Tim sources business for Christie's auctions in London, Geneva, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beaune and New York. Tim was awarded the Trinity Champagne Scholarship in 2009 from the Institute of Masters of Wine and became a Master of Wine in September 2018. Tim received the prestigious Noval Award for the best MW Research Paper which examined trends in the use of reserve wines in Brut NV Champagne. He has a specific interest in Champagne, Rhône, Burgundy, Bordeaux and Rioja. Tim has been a judge at the International Wine & Spirit Competition since 2011, a Panel Judge at Decanter World Wine Awards 2017-2019 and at Bacchus Wine 2018 & 2019 in Madrid. Tim writes a monthly wine column for The Rake.

Jamie Ritchie is the Chairman of Sotheby’s Wine, Worldwide. He joined Sotheby’s in London in 1990 and, during his 29 year career, he has been responsible for expanding Sotheby’s wine business from being an auction house with sales based only in London to a multi-channel international wine merchant with 2018 sales exceeding $100 million. Since 1994, he has been based in New York, having started Sotheby’s US wine auctions. He launched wine auctions in Hong Kong in 2009 and that location has since registered sales of more than $370 million. Mr. Ritchie launched Sotheby’s Wine retail business in New York in 2010 and Hong Kong in 2014. Mr. Ritchie was appointed Worldwide Head of Sotheby’s Wine in 2016 with responsibility for developing a full service global wine business. Since then, Sotheby’s has expanded into the spirits business achieving the record highest value auction with the $10 million Ultimate Whisky Collection in 2019. Also in 2019, Sotheby’s Wine launched the ”Sotheby’s Own Label Wine Collection” a range of Sotheby’s branded wines, which are sold exclusively through their retail businesses. Mr. Ritchie is one of the world’s leading wine auctioneers, holding the records for selling the most expensive bottles of wine and spirits: 1 bottle of Romanee-Conti 1945 for $558,000 in 2018; and 1 bottle of The Macallan Fine & Rare 60 Year Old 1926 for $1.9 million in 2019. He was one of the auctioneers at each of the 16 consecutive Hong Kong “white glove” auctions, selling 10,202 consecutive lots without an unsold lot. Mr. Ritchie continues to conduct Sotheby’s wine auctions, donate his services to many benefit auctions, and to lead tastings around the United States. He is a respected authority on the wine market and has been regularly featured in the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Financial Times, Los Angeles Times, Forbes and Wine Spectator Magazine.

Bob Lindo is the joint founder of the multi award winning English vineyard Camel Valley. Bob along with his wife Annie on their small family farm, 30 years ago started Camel Valley. Bob won the UK’s first sparkling wine Gold medal in the International Wine Challenge (IWC) in 2005 and has won many international awards since and every national Trophy at least once. Bob was awarded the IWC Lifetime Achievement award in 2018 for ‘outstanding contribution in helping driving the quality-focused rise of Britain’s home-grown sparkling wine’. Bob was awarded a second Lifetime achievement award in the South West Business Awards, the same year. Camel Valley has also won many tourism awards and the 2017 Cornwall sustainability trophy. Camel valley has been served on numerous Royal occasions and was awarded a Royal Warrant in 2018 (the UK wine’s first). Bob is the Royal Warrant holder. Camel Valley is the only single vineyard to hold its own PDO, recognized by the EU. Bob is proud of the fact that the Lindo family started the business in a small way and enjoyed the journey of growing it, sustainably, over 30 years. Bob would be the first to acknowledge the role played, not only by Annie, but also by second generation and son, Sam Lindo. Bob has been Chair of the national UK Vineyard Association and son Sa has since followed in his father's footsteps.

Tamara Roberts is the joint CEO & CFO of the multi-international award winning English sparkling wine producer, Ridgeview Wine Estate, established 25 years ago by her parents. Having joined the family business over 15 years ago as General Manager she has played a pivotal role in taking the business from a micro-concern to a significant and growing SME whilst maintaining its status as one of the most highly regarded producers in the English wine sector. Last year Ridgeview were the first English winery to be awarded the coveted "International Winemaker of the Year" trophy at the prestigious International Wine and Spirits Competition (IWSC) and more recently Ridgeview were crowned one of the best vineyards in the world, when it was placed number 36 at the announcement ceremony of the World’s Best Vineyards Top 50. In this time of surging interest in English Sparkling Wine, Tamara and her family believe Ridgeview is uniquely placed to achieve even greater significant success as a luxury sparkling wine brand in the UK market and in key export markets around the World. Ridgeview’s brand loyalty levels are the highest of any English Sparkling wine brand; their winery tours are booked-up months in advance, and they are having to ration stock among trade customers because demand is consistently exceeding supply. Following in her Father’s footsteps, Tamara feels strongly that the English wine industry must have a collective voice and be prepared to collaborate in order to reach its full potential and has taken on Board positions at WineGB and the Wine and Spirits Trade Association to help facilitate this. This is a wonderful in-depth interview where Tamara talks openly about Ridgeview's journey and explains that it all started from her parents ambition and drive to produce the finest English sparkling wines possible.

Jamie Waugh is the head of wine at Fortnum & Mason’s and is from a family of wine lovers. After university Jaime's first job was at Oddbin’s, before working at Percy Fox, Corney and Barrow and finally OW Loeb, where after selling wine into Fortnum and mason Jamie was offered the job of selling wine for Fortnum’ and Mason. He has been with Fortnum and Mason for over 11 years now and 5 years as buyer. Fortnum & Mason was founded in 1707. The range of wines, spirits and sparkling wines reflects their longevity, with nearly 1707 in the cellars, of which 164 wines are bottled under the Fortnum’s label. The Fortnum’s collection represents over 60% of wine sales, which is a rare thing in retail. Jamie believes that Fortnum and Mason’s customers seek a sense of pleasure, and he is confident that they offer something special. He buy’s wines from the more traditional regions such as Haut Medoc from Chateau Charmail in St Estephe, to the relatively undiscovered, including Avesso from Anselmo Mendes. Champagne remains Fortnum and Mason’s most important wine.They are very proud to work with producers who don’t label for anyone else, such as Louis Roederer, and they were delighted to serve their Champagnes at the Chelsea Flower show. Further stating that ‘We are particularly proud of buying some wonderful small parcels. For example, we bought the entire UK allocation of Paul Dethune’s wonderfully decadent Blanc de Noirs Grand Cru Champagne: 1200 bottles of exquisite bubbles.’ Jamie is one of a long line of Fortnum’s head wine buyers, that stretches back to 1707. There is a tradition at Fortnum’s that the wine buyers – like good wines – mature with age in the cellars, and, thus, Jaimie has been in my role for just over a decade, and look’s forward to many more happy years of tradition and innovation in Piccadilly.

Nyetimber is one of the most well-known English sparkling wine producers and Brad Greatrix is one half of the impressive duo that make and produce their multi award winning English sparkling wines. Brad Greatrix and Cherrie Spriggs have been producing award winning sparkling wines for many years and recently Cherrie Spriggs, the head wine maker at Nyetimber, was announced as the winner of the prestigious Sparkling Winemaker of the Year at the International Wine Challenge 2018. This is the first time that the award has gone to a wine outside of the Champagne region. Brad Greatrix is a lover of all things sparkling and, as he puts it, he is “passionate about producing exceptional wines from exceptional vineyards”. After a chance tasting with one of Nyetimber’s early sparkling wines they both immediately knew that there was something very special about this English sparkling wine. They decided to find out more and sent an email to Nyetimber in the hope of getting a response. Thankfully they did and within two weeks they had their first day of work at Nyetimber. Brad and Cherrie bonded with the owner of Nyetimber ‘over a passion to produce something very special’ which inevitably they have. Brad proudly states that they put ‘taste’ at the forefront of everything they do and that their English sparkling wines must be a true representation of what Nyetimber can achieve from their English sparkling wines. This has led Brad and Cherrie to decide one year, rather painfully, not to produce any sparkling wines due to a poor harvest from appalling weather conditions. This would not have been an easy decision but this is another example of how they put the sparkling wines quality and reputation at the forefront of everything they do.

This episode of Wine Talks British Business is with Ross Marshall who is the CEO & Co-founder of the Palatinate group which includes the award winning businesses such as Your Golf Travel, Spabreaks.com, Racingbreaks, Out of Office, Love Velo and the Albatross Club. Ross oversees and is the key driving force behind the companies. Specialising in online travel bookings, Ross has propelled his businesses forward to be the market leader that they are today. His specialist experience companies will be responsible for over 600,000 passengers travelling on short breaks and holidays in 2019. His past business accolades and awards have included the Spears Wealth Management Entrepreneur of the year, Ernest and Young, Young Guns and Fast Track 100. Always a keen sportsman and former Harlequin, he still enjoys playing cricket, tennis and golf with St Georges Hill his home club in Surrey. He has a real passion for National Hunt racehorses with Cheltenham being his number one track to visit. As a wine lover he ranks Italian Barolos, French Burgundys and Camel Valley from Cornwall amongst his favourites. His specialist experience companies will be responsible for over 600,000 passengers travelling on short breaks and holidays this year. Past business accolades and awards including Spears Wealth Management Entrepreneur of the year, Ernest and Young, Young Guns and Fast Track 100. This is a wonderful podcast where Ross shares a few great stories and advice that has been key to his success.The podcast was recorded in Rosses busy central London office which you may hear from time to time.

In this episode of Wine Talks we chat with Abi Wright, who has been a key influencer in the spa industry since launching her dynamic spa marketing and booking platform Spabreaks.com in 2008. From being a startup in the industry to becoming the market leader, she says that the keys to her success has been her determination to open up the spa industry to anyone who wants to experience it and the people she has chosen to surround herself with. Abi talks about how she embraces a modern approach to running a business, a mindset that developed in part from her own experiences becoming a mother at the same time as starting her own company. She talks candidly about the 'work/life juggling act' that comes with being a working mother and how she has made it work. Chatting to Abi at her home in Berkshire, in the company of her lovely spaniel, who you may just about hear panting in the background if you listen carefully, we talked about her journey, the role of the spa industry in modern society and of course, the place of food and wine within the spa experience.

Chris Foss is the Curriculum Manager at Plumpton Wine College for the Wine Division. He is half-French and Bordeaux-trained. Whilst in Bordeaux he managed the family vineyard in the Entre-Deux-Mers and has worked in vineyards and wineries in Sauternes (Chateau d’Yquem) and St Emilion, becoming Winemaker for the GFA Leclerc vineyard group. He moved to Plumpton College to launch the wine programmes in 1988. Chris lectures principally in vineyard establishment and management, vine protection, and sustainable viticulture and is also the manager of Plumpton’s 10-hectare vineyard and a committee member of Wine GB South-East. Chris’ principal research interests lie in climate change, disease monitoring and vineyard sustainability, he is also a member of the Life+ Adviclim research group. He has presented at conferences in France, Austria, Germany, Spain, Australia, China, New Zealand Portugal and the USA, and led the team that delivered the academic programme for the highly successful ninth International Cool Climate Wine Symposium, held in Brighton (UK) in May 2016.

In the second of our Wine Talks British Business shows we chat with Richard Brazier from Ancient and Modern wines. Richard has been working in the wine trade for over 33 years and has one of the finest wine collections for sale. He specialises in port and anniversary bottles that can be sourced and delivered from a single bottle to multiple cases. With a unique history and passion for desert wines Richard provides a wonderful interview with many great wine moments. To best enjoy this POD cast site down relax and savour your favourite desert wine whilst Richard recalls story after story.

This Wine Talks British Business podcast is with Adam Raphael the former BBC Newsnight presenter and famed journalist. Adam is now the owner, publisher and editor of The Good Hotel Guide. He is currently a regular guest on BBC World’s Dateline programme. In his newspaper career, Adam has been a foreign correspondent for The Guardian (Washington, New York and Cape Town), political editor and executive editor of The Observer (1976-93), and home affairs editor of The Economist (1994-2004). He has won several awards for his journalism including Journalist of the Year (British Press Awards 1973) and Investigative Reporter of the Year (Granada TV 1973). He is also the author of two books, My Learned Friends, a study of the British libel laws (WH Allen 1990) and Ultimate Risk, the story of the collapse of the Lloyd’s insurance market (Bantam 1994). With a remarkable career as a journalist Adam recaps stories from his time spent at the various publications including his most proud achievement exposing the slave labour abused by many companies in South Africa. This is a rare open conversation with one of England's top journalists.

In our first English 'Wine talks' POD cast I chat to John Apthorp CBE former head and still the largest share holder of Majestic wine. I find out how he started in the wine business, his thoughts on English wine and what his plans are for the future will be. An informative and friendly chat with one of the biggest influencers in the wine industry.