Compiling a list of the leading individuals in a wine market as large, diverse and fast-moving as the UK is a complex and difficult task. The names featured here are the result of a collective effort – taken for the most part from a poll of those closely involved in the industry. Anonymity should ensure that vested interests have not had too much influence on the nominations made, which span all aspects of the wine business, from retail buying to sommeliers, suppliers and the media.
Most influential person
A range of suggestions here: some early respondents named Tesco’s global head of beers, wines and spirits, Dan Jago – a logical choice given his role as the most powerful buying force in UK wine retailing. However, in October Jago was asked to “step aside” – in Tesco’s words – as part of investigations into a £263m ($410m) “black hole” in its profits. At the time of writing, Jago’s future was unclear, although he has not so far been accused nor found guilty of any wrongdoing.
Beyond Jago, attention fell upon the UK Government and Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne, the toast of the industry when he abandoned the alcohol duty escalator in March 2014, bringing to an end the mechanism that enforced annual above-inflation tax increases. However, wine duty still rose in line with inflation, meaning that the excise tax on a 75cl bottle now stands at £2.05, and fears remain that alcohol may have displaced tobacco as an easy target for future tax-raising. The inclusion of Osborne casts Miles Beale, chief executive of peak industry body the Wine & Spirit Trade Association (WSTA), in a crucially important lobbying role. His will be a vital voice in the ear of the Chancellor in attempting to prevent further tax hikes.
A more positive influencing force is Jancis Robinson OBE MW, whose wine writing career spans almost 40 years, and who combines a regular column for the Financial Times with a successful website, jancisrobinson.com, and the authorship (or co-authorship) of books including The Oxford Companion to Wine, The World Atlas of Wine and the multi-award-winning Guide to Wine Grapes. “A voice of intelligence and authority, still just as inquisitive as ever,” said one of those surveyed.
Multiple grocers
Attention here was mainly focused on the ‘big four’ supermarket chains – Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons – which between them command roughly three-quarters of UK grocery spend. A number of other multiple buyers won mentions – Asda’s Philippa Carr MW, Andy Phelps at Sainsbury’s, Steve Mosey of Morrisons and the Co-op’s Simon Cairns, along with Pierpaolo Petrassi MW, head of BWS and tobacco at Waitrose. “He’s not afraid of the brave new world of wine,” said one observer, referring to new listings for wines from Brazil and China.
Multiple specialists
This is a retail sector decimated in the past decade or so, including the demise of high street names including Oddbins, Thresher, Wine Rack and Unwins. Through it all one business has endured and, despite a profit warning early in 2014, continued to grow: Majestic. It says much for the collective strength of the retailer’s buying and executive teams that various names were put forward, from chief executive Steve Lewis, to highly influential buying director Justin Apthorp and buyers Matt Pym and Chris Hardy. Praise for Majestic’s efforts was tempered by a dose of realism: some expressed concern that Majestic’s growth came at the expense of smaller independent retailers – while acknowledging that a strong multiple specialist made wine widely available outside the dominant supermarket chains.
Independent retailers
While the market share of small regional chains and individual shops is a fraction of that enjoyed by the supermarkets, the decline of the multiple specialist sector has benefited the most go-ahead of these independent businesses.
Here we leave London, heading first to Cambridge Wine Merchants and irrepressible co-founder Hal Wilson. Wilson established CWM with friend Brett Turner in 1993 and, since then, the pair have reinvested all profits back into the business, more than doubling its size in the space of five years without taking on any debt. There are seven branches – four in Cambridge, three run on a franchise basis elsewhere – plus a wine bar. Wilson was described as “not afraid to make his voice heard and stand up for the sector,” as well as being “proactive, expanding, engaging and [having] positioned himself as a leading figure in the independent sector”.
Similar praise was heaped upon Ruth Yates, founder, owner and managing director of Corks Out, an independent based in the north-west comprising five stores with self-contained bars, the scene of regular events and tastings.
Meanwhile, Simon Taylor of Hampshire-based Stone, Vine and Sun is described as “the most unlikely wine person”, having given up a 23-year career at Sotheby’s – he was deputy managing director of Sotheby’s Europe by the time he left – to turn his wine obsession into a business.
Finally, Jamie Hutchinson, co-founder and managing director of London-based The Sampler. Hutchinson’s ingenious USP for the two-venue merchant – one branch in South Kensington, the other in Islington – is to use wine sampling machines to offer a rolling roster of 80 wines per shop for customers to sample. Of that total, 72 are arranged by grape variety, and one machine is reserved for eight ‘special’ wines – at the time of writing, including Penfolds Grange 1988, Château l’Evangile 1959 and Charvin Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2001.
Online retail
So all-pervasive is the online channel in 2014 that it seems slightly false to make this a separate category – all of the retailers listed above sell via the web, after all – but some businesses are mostly or wholly reliant on e-commerce.
The two companies most mentioned here are Direct Wines and Naked Wines. The pair are linked: Naked Wines founder Rowan Gormley established Virgin Wines in 2000 before it was acquired by Direct Wines. He and the new ownership didn’t gel, so he set out on his own. Gormley’s Naked Wines is primarily known for its pioneering use of crowd-funding, a model which uses investment from customers – called ‘Angels’ – to fund independent winemakers in return for exclusive wines at wholesale prices.
As with Majestic, Direct Wines garnered a number of nominations, from chief executive Simon McMurtrie – “a non-wine guy leading the wine world” – said one respondent – to global wine buyer/winemaker Robin Langton and buyer Beth Willard, the latter credited with “really driving the Spanish category forward with her passion”.
On-trade multiples
Pub, bar and restaurant business Mitchells & Butlers has suffered from a difficult few years, but remains the largest operator of its kind, with roughly 1,700 venues around the UK, including the All Bar One, Toby Carvery, Harvester and Browns chains. Wine procurement manager Henry Boyes has had responsibility for the company’s wine category management since December 2012, and sales of more than 34,000 bottles of wine a day make him arguably the most powerful individual in the UK on-trade when it comes to wine.
A somewhat more off-the-wall nomination was Jamie Oliver. The TV chef now has a chain of Italian restaurants under the Jamie’s Italian banner. “It engages with consumers, it’s simple, rustic Italian food – people get it,” said one respondent, while another professed surprise at the breadth of the wine list, which includes some relatively esoteric offerings.
Restaurants/sommeliers
Anyone familiar with the UK restaurant scene will tell you that there are a formidable number of sommeliers and general managers helping to maintain this global reputation, but a few names stand out.
Gerard Basset MS MW OBE MBA (whose qualifications and honours are now nearly as long as his name) is everyone’s favourite French sommelier, the man who helped build the wine-centred Hotel du Vin chain, then sold it to Malmaison and started again with TerraVina, a boutique hotel in the New Forest. Beyond Basset’s apparently inexhaustible enthusiasm and knowledge, he’s also a father figure to practically an entire generation of sommeliers, among them Xavier Rousset MS, Matthieu Longuere MS, Ronan Sayburn MS, and Eric Zweibel MS.
Among his alumni, Xavier Rousset MS is perhaps the best-known. He co-founded the now Michelin-starred Texture restaurant in London with chef Agnar Sverrisson, before the pair went on to establish 28°-50°, a three-strong group of wine bars offering great food alongside a stripped-down selection of wines by the bottle, carafe and glass. “Xavier is so influential over the sommelier community and, with the 28°-50° format, has introduced really good, interesting wines by the glass, carafe, etc – and each venue is heaving every time I go in,” said one respondent.
The CV of Ronan Sayburn MS is bursting at the seams, including spending eight years as executive head sommelier at the Gordon Ramsay Group, including stellar restaurants such as Royal Hospital Road, The Connaught, The Savoy, Maze, Claridge’s, Boxwood Café and offshore venues from Dubai to New York. Now he is establishing The RS Wine Academy to manage private wine collections, create wine events and teach WSET courses. Christine Parkinson of the Hakkasan Group makes the list both for her buying power – she purchases wine for six Michelin-starred restaurants around the world – and for her combination of great knowledge, experience and creativity. Finally, Gordon Ramsay Holdings wine buyer Ian Waddington wins praise for his role in reinvigorating a business which has had its difficult moments in recent years. ‘The group is back on top, and Ian will ensure they continue to be renowned for their excellent wine choices,’ said one respondent.
Suppliers/distributors
The past decade has seen a rationalisation of wine importing and distribution in the UK, with a number of companies falling into administration or being acquired by larger rivals. But the range of UK wine suppliers remains wide and varied – although a few names cropped up again and again. One is David Gleave MW, founder and managing director of Liberty Wines, whose initial focus on Italy has grown exponentially in the 17 years of its existence to a portfolio of over 200 producers. The company’s reputation for superb customer service is also its trump card. “Just sitting at an awards dinner this year, every other agent in the room wished they were Liberty,” said one who put his name forward.
The man at the top of the UK’s number one wine supplier might be an obvious choice, but several of those surveyed praised the “very influential” Paul Schaafsma, general manager, UK, Ireland & Global Partners, at Accolade Wines – owner of brands including Hardys, Stowells, Banrock Station and Echo Falls. “The business has had a stellar performance with many brands in the last two years and is thriving where its rivals are struggling,” said one. “He’s a dynamo with customers and has taken the UK industry by storm since he arrived from Australia.”
Meanwhile, firmly on the ‘one to watch’ list is Troy Christensen, the former Accolade boss who returned to the UK earlier this year to take over at the helm of Enotria – like Liberty, an originally Italian-led supplier which has grown into a major force in UK wine distribution.
Opinion formers
Another mention here for Jancis Robinson OBE MW, who was all but ubiquitous among respondents’ submissions. “Still reigns supreme,” said one, while another put her forward “for her tireless writing and tireless niceness”.
Despite the gradual disappearance of the newspaper wine column, the names of several writers cropped up on a regular basis, particularly Matthew Jukes, who claims 9m readers a week in the Daily Mail, and also buys wine for Bibendum Restaurant & Oyster Bar, the MW Eat collection of Indian restaurants in London and private club Quintessentially Wine. “Renowned as much for his masterful command of words as for his gumption; if your wines are good and your passion is true, then he will like you,” said one respondent.
Honourable mentions go to Victoria Moore – writer of what remains probably the biggest regular wine column in The Daily Telegraph – and Jane Parkinson, wine expert on BBC television’s Saturday Kitchen programme and author of the recently published Wine & Food. “She is in the ascendancy and is one to watch,” one of those surveyed said.
Producers
In 2014, the inclusion of wine producers in this list is more than a mere afterthought: with more vineyards than ever coming on stream and a promising 2014 harvest in the tank, the country’s wineries have officially come of age. And yet precious few individuals were put forward by respondents, with most preferring instead to nominate companies – particularly Nyetimber, viewed by many as the pre-eminent pioneer of England’s growing international reputation for making world-class sparkling wines. “Excellent marketing which has led to English sparkling being on a par with Champagne,” said one, while another chose the company “because they are the most well-known and have blazed a trail for the myriad others coming up behind them.”
Another producer mention went to Hambledon, England’s oldest commercial vineyard and one that is now attempting to live up to that pedigree after eight years of investment and redevelopment, with the express aim of producing the best possible multi-vintage English sparkling wine. But if English wine has a human figurehead, it might just be Bob Lindo at Camel Valley in Cornwall. Now in his mid-60s, Lindo and wife Annie planted their first vines in 1989 after an air crash forced an end to his career as an RAF pilot. It took time, but the accolades began to roll in a decade or so later, and now the next generation – son Sam – has taken over winemaking duties, winning more prizes for sparkling and still wines alike. Beyond the success, many are engaged by the sheer romance of Lindo’s story. One respondent simply described him as “an inspiration to those who ever considered a career change – a champion of his industry”.
