General Manager - On-trade & Independent Accounts

John joined the trade in 1983 with Vinnicombes of Torquay. He then progressed to Davy's of London, and on to Geoffery Roberts Associates 1985. In 1988, he joined Nicks Wine Merchants, which had set up a small UK office importing single estate wines from Australia. While there, John helped to establish Yarra Yering in the UK market, as well as handling Ch. Tahbilk, Leo Buring and many other smaller growers. He left Nicks Wine Merchants in 1991 to set up a UK office for the Tisdall Winery which was subsequently bought out by Wolf Blass in 1993.  He then ran his own import and distribution company, handling growers such as Hollick Estate, Rymill and Trentham.  In 1996 John established links with De Bortoli Wines and officially set up their UK office with Deen De Bortoli in 1997.

General Manager National Accounts United Kingdom

In 1993 after leaving University, Mark started his wine trade odyssey and, while workingin a local Oddbins store pretending to look for a 'proper' job, got hooked. 3 years later, after completing his WSET Diploma and managing stores in west London, he finally escaped, first to take a role as buying manager at a busy city wine bar and then eventually a job as Marketing Manager of Hedley Wright (and subsequently HwCg). In 2000 Mark joinedEhrmanns as National Account manager, and gained experience working with most key multiple retailers and with the Spanish and South American sectors. In 2004 Mark went to Thierrys, expanding his experience with French, South African and Italian wines, and had three enjoyable years before joining De Bortoli in January 2007. Mark's key role is to build our profile in the multiple retail sector, including supermarkets and specialists, and to help John in spreading the word on our wines in the UK through a strong PR and marketing programme. Outside of wine, Mark enjoys all sports (and still plays a few) and is married with a son, Fraser. His wife, Elizabeth, is also involved in the wine trade.