Twenty years of pouring, twenty more of learning.

Where it started

I grew up in and around a small Spanish-owned hotel — the kind of place where lunch runs for three hours and the wine list runs on stories, not scores. It's why I still reach for Rioja on a rainy Tuesday and why Portugal, quietly, gets under my skin.

Learning the floor

My first proper hospitality years were with Shire Hotels — long shifts, real service, and the pleasure of noticing which regulars wanted their glass topped up and which wanted to be left alone. That's where I fell for wine as a working thing, not a hobby.

WSET Level 2 & the Roederer graduation

I sat WSET Level 2 with merit, sponsored by Louis Roederer, and celebrated at a graduation dinner at the Maison in Reims. Standing in the cellars there, twenty metres under the chalk, rewired what I thought a career in wine could look like.

Kilworth House

A stint in the fine-wine team at Kilworth House sharpened everything — a serious cellar, serious guests, and the discipline of matching a bottle to a room, not just to a plate.

“A great pairing is 70% timing and 30% having the courage to pour it.”

The Rabbit in the Moon

Michelin-starred chef Michael O'Hare recruited me as GM of The Rabbit in the Moon in Manchester — my first head-of-floor sommelier role. Chaotic, brilliant, formative. I learned that a great pairing is 70% timing and 30% having the courage to pour it.

1657 at The White Lion, Hebden Bridge

I created the 1657 restaurant space at The White Lion in Hebden Bridge — named for the date stone above the inn. Small room, big list, a chance to build a wine offer from the studs up.

WSET Level 3 & the Diploma

Level 3 with distinction, and now the Diploma — the one that keeps you honest. Every unit is a new obsession. This site is partly a study aid: I write it down so it sticks.