Join us as part of National Wine Careers Week to discover routes into wine with our panel of industry insiders.
Event details
Join this panel of wine experts who will provide career insights from wine production to business, marketing, trade and hospitality. You will also learn more about the training and qualifications available to take the next step, and have the opportunity to ask speakers questions about career paths, training, and industry trends in the Q&A.
We'll finish the evening with a networking opportunity to meet the panellists and your fellow attendees.
Who should attend?
- You work in wine and are looking to learn more about the different roles in the industry
- You want to make a career change and move into the drinks industry
- You'd like the opportunity to network with fellow wine industry professionals
About the speakers
Panel Chair - Director of Wine, Plumpton College
Sam Linter is Director of Wine at Plumpton College and boasts a wealth of experience and accomplishments from a long career in the UK wine industry. Sam is second generation English vineyard family – her parents founded Bolney Wine Estate in Sussex in 1972. She became Head Winemaker then MD of the operation, overseeing significant expansion in both vineyards and production. During her leadership there she where she transformed the brand into one of the UK's top ten wine producers. Sam oversaw the sale of the estate to Freixenet Copestick in 2022.
A previous chair of WineGB, Sam’s dedication to raising awareness about English wine is a hallmark of her career. Throughout the years, Sam has been an active participant in various groups and initiatives aimed at nurturing the industry's growth and amplifying its recognition.
Head of Production, Balfour Winery
Frances became aware of the English wine industry around the time some of the large vineyards in East Sussex planted their first vines, near to where she lived. A graduate in Marketing, Frances originally worked as a financial services consultant for Visa but pursued a growing personal interest in wine, completing WSET Levels 1–3. In 2015, she changed careers, beginning vineyard work at Rathfinny while doing the MSc in Viticulture and Oenology at Plumpton.
After graduating, Frances became Assistant Viticulturist at Rathfinny, leading R&D, yield forecasting and lab management, and later moved into the winery, ultimately becoming Production Manager helping to commission the new production facility and launch the first wines.
In 2020, she joined Vinescapes as Viticulturist, overseeing vineyard and winery design, planting, research, and mentoring new growers through a three-year training programme and became a FACTS Qualified Advisor.
Frances is now Head of Production at Balfour, responsible for post-bottling operations, procurement, staff training, cross-department coordination, quality assurance, and sustainability strategy across vineyard and winery including managing audits for SWGB.
Frances views “production” as a concept quite holistically - from vine to bottle, and feels quite strongly about opening people’s eyes to the opportunity available on this side of winemaking, how to get involved and where it can take you.
Group Head of PR, Nyetimber
Rachel has been working in PR and communications for over a decade, with a primary focus on the drinks industry. In her role as Group Head of PR at Nyetimber Wines & Spirits she oversees PR, social media and influencer activity for Nyetimber and The Lakes Distillery. Her experience spans both agency and in-house roles, for brands such as Glenmorangie, Ardbeg, Laurent-Perrier, Aperol, Coravin and the IWSC, as well as national supermarkets.
Rachel holds the WSET Levels 2 and 3 Awards in Wines.
Senior Manager and Tasting Room Manager, Jeroboams
As Manager responsible for both the key stores and the tasting rooms for Jeroboams in Chelsea and Knightsbridge, Clarence manages multiple responsibilities, involving face-to-face interaction with customers, both consumer and trade, and organising varied tasting experiences at their tasting rooms. When not immersed in the fast-paced world of fine wine retail and events, Clarence also has a garden design business.
Wine Training Manager, Veraison Education
Bob’s wine career started at Majestic, working there for around five years and being lucky enough to work in the flagship fine wine store for a time. After graduating with the WSET Diploma, he then worked in fine wine sales at a Bordeaux specialist for a year, before finding a calling in wine events; working first on the London Wine Fair, and then Imbibe Live, selling stands, designing content and working on the Masterclasses. When COVID hit he went to work for The Drinks Trust, fundraising and helping the industry through a difficult time, then joined Berkmann Wine Cellars to revamp its training dept at the beginning of October 2022. He is currently on Stage 3 of the Master of Wine programme.
Booking terms and conditions
Payment in full must be made at the time of booking and places are not confirmed until payment has been received. Unfortunately we cannot take provisional bookings.
Cancellations and transfers
- Cancellations and transfers can be made up to two weeks before the event.
- Cancellations within 10 working days are non-refundable and cannot be transferred to another event.
- If you need to change a name on the booking, please give us as much notice as possible.
- WSET School London reserves the right to cancel an event. If necessary, a full refund or transfer will be offered.