Bottle Shock: Callum Edge, marketing director, Sugrue South Downs
I had a water-into-wine conversion. I studied theology at university, got a Wine Society membership and got the bug. I guess from tasting claret, but also just getting into exploring the wines of the world. I love food, I love restaurants, and I was writing a food book at the time – there’s no money in food writing, there’s no money in wine either, but I realised at least you can eat and drink. And then I thought ‘I’ll be a somm for a bit’, so I worked in some UK restaurants, and then in Dubai. The wine we were opening was astonishing, it was like Petrus every night. And some people could not be seen to be drinking it, so I’d be pouring it into a teacup, which was eye-opening. I left Dubai and joined a publishing company called Code; worked for food writer William Sitwell; then for Taurus wines in Surrey, cutting my teeth on traditional wine retail. I moved to the Noble Rot group and set up Shrine to the Vine. Then I moved to Keeling Andrew, its import side. After that I wanted to work for an English winemaker, and the one I had in mind was Dermot [Sugrue]. And now I’m here…
Read more...
