Laithwaite's Wine expands buying team

By Carol Emmas, Emily Kearns

Published: 20 September, 2013

Laithwaite's Wine has confirmed it is to take on two new buyers - Robin Langton and Davy Zyw - to complement its 10-strong buying team.

Langton was a buyer at Naked Wines and will join the team on September 23 and will look after Burgundy, Beaujolais, Rhone, Portugal and South America (excluding Argentina and Chile). Langton has also previously worked as a winemaker at various wineries across the globe, including boutique Californian winery Patz & Hall, where he specialised in super-premium Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

Zyw will join the team on October 7 and will take on buying duties for Italy and Alsace. Zyw is currently employed at Tesco, where he is responsible for buying all of its Italian wine, bag-in-box products and lower-alcohol styles. As a former sommelier at Le Gavroche, he joins Laithwaite's Wine with an in-depth knowledge of both everyday drinking and top-end wines.

Laithwaite's has confirmed that Mark Hoddy, Laithwaite's resident winemaker at Le Chai au Quai winery in Bordeaux, will also be increasingly involved with the buying team. He will take on sole buying responsibility for the Loire, which is an important and popular region for Laithwaite's customers.

Abi Hirshfeld, wine director at Laithwaite's, said: "I am thrilled at the calibre of buyers we will now have at Laithwaite's, and I am sure that we will continue to source great-tasting, authentic wines with real provenance to delight our customers. Our direct, personal relationships with our wine suppliers are central to our ability to buy the very best wines. Having Robin and Davy join the team makes us stronger than ever and I can't wait for the new team to get started."

The Laithwaite's Buying Team will now split the portfolios as follows:

Beth Willard - Spain, eastern Europe, southern France (Midi), south west France, the Mediterranean, South Africa

Christine Weingut - Germany, Austria

Dan Parrott - Australia, New Zealand

Davy Zyw - Italy, Alsace

Emma Roberts - Champagne, Bordeaux en primeur, England

Jean-Marc Sauboua - Bordeaux, Provence, Chile, India

Mark Hoddy - Loire

Michael VonSalzen (working from Lionstone) - USA, Argentina

Olly Ford-Lane - Beer, spirits

Robin Langton - Burgundy, Beaujolais, Rhône, Portugal, other South America (excluding Argentina or Chile)

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