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Holly Ninnes to head up wine division at St Austell

Ninnes joins from C&C Group, where she was a wine buyer for over three years, working with Matthew Clark and Bibendum – two of the largest national on-trade wholesalers in the UK. Her responsibilities included purchasing over 2,400 wines across the South American and Italian ranges. Before this, Ninnes was a senior wine buyer for Conviviality PLC.

Commenting on her appointment, Holly Ninnes said: “I am delighted to be joining the team at St Austell Brewery, in my home county of Cornwall. When the opportunity arose to work for St Austell, renowned for its strong South West heritage and family values, it was a no brainer! I am looking forward to continuing to work with the team so that we can continue to build an enviable wine portfolio.”

Ninnes started her career path into wine on the shop floor when she was enrolled on Majestic Wine’s Graduate Management Training scheme. She progressed quickly from a trainee manager to a wine buyer in just three years and was responsible for listing Majestic’s best-selling red wine, Porto 6, as part of its range. It was recognised on TV’s Saturday Kitchen by celebrity chef James Martin.

Ninnes steps into Louisa Fitzpatrick shoes, who was head of wine at St Austell Brewery until September 2020, having joined the business in 2005 and stayed with the company for over 15 years. Fitzpatrick left the business to become a director of Old Chapel Cellars, an independent wine merchant based in Truro, Cornwall.

With a network of six depots across the West Country – from St Columb in Cornwall to Wimborne – St Austell Brewery is the leading wholesale distributor of beers, wines, spirits, ciders, minerals, and soft drinks in the region. The company has been a wine merchant since Walter Hicks first founded the business in 1851.

• English wine
• Cornwall
• St Austell Brewery