Louise Gordon joins Hand Picked Hotels

By James Bayley

Published: 07 November, 2023

Hand Picked Hotels, the proprietor of 21 luxury country houses and coastal retreats across the UK, has announced sommelier Louise Gordon as its first-ever head of wine.

Gordon joins the business having previously worked as head sommelier for the French restaurant, Clos Maggiore and Jumeirah Carlton Tower Hotel in Knightsbridge, as well as head of wine & bars for Heckfield Place, and, most recently, the Newt in Somerset, in a career spanning over 20 years.

Gordon is also a Level 5 certified educator for the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET), having taught levels 1,2 and 3 wine internally for several hotels.

Read more: The Pig launches first-ever English sparkling wines

Working alongside the hotels’ chefs and sommeliers, Gordon and the team will hand-pick the best wines to pair with the modern British cuisine offered across the Hand Picked Hotels portfolio and create bespoke wine offerings for each site.

As part of the role, Gordon will work with Villa Saletta, a boutique winery in Tuscany owned by the Hands family – the founders of Hand Picked Hotels.

Louise Gordon, head of wine, said: “I am thrilled to be taking on the new challenge of head of wine across the Hand Picked Hotels collection. I truly believe wine, combined with incredible food, is such a personal part of any guest’s experience. Food and drink can conjure memories and also be central to making new ones. Being part of that journey and having the opportunity to seek out wines which I believe will help elevate the overall guest experience, is a true honour.”

Julia Hands, CEO & founder of Hand Picked Hotels, added: “I can confidently speak for our team when I say it is a pleasure to have Louise joining the team and sharing her array of wine knowledge with us. Food and drink is a passion every team member shares, and we are dedicated to ensuring we have a high quality and unique food and drink pairing for our residents and guests alike. We have some exciting experiences planned, including the Villa Saletta Wine Dinners, so Louise will definitely be hitting the ground running.”

Hand Picked Hotels is a collection of 21 privately owned, luxury country houses and coastal retreats, founded in 2001 by owner, chairman and CEO, Julia Hands MBE.

Printer friendly version