Berry Bros. & Rudd now boasts the expertise of five Masters of Wine, including our Wine Expert Martin Hudson MW, Wine Buyer Simon Field MW, Burgundy Director Jasper Morris MW, Wine Buying Director Mark Pardoe MW and most recently Marketing Manager Catriona Felstead MW.
There are currently 301 Masters of Wine worldwide and with more Masters of Wine than any other company, Berry Bros. & Rudd has never been better placed to provide its customers with the most extensive wine knowledge.
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Catriona Felstead MW, Marketing Manager
Catriona graduated from St Andrews University with a languages degree and spent the first few years of her working life at a Spanish petrochemical company. Having rapidly discovered a love for wine, she moved her career to the wine trade in 2004 and gained a thorough grounding in the trade as an Oddbins’ Manager. She joined Berrys’ marketing department in April 2007, and became Direct & Interactive Marketing Manager in September 2008.
As a Marketing Manager, Catriona is responsible for overseeing wine-related marketing collateral, both through the creation of physical brochures/leaflets as well as emails and offers on bbr.com.
Catriona won the WSET Vintners' Scholarship and Vintners' Cup in the wine Diploma exams and in 2012, she passed the Master of Wine examinations to become Berrys' first female MW.
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Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Director
Jasper Morris MW developed a reputation as a leading authority on Burgundy while running his own importing business, Morris & Verdin Ltd from 1981 to 2003, at which point he sold the company to Berry Bros. & Rudd. He continues to work for Berry Bros. as Burgundy buyer.
Jasper has been a Master of Wine since 1985, was responsible for all the Burgundian entries in the Oxford Companion to Wine and contributes frequently to The World of Fine Wine Magazine, among other publications. He also lectures internationally on pinot noir in general and Burgundy in particular.
Though a frequent visitor to the principal Pinot Noir growing countries of the world, Jasper now mainly divides his time between the UK and Burgundy.
His reputation as a Burgundy expert was further enhanced in October 2010 with the publication of Inside Burgundy, a lifetime’s study of the vineyards and vignerons of the region, which has subsequently won the prestigious André Simon award for the best wine book of the year. The first two electronic instalments, Côte de Beaune and Côte de Nuits, are now also available as eBooks on iPads.
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Mark Pardoe MW, Wine Buying Director
Mark comes from a family background in hotels and restaurants and began his career in the Wine Trade in 1978.
He ran his own wine business in Surrey from 1988 until it was acquired by Berrys in 2003; since then he was worked with Fine Wine, Buying and, latterly, Berrys’ Wholesale, where he was instrumental in developing new opportunities with partners such as Virgin Atlantic Airways, the Royal Albert Hall and the Royal Shakespeare Company, whilst still retaining a buying responsibility.
Mark is one of the key lecturers and hosts for Berrys’ Wine School, specialising in Bordeaux and Burgundy, but equally happy to indulge his more recherché interests, including Austria and southern Italy.
A Master of Wine since 1989, and also first UK winner of the Madame Bollinger Award as the top MW taster of his year, Mark spent many years behind the scenes with the Institute of Masters of Wine, teaching tasting technique to students internationally as an educator and culminating in the chairmanship of the Practical Exam Committee, supervising the wines, questions and marking for the legendary MW Blind Tasting Exams.
Mark is a consultant to H. M. Government as a member of the Committee to advise on the purchase and selection its wines, and also fulfils a similar role with other London institutions.
When not striding miles across the glorious Hampshire hangers towards a suitable hostelry, Mark can be found in the concert hall, enjoying an eclectic range of music, ranging from the Shetland fiddle to Wagner and most points in between.
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Martin Hudson MW, Berrys' Bin End Shop - Sales
Martin Hudson joined the wine trade in 2002, after 25 years in quality assurance and designing computer cables. Alongside this he had run an internet company importing and selling Loire Valley wines, so deciding on a career change was made easier, especially as he could not find a way of making money from his other passion, racing classic motorcycles.
Martin joined Berrys' Wine Warehouse in Basingstoke in 2003, now the Bin End Shop, and successfully completed his Master of Wine qualification in September 2008. He is convinced that winemakers are some of the most passionate, varied, opinionated and in some cases eccentric people around, who in turn make wines that reflect their personality. This diversity is the great appeal of the world of wine.
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Simon Field MW, Wine Buyer
Simon joined Berrys in 1998, having spent several misguided but lucrative years working as a Chartered Accountant in the City. His passion for opera and travel is well suited to buying trips down the Rhine and into the darker recesses of Andalucia.
In addition to buying the Spanish and fortified ranges, Simon is also responsible for purchasing wines from South America and England. His three favourite areas of responsibility, however, are the Rhône Valley, Languedoc and Champagne. He gained his Master of Wine qualification in October 2002.
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