Wine buying team
At Waitrose, we have more Masters of Wine than any other supermarket, and all our wines go through a rigorous quality control and tasting process with the Masters of Wine and the rest of the wine buying team. We also have a further 220 wine specialists to advise you in branch.
Dee Blackstock
Master of Wine
Dee's career in wine began at Gerard Harris Fine Wines, attached to a Relais et Châteaux hotel in Aston Clinton. She progressed through her trade examinations with distinctions and scholarships along the way before moving to Waitrose in 1991. The following year Dee became a Master of Wine at the first attempt, while also picking up the top prize in the Diploma of Grocery Marketing. Dee is one of four Masters of Wine on the Government Hospitality Advisory Committee for the purchase of wine.
Julian Brind
Master of Wine
Julian has more than 40 years' experience in the wine trade. In 1967 he won both a Bourse de Voyage Scholarship and the Vintners Scholarship. He passed his Master of Wine examination in 1970 and joined Waitrose the following year. Julian has been the Chairman of Trustees of the Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET) since 1986. In 1993 he was Chairman of the Institute of Masters of Wine and was Chairman of the Institute's Examining Panel for many years. In 2002 Julian was the President of the Wine and Spirit Association. Julian is now a Consultant for Waitrose, he advises us on our range and helps monitor our wine quality.
Justin Howard-Sneyd
Master of Wine
Justin joined the wine trade in 1991 when he worked as a 'helper' on the International Wine Challenge. During the following 6 years, Justin worked in a small wine shop, ran wine tasting courses, did a stint with Oddbins, and worked six vintages in South Africa, France, Hungary and Romania. In 1997, he joined a major supermarket as a buyer, and began to study for the Master of Wine exam. Justin became a Master of Wine in 1999, winning the essay prize, and the Tim Derouet award for an outstanding performance in both theory and practical exams. He lectures on the Sotheby's wine education courses and joined the Waitrose buying team in September 2005.
Rebecca Hull
Master of Wine
Becky was first bitten by the wine bug at Oddbins, and later became a wine buyer for a major retailer. She won the Rouyer Guillet Cup and Wine Trade Club Scholarship in the wine Diploma exams, which funded a trip to California to research her Master of Wine dissertation. She passed the Master of Wine examinations in 1997, scooping the prize for best Viticulture paper and also the rarely awarded Tim Derouet Award for being an outstanding overall candidate across all papers, theory and tasting. Becky joined the Waitrose wine team in 2005. Becky consults on our wine list and runs our Press Tastings.
Nick Room
Wine Buyer
Nick joined Waitrose in 1987, initially buying beers and spirits before moving into wine. Nick's speciality is Spain and Portugal, He is responsible for an award-winning list of sherry. He also sources wines from Loire, Alsace, South America, fortified, rosé and sweet wines. He is currently studying for his Master of Wine.
Andrew Shaw
Wine Buyer
Andrew Shaw's career in wine began at Oddbins, managing branches whilst studying the Wine Diploma before gaining further winery experience with six months in New Zealand. Subsequently wine buying, largely with mail order specialist, providing considerable opportunity to travel around the world, before joining Waitrose in January 2007. He is now responsible for Australia, Italy, Rhône and South of France. Andrew is currently studying for the Master of Wine.
Ken Mackay
Master of Wine
Ken Mackay has worked in the wine trade since graduating from Oxford in 1999. He joined the Waitrose buying team in March 2008, prior to which he worked for five years as a wine buyer for an independent merchant. Ken became a Master of Wine in 2006 at the age of 28, winning several scholarships in the process, and remains the youngest MW in the world. He has taken on the responsibility for sourcing wines from South Africa, Central and Eastern Europe, Germany, Bordeaux and England.
Wine specialists
We currently have 220 specialists over 195 branches, and the WSET certificates (Intermediate, Advanced and Diploma) are the corner-stone of all our bespoke training packages. In 2008 we have had a 100% pass rate in the WSET Intermediate exam from 50 delegates. Many of the advanced specialists have recently been taken on a trip to Italy, visiting a range of suppliers in Veneto and Piemont. They also gain a thorough understanding of Food & Wine matching, which is an especially relevant concern for our customers. The training is not simply exam based- there is a full programme of continuous professional development including selling skills and customer service training, dvd training in specialist areas (for example pronunciation guides), conferences, speeches, visits and tastings.