Doug, erstwhile director of Sales and Marketing, joined natural wine importers Les Caves de Pyrène in 1996 when it was but a tiny embryo; now it is a much larger embryo. Having worked in restaurants for several years, he was the classic example of poacher turned gamekeeper, using his experience as a sommelier to persuade all and sundry that now was the hour for regional French wines, a mantra he has been repeating plaintively for the past ten years.
Eric, Les Cave’s owner, convinced him that he would be mad(-iran) not to work with him and being a suggestible kind of (iroule-)guy Doug couldn’t refuse and joined the small, but merry band of vin-archistes hawking Les Caves’ unique brand of lyrical terroirism. Whilst not selling, Doug works on perfecting his own version of Casaubon’s key to all mythologies, a philosophical wine list so referential and self-referential that it disappears up its fundament into the verdant grass of left field, and so extensive that it has been described as everything from “the ultimate encyclical draft-excluder” and “the cure to insomnia” to “the magnum opus that you wouldn’t want dropped on your foot.”
Amy Morgan, Wonder Woman, General Manager of everything
It was languages that led Amy to wine. After studying French and Spanish at uni this sporty Cornish lass went on to work as translator for a ’round the world sailing team in Spain. She started on the sales desk six years ago with Les Caves de Pyrene and worked her way up from there to Eric’s (LCDP’s owner/founder) PA all the way to General Manager.
The trade fairs are her personal baby though. She first helped organise one 6 months after she started with the company, at which point she’d never even been to a trade fair before. Six fairs later, including front line involvement in 2011′s Natural Wine Fair and last year’s inaugural Real Wine Fair, and she’s a little more familiar with them than is probably healthy. ‘I’d say that I dream about them but I think nightmare is a more accurate word…can you use nightmare as a verb!?’
To say Amy is a busy gal is an understatement, but she always does it with a smile on her face and glass of wine in hand. She’s a multi-lingual, multi-tasking machine!
*The other Les Caves de Pyrene crew must of course also be mentioned as they have helped with the fair enormously, particularly Amy’s right hand gal Vanessa Woodfine, and Eric Narioo, Les Caves’ Grand Fromage, former Rugby player, and maker of some pretty darn good Mt. Etna wines!
Christina Pickard, mistress of social media:
Realising there was little money to be made as a stage actress, Christina began working full time in the extremely lucrative wine world instead.
For over two years she was a regular presenter alongside top British chefs for the BBC Good Food Channel’s flagship show Market Kitchen, and has also presented in a number of promotional videos across multiple countries, and hosted private and corporate tastings around the UK. She is a contributor to publications including Decanter, Harpers Wine & Spirits and Imbibe. She co-hosts the online radio show The Crush, and ran private and corporate tastings around the UK. Christina has recently made the move Down Under but continues to involved with LCDP when not distracted by an abundance of sunshine, beaches, and strange creatures inhabiting her garden.
A lover of all (most) things natural and artisan, Christina is pleased as punch to be working on the Real Wine Fair once again.
*The Real Wine Fair team are indebted to web designer Janko Matic, who deserves a huge ‘hip hip hooray’ for the endless hours he put in building the site and his saint-like patience.