Careers in the Wine Industry

Science graduate, sommelier, or business minded? We have the right course for you

DYNAMIC CAREERS IN THE WINE TRADE INDUSTRY GROWTH

In the next 20 years, WineGB estimate employment as high as 24,000 UK jobs

Careers in the wine industry

UK’S WINE CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE

Offering undergraduate, postgraduate, short courses & apprenticeships

At Plumpton College, we are proud to be the UK’s centre of excellence in wine education, training & research, and deliver undergraduate and postgraduate degrees validated by the University of Greenwich.

Routes into wine

FdA Wine Business

BA (Hons) International Wine Business

FdSc Wine Production

BSc (Hons) Viticulture & Oenology

MSc Viticulture & Oenology

Viticulture Crop Technician Apprenticeship

WSET & a range of part time courses.

wine@plumpton.ac.uk

Teaching staff consists of leading academics, and experienced industry professionals, along with diverse industrial networks to external international experts who deliver guest lectures on individual modules & career guidance.

We are the only academic provider of studies in Viticulture and Oenology at undergraduate and postgraduate levels in the United Kingdom.

1988 OFFERING WINE COURSES SINCE

90% of graduates are employed after 15 months of completion and work for companies including Berry Bros & Rudd, Aldi, Liv-Ex Wine, Dehlinger Winery, Rathfinny Wine

Estate, Chapel Down and Gusbourne Estate.

(Discover Uni, Office for Students, 2022)

FACILITIES INCLUDE

Campus located in the heart of the South East dynamic wine production industry.

10-Hectare Rock Lodge Vineyard; Dedicated Wine Centre ; Commercial & Research Winery; Laboratories ; IOC Tasting Room & Sensory Evaluation Room .

“With the growth the UK wine industry is predicted to see in the next ten years, there has never been a more important time to consider studying for a career in the wine industry. The job opportunities available to trained graduates are diverse and fulfilling and can take you anywhere in the world. We are lucky as an industry to have the UK’s centre for excellence at Plumpton College, with impressive facilities and staff expertise second to none and a track record of training vineyard managers, winemakers and business managers to the industry for over 30 years.” wine@plumpton.ac.uk

Jeremy Kerswell Principal, Plumpton College

wine@plumpton.ac.uk

Education and training is key to fostering the vineyard managers, winemakers and marketers to fulfil the demands of an ever-expanding industry. WineGB estimates an increase from the current 2,000 employed to approximately 24,000 by 2040.

It's not all about tasting wine… the skillset required is vast in the industry sector supply chain. Studying wine requires knowledge of chemistry, fermenting and testing microbiology of wine in the laboratory. It requires looking at the science of cultivation and harvesting of grapes through to the business side in sales, marketing and operations, production and distribution if you're interested in developing those business or entrepreneurial skills. The industry is not only offering great career paths and creating many job opportunities but providing a significant boost to rural and urban employment and local economies. wine@plumpton.ac.uk

wine@plumpton.ac.uk

75% of wine produced in UK vineyards is located in the South East region , with over 500 vineyards and 165 wineries. Our Rock Lodge Vineyard, produces 40,000 bottles of our award-winning still and sparkling wine each year, which our students are instrumental in developing.

VITICULTURE & OENOLOGY

HOW DID YOU BECOME INTERESTED IN WINE?

My mother told me a story about my Sierra Leonean great-grandfather making wine out of various fruits, alongside grapes, and something just clicked one day after seeing this course being advertised online. To actually learn how to make wine and almost follow in his footsteps would be awesome!

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE PLUMPTON?

After finishing A Levels, I wanted to do something different for university and this was definitely something different. I’m very interested in making things from scratch, so researching about this course at Plumpton, I was very intrigued. Being the only college in the UK that does a bachelor’s degree in Wine Production, I was determined to give it a try!

WHAT HAVE BEEN YOUR HIGHLIGHTS?

I feel that I have met so many different people of different ages and with varied amounts of knowledge about wine, who I can share my university experience with. Meeting people that know so much about wine inspires me to continue so that one day, I will have as much knowledge as them.

HOW WILL YOU APPLY WHAT YOU’VE LEARNT TO YOUR FUTURE CAREER? WHAT’S NEXT?

My aim after university is to travel to different countries and explore the different wine styles and vineyard methods that I see in my textbook. I want to eventually use what Plumpton College is teaching me such as, pruning, in my future career in the wine industry.

Natalie Agyapong

“Viticulture & Oenology is a very interesting subject where you are going to learn a lot of different things from working with vines in the vineyard to doing titrations in the lab.”

Jake Warren

INTERNATIONAL WINE BUSINESS

I first became interested in wine when I was 17 and wanted to learn more before turning 18.

I began to find the topic fascinating; I jumped at the opportunity to be an assistant sommelier at a 5-star restaurant, learning more and continuing to enjoy the subject.

Initially, I didn’t expect to go to Plumpton College as I had just got a job at a Michelin star restaurant. However, due to the pandemic, that job fell through. I was so happy when I found this course as it felt like a fresh start and could open many doors for me into the world of wine.

“I was so happy when I found this course as it felt like a fresh start and could open many doors for me into the world of wine.”

Charlotte Bradbury

INTERNATIONAL WINE BUSINESS

I stumbled into the world of wine by luck when working at a golf and wine estate. I was lucky enough to learn a bit about wine and how to sell it. After my first weekend of selling it, I noticed that I enjoyed what I was doing and wanted to learn more. From there, I went on to study my WSET Level 1 and 2 and would read any books or magazines I could get my hands on to learn more about wine.

I wanted to progress my future in wine further. I was trying to figure out how to do this when I found the BA in International Wine Business degree. There have been

so many opportunities to expand my contacts and learn about the different areas of wine and even viticulture and production have allowed me to expand my options and help define my future direction.

I’m now considering pathways I hadn’t before, such as wine journalism or wine investment. I explored more of the alcohol industry by working at The Anchor Tap in Horsham, a specialised craft beer and ale place. The Anchor Tap is mainly focused on beer but also has a selection of wines I can talk to people about should they wish to learn more.

NOW: Charlotte works at the Anchor Tap and is considering a career in wine journalism.

Madeleine Stark

VITICULTURE & OENOLOGY

I’m from the United States and my background is in wine service and sales, and my goal was to learn more about production.

Working in the winery is exactly the type of hands-on experience I was looking for when I chose this course. The classroom learning is excellent for understanding the theory behind everything in the winery, but getting to work and learning under the supervision of our head winemaker, Deepika Koushik, is fantastic.

Every session is different, and we experience all the day-today tasks that keep the winery running throughout the year. We had the opportunity to take a wine from harvest to bottling and through every step in between.

NOW:

Ben continued his career in New Zealand on vineyards.

Ben Andrews

VITICULTURE CROP TECHNICIAN

I was one of the first Viticulture Crop Technician apprentices studying at Plumpton College and working for New House Farm in Bodiam. Over the two years of training, I learned practical and specific vineyardrelated knowledge that helped me understand the “why” of why we do certain things in the vineyard. For example, I now understand that we try our best to avoid the rain when pruning due to the risk of spreading trunk diseases in these conditions.

On top of this, access to things like the lab on campus helped me develop skills

that maybe I would only have had the chance to do with the apprenticeship. Meeting like-minded, enthusiastic viticulturalists was a definite highlight of the programme. Being around the staff at Plumpton College and the other apprentices created a solid collaborative environment which made it easier to get on top of some of the more complex things in the vineyard.

I hope that the skills I have developed as an apprentice will continue to do so as I take my career to New Zealand.

I have 5 years of international winemaking experience, being fortunate enough to make wine in places like Australia, New Zealand, USA and South Africa. I recently spent time getting to grips with sparkling wine, the pitfalls of English viticulture and the challenges of an emerging wine region ever since.

Starting my MSc has enabled me to develop my scientific knowledge of arguably the most complex and technically specific winemaking method. The contacts and relationships made while studying have been invaluable to immersing myself in the English wine industry.

Plumpton College is imperative to the English wine industry as research develops wines in a marginal climate like the UK. It’s a truly exciting time to be a part of the boom of English wine!

VITICULTURE & OENOLOGY

Peter Macauley

NOW:

Joseph works for Ocado as a wine buyer.

Joseph Arthur

VITICULTURE & OENOLOGY

After studying Biomedical Science, I found work through the Majestic Wine Graduate Scheme, where I developed a general interest in wine and realised I wanted to make a career out of it. Majestic Wine was a fantastic introduction to the trade and industry, and they put me through my WSET Level 3 course.

From here, I craved a broader experience in the trade and further qualifications. Plumpton College was a fantastic opportunity as it allowed me to become a qualified winemaker, gain additional WSET qualifications, and, most importantly, I was able to experience a plethora

of roles in the industry alongside my studies.

The work experiences were all carved out by Plumpton College and their contacts and ranged from vineyards to wineries, in the UK and abroad, from small independent companies to large PLCs. After graduating, I joined Bibendum, an opportunity supported by Plumpton College and its contacts. I worked in their fine wine division for a year before moving into buying. Having looked after the Italian and Americas portfolios at Bibendum for two years, I am about to begin a new chapter of my career in the wine buying team at Ocado.

My wine career started in 1989, working in a wine bar called Juveniles in Paris.

I then spent two years in retail for Balls Brothers in London before returning to Paris to work for La Société des Vins de France between 1993-1995, selling wine to restaurants and cafés.

From 1995-1998 I worked for C&O Wines, near Manchester, selling wine in the hotel and restaurant sectors North East England and Scotland.

In 1998 I moved to Ireland and worked for two years for Woodford Bourne, again in a sales role, before setting up my own importing business in 2000. For the next 16 years, along with my wife, I ran Tyrrell & Company, which became Ireland’s leading Rhône specialist.

I studied the FdA at Plumpton College during this time, flying over from Ireland weekly to do the course.

In 2012, along with a French sommelier friend, we started Les Deux Cols. Initially, we bought grapes from and housed them within a small cooperative called Les Vignerons d’Estézargues to the west of Avignon. In 2016 we made our first Côtes du Rhône vineyard purchase, acquiring 3 hectares in the northwest corner of the Gard, between the villages of Saint Gervais and Saint Nazaire.

We also moved into our own winery just outside the town of Bagnols-sur-Cèze. We have since acquired a further 5 hectares, and in addition, we have a grape buying négoçiant business called Atelier des Sources. Our current production is around 300 hectolitres.

Simon Tyrell

“Wine is a hugely interesting field to work in. Depending on which area of it you are in, it can satisfy a lot of different people. It incorporates agriculture, science, business, marketing, design, travel and as an added bonus it is also very sociable.”

NOW: Simon owns vineyard & winery in France.