Brian Peacock
I first joined the wine trade in the late 1970s and spent my formative wine trade years learning the art of telling the wheat from the chaff first hand from some great buyers, trawling through vineyards throughout Europe searching for the next great buy. After many adventures I ended up as wine buyer at the award-winning La Réserve wine merchants in London, it no longer exists but in its time this small independent chain had one of the finest selections in the country. In 2004, I decided that the time was right to go my own way and formed my current company, Ten-Acre Wines Limited, where I continue to buy wine the old-fashioned way (visiting vineyards and tasting) and enjoy doing so. There is no better method for finding great wines than the hands on approach.
Malcolm de Mowbray
I first learnt to drink wine in the southern Rhône, where I later acquired a basic knowledge of viticulture and vinification and studied the finer art of tasting. A spell in the English wine trade served to broaden my horizons, before I moved on to more intellectual pursuits during my sober hours without, however, losing my enthusiasm for the grape. As passionate about food as about wine, I am a dedicated cook and love experimenting with different food and wine combinations (within bounds, but not necessarily the prescribed ones).