Our Team
Joined the Team // 1960
Role at Hennings // having spent over 40 years establishing and building the business my role now is more of an ambassador type meeting customers and promoting the business at every opportunity.
Wine // very much fruit driven reds like those from the Beaujolais region and almost anything that's Pinot Noir.
Away from Hennings // I have plenty of leisure time and spend quite a lot of time on the golf course, swimming and cycling. As with most people I also love to travel whenever I can.
Joined the Team // 1994
Role at Hennings // keeping the show on the road which isn’t difficult considering the great quality of our staff. For me, my role as MD is about surrounding myself with highly skilled, motivated individuals and give them the space, responsibility, and support to drive the business forward focusing on our Trade and Private customer needs. I form the strategy with the team and try to take any friction or obstacles out of play to clear the path when required.
Wine // my spiritual wine home is definitely Bordeaux as I spent some time working there in the early nineties. Always find it hard to look beyond the stunning La Conseillante, Pomerol so I’ll pick the 2009.
Away from Hennings // I still love playing cricket although time is against me; I also love coaching at and supporting my local club West Chiltington & Thakeham Cricket Club where my son also plays; it's so rewarding to see the Juniors progress! I also enjoy Golf but don’t play enough, despite what the team might think. We have some seats at the AMEX so often go to Brighton's games with my father and son - UTA!
Joined the Team // 2010
Role at Hennings // I work at Hennings HQ where I do my best to look after the running of the office which covers everything from ordering stationery, staff rotas and holidays to making, and chasing up, payments!
Wine // Roebuck Estates Blanc de Noirs – since we visited one of their beautiful vineyards last year this has been my go to treat; a really sophisticated bottle of fizz from just down the road. It feels right on so many levels.
Away from Hennings // you'll invariably find me outside in the English countryside especially when training my gundog with my husband.
Joined the Team // 2011
Role at Hennings // unsurprisingly I do the majority of the buying here at Hennings! I divide my time between our HQ and being out and about sourcing new exciting wines.
Wine // it's incredibly difficult to pin down one as I’m very proud of our wines. At the moment it would have to be one of the single vineyard Pinot Noirs or Chardonnays from Storm wines of Hemel-en-Aarde in South Africa. These are incredibly fine and exciting wines showing the great possibilities of a new wave of South African winemaking.
Away from Hennings // long walks in the countryside and kayaking
Joined the Team // 2010
Role at Hennings // it's a mixed bag really as I like to dabble [interfere?] in most things here! I'm happiest when I'm in the back end of the website tweaking something and watching the orders flooding in though!
Wine // I've tried some fantastic wines over the years and am very lucky to have done so. In my youth I was a huge fan of Shiraz from Greenock in Australia's Barossa but my tastes have changed and I'd normally go for Champagne with 10-ish years bottle age! I'm utterly bewitched by Jacky Blot's Montlouis. Not the priciest wine I could choose but it has such presence and vitality that it mesmerises me every time I drink it. I was lucky enough to taste half a dozen of Jacky's Montlouis wines from neighbouring vineyards and older vintages last year and they were fantastic. They really show what can be achieved with Chenin Blanc in this criminally overlooked part of the Loire.
Away from Hennings // is there such a time?! When the weather is kind enough, and often when it's not, I'll be standing in my garden with a peel in my hand obsessing over pizza. The rest of my time seems to revolve around turning my children's clothes the right way.
Joined the Team // 2011
Role at Hennings // I look after a good chunk of our on-trade customers from pubs, hotels, restaurants, golf clubs and wine shops. It’s a hard job drinking wine with our brilliant customers, but someone has to do it!
Wine // pretty much any traditional method fizz! If you had to twist my arm then it would be Pol Roger's vintage.
Away from Hennings // socialising with friends, sampling more wine, long dinners and even longer shopping trips!
Joined the Team // 2012
Role at Hennings // the beauty of working for a small indie family business is you all get to muddle in as a team and experience different roles. My primary responsibility is looking after our wholesale customers, so you will mainly find me out on the road, designing wine lists or I absolutely love to lead a tasting! Occasionally I’ll pop up in the retail side, either customer facing in the shop or hiding behind our social media! If i'm not doing any of these things then you’ll find me teaching. This is one of my favourite parts of the job; sharing knowledge with likeminded wine enthusiasts and watching our students achieve their grades is something I am really passionate about and very proud to be a part of.
Wine // Château d'Yquem! Yes, I know it sounds a little extravagant, but I have been very lucky to try some very special wines over the years, from a variety of regions and price ranges, but this is one wine I have yet to taste, and would love to. I'd love to see how it compares to other wines of a similar style and put a big tick in another ‘First Growth’ box.
Away from Hennings // family time is really important to me, whether that be cooking big family meals or going off out for an adventure in the woods, I love spending time with them...most of the time...
Joined the Team // 2012
Role at Hennings // my working week is evenly split between the Petworth shop helping our private clients and then some of our wholesale customers from the Pulborough HQ. I have also been involved in en primeur/fine wine buying for the last three years, alongside Chris and Matthew. The Burgundy 2019 and Northern Rhone 2020 campaigns were both standouts for me and I look forward to seeing how these wines evolve.
Wine // see above plus any of Dermot Sugrue’s own wines. While they aren’t cheap, I think when put against the equivalent Champagne they offer tremendous value.
Away from Hennings // playing golf, watching cricket, Nottingham Forest and watching (not for the first/second/third time) Better Call Saul!
Joined the Team // 2022
Role at Hennings // Working part time in our Petworth shop helping to sell our customers all our lovely wines.
Wine // I’m particularly partial to a lightly oaked Burgundian chardy or a slightly fuller, aromatic white – I tried our Montresor Lugana last year and loved it. But put a glass of anything fizzy in my hand – particularly one of our English Sparkling wines - and I’m generally pretty happy!
Away from Hennings // I live on a working farm, so my spare time generally revolves around mucking in to help with my husband’s cows and sheep, or corralling my busy one year old and Labrador. Aside from that I am a massive foodie so like spending my spare time experimenting in the kitchen, sometimes successfully, sometimes not so much!
Joined the Team // 2021
Role at Hennings // I support the sales team, mainly on the wholesale side, by processing orders, taking calls, responding to emails etc, and carrying out general admin duties. I help on the editing side too producing or making changes to wine lists. I have also passed my WSET level 1&2 this year with Hennings and am hoping to get to Level 3 in the near future.
Wine // I’m very grateful to be able to try lots of wines here! If I had to choose my absolute favourite wine, it would have to be one of our local English sparkling wines so I'll go for the Roebuck Estate Rose de Noirs. A great bottle for special occasions or just an indulgent weekend treat.
Away from Hennings // outside of work I am a busy mum of two, always running the kids around with their busy social lives with various clubs and after school commitments. When I do get time to myself I love walking with my bouncy cockapoo and I’m also a member of a local ladies shooting club and like to compete at in house competitions when time allows.
Joined the Team // 1998
Role at Hennings // I mainly manage our shop in Pulborough but I also have been a WSET certified educator since 2012 so I teach new staff and customers on our WSET courses. I'm very proud to be a WSET Diploma holder since 2001.
Wine // Trimbach's Clos Ste Hune Riesling. Err not the cheapest, but it is a dream bottle right?! Riesling and Pinot Noir have long been my favourite grape varieties.
Away from Hennings // I love the classic car scene and spend a lot of time on my MGs. I also enjoy birdwatching.
Joined the Team // off and on since 2008
Role at Hennings // I work at our Petworth shop ensuring the rest of the team here, specifically Nick, do what they do best.
Wine // The wine I could drink time and time again is Jacquesson's Avize Champ Cain. I had the 2008 vintage last year and it was sublime; pure and perfectly balanced, deliciously moorish, it really was one of the most memorable bottles I’ve ever experienced.
Away from Hennings // I love walking my devil dog Dexter, and riding my highly strung horse, Ellie! When the sun's shinning there’s nothing better than watching my son Theo play cricket with his friends with a little glass [in my hand] of something pink on the side! Holidays are spent swimming and paddle boarding in crystal clear seas in Corsica, my favourite place in the world.
