Found Hope Manager and wine aficionado, Chris is sharing his Wine Experience with us today. We’re incredibly lucky to have him with us in store, sharing his knowledge and experience, and helping us tostock a wonderful range of wines for you to choose from.
In my previous jobs, I worked in fine dining restaurants around the world. I spent seven years working in the Cayman Islands, four years in Bermuda, Australia, and three years managing a Michelin Star restaurant at The Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn and Spa, Sonoma, California. I am also a trained Butler, and have previously worked for the owner of Campari at his residence in Milan!
Prior to becoming the Manager at Found Hope, I was a Sales Manager with Trust Cooperage in Hungary selling oak barrels (Hungarian, French & American Oak) to wineries throughout Europe and the USA.
I spent a year based in Hungary, and a further year located in Sonoma, California. During the time that I spent working with the Trust, I worked the wine harvests at Wunderlich Winery in Villainy, Hungary, and also at Vergelegen Estate in Stellenbosch, South Africa.
Wunderlich Winery in Hungary uses old-fashioned techniques in winemaking whereas Vergelegen uses more advanced up-to-date technology in winemaking. Both experiences taught me the different methods used and how to work with different grape varieties. At Vergelegen my experience was more in-depth as here I was undertaking tasks such as:
Filtration
Delestage
Racking
Pump overs
Sorting the grapes
Inspecting the vines to know when exactly to pick grapes
Barrel selection
Wine tastings and tours of the winery
Vergelegen is a gravity-based winery, meaning throughout the process of winemaking each process moves the wine down towards the cellar room – other wineries use pumps and gas to move liquid throughout the winery. The ethos of Vergelegen is in line with what we offer here, working with the land, sustainable farming practices. Even the restaurant they have at the winery uses food produced on the estate – knowing where the food comes from is important to customers (here we use Natoora produce).
At Found Hope, my aim is to build up a portfolio of wines. I want to concentrate on small producers, Organic & Biodynamic, Wineries that practice sustainable farming – an ethos that ties in with the products we sell in-store.
I have stocked Found Hope with several Vergelegen wines, I continue to have a great relationship with Andre Van Rensburg the winemaker of Vergelegen.
As we move closer to the holiday season, we are hoping to offer wine tasting in the comfort of people’s homes. There will be food available on request – Canapes, Cheese Selections, and Dinners that are prepared by our highly skilled chef Ollie.
The wine tasting experience is to educate customers on wine, many people feel daunted when it comes to choosing wine. The idea is to make people feel comfortable with wine, adventurous in trying something they wouldn’t normally go for, how to choose wine in a shop, pairing food with wine and above all have fun.
