Our wine buyers

Our brilliant buyers

Meet the superstar buying team behind our extensive range of globally sourced wines.

Every bottle from us that’s brought you joy is thanks to this team. They curate exceptional wines and spirits from the world’s most exciting producers and regions, taste test until they’re red in the teeth, create new exclusive blends and win us illustrious industry awards.

How we curate our wine range

Building a vast collection of quality drops is a continuous process for us, and it’s all inspired by you. We love to see what you’re swirling and sipping at home so that our buyers can use this insight to keep bringing you wines you’ll enjoy.

Not only do we work hard to create our own bespoke wines for you, we also secure famous bottles that wine lovers are raving about, including big Champagne houses such as Bollinger and Laurent-Perrier, plus much-loved labels like Whispering Angel and Cloudy Bay.

Meet the team

Sophie Lord, Buying Director

Sophie is our Buying Director and is the brains behind some of our best-loved wines, including De Martino, Familia Zuccardi, Henners and Perez Cruz. She’s also the buyer who brings the bubbly and is a member of the highly prestigious Champagne Academy.

What a journey Sophie has been on. We’ve had the pleasure of seeing her blossom, from her customer services role, fresh from university, to becoming one of our top wine advisors and inhouse wine educator, before joining our buying team in 2019.

Sophie has completed her WSET Level 4 Diploma in Wines & Spirits and has been a panel judge for the IWSC International Wine & Spirit Competition. She was named Wine Buyer of the Year at the Decanter Retailer Awards in 2023 (the largest and most influential wine competition in the world).

Dave Roberts, Senior Buyer

Dave knows our range inside out, specialising in spirits as well as all things wine. He’s brought us some of our hero wines such as 5OS and Billy Bosch, and single handedly built our collection of over 100 craft spirits, many of which he had a hand in making himself.

Having worked in the industry for over 25 years, Dave has travelled the world and truly honed his craft. With his highly attuned palate, attention to detail and love of delicious drinks, he has sourced and created some of our tastiest drops over the years.

Dave has hands-on experience in harvesting and winemaking in Chile and France, and a WSET Level 3 Diploma in Wines & Spirits. He is often asked to bring his expertise to the Wine Paris Awards judging panel, and was recently named Wine Buyer of the Year at the Drinks Buyers Awards 2026.

Alex Davies, Head of Product

Alex has been an integral part of our buying team for a long time now. In charge of sourcing wines from popular parts of Europe, Alex brings us prestigious producers from renowned regions such as Finca Manzanos from Rioja, Schola Sarmenti from Puglia and the finest Riesling from the Mosel Valley.

With Portugal and Spain in his remit, Alex is also the buyer who provides the port and sherry, keeping our range of fortified wines nicely topped up.

With a WSET Level 4 Diploma in Wines & Spirits under his belt, Alex has been a panel judge for the IWSC International Wine & Spirit Competition and the IWC International Wine Challenge. He also puts his winemaking qualification to good use, going off the beaten track to work on new exclusive wines for our customers to enjoy.

Issy Wardlow, Wine Buyer

Issy was named Rising Star Drinks Buyer of the Year at the Drinks Buyers Awards 2026, recognised for her commitment to the industry and impressive achievements so early in her promising career.

Covering major regions in New Zealand, Greece and France, Issy’s portfolio continues to grow with every vintage. She also sources innovative new finds for our low alcohol wines category.

Issy has completed her WSET Level 4 Diploma in Wines and appeared on Harpers Wine and Spirits ‘30 under 30’ list in 2025.