The Pol Roger Team
Meet the Team
Stephen Backhouse
Financial Controller
If you were a grape, what grape variety would you be and why?
Pinot Meunier – well balanced and sophisticated (or at least I’d like to think so!).
Laurence Bialy
Marketing Executive
If you could invite three people to dinner, alive or dead, who would they be?
Alexander the Great, Simón Bolívar and Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. I think Alex and Simón would have some great debates about conquest and emancipation, and Calvin would be able to smooth over any tensions between the two.
Tim Calcroft
Business Development Manager
What is your most memorable wine or whisky moment?
Whilst standing in the middle of their vineyard in Riquewihr, I was given a bottle of Hugel from my birth year by the late, great Etienne Hugel. This was promptly drunk in the evening sun, overlooking the vines.
Magnus Chapple
Business Development Executive
If you could invite three people to dinner, alive or dead, who would they be?
Amy Winehouse, Steve Carell, Taika Waititi.
Tom Cookman
Finance and Operations Director
What is your most memorable wine or whisky moment?
Drinking some Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill 2009 from Magnum at our Christmas Party!
Melissa Dale
Logistics and Sales Support Manager
If you could invite three people to dinner, alive or dead, who would they be?
I would invite my father as it would be great to share a bottle of wine with him just one more time, Dolly Parton as she is an inspirational lady and my favourite female singer. Lastly, it would have to be one of my best friends as I have missed them during lockdowns 1, 2 and 3.
Will Dennison
Head of Fine Wine
If you were a grape, what grape variety would you be and why?
Arneis – Meaning “Rascal”.
Peter Donnelly
Director
If you could invite three people to dinner, alive or dead, who would they be?
Jesus Christ, Elvis Presley and Billy Connelly.
Katie Ellsum
Accounts Assistant
If you were a grape, what grape variety would you be and why?
I think I would be Cab Sauv as it is bold and you always know when it’s around!
Louise Gallagher
Business Development Manager
What is your most memorable wine or whisky moment?
My first visit to Glenfarclas Distillery, so much snow had fallen that the distillery manager had to create footprints ahead of me to step into to get around the warehouses! Upon shovelling snow away from the door we eventually made it into Warehouse 1 where I was given the opportunity to open and taste my birthday year cask of Glenfarclas 1988. Of course, it was fantastic.
Melody Haines
Stock Controller
What is your most memorable wine or whisky moment?
A glass or two of rose in St Reme on a cycling holiday in Provence.
Charlotte Jones
Executive Assistant to the Managing Director
If you could invite three people to dinner, alive or dead, who would they be?
Erasmus Wilson (promoted Turkish bath movement in nineteenth century Britain), Dorothy Parker (author), Jarvis Cocker (Musician).
Megan Loveridge
Head of Marketing
What is your most memorable wine or whisky moment?
Enjoying a glass of Drouhin’s Clos des Mouches white in the vineyard was a really special moment. It was the first time I really made the connection between the soil and what ends up in the glass. The view wasn’t bad either!
Stefania Masin
Brand Manager
If you could invite three people to dinner, alive or dead, who would they be?
Mahatma Gandhi, Janis Joplin and Aisling Bea. What a fine evening that would be!
Granville Murray
Business Development Manager
If you were a grape, what grape variety would you be and why?
Pinot Meunier, not often the headline act but crucial to the blend.
Jitka Polaskova
Customer Service Support
What is your most memorable wine or whisky moment?
I will always remember my very first sip of Ice Wine that was given to me by a small independent vinery. It was deep golden colour and tasted of ripe peaches with honey-sweet finish that complemented my evening meal with friends perfectly.
George Prideaux
Senior Business Development Manager
If you were a grape, what grape variety would you be and why?
Pinot Noir – solid all-rounder and charismatic!
James Simpson MW
Managing Director
What is your most memorable wine or whisky moment?
A glorious jeroboam of Pol Roger Vintage 1985 at a lunch in Épernay (when I appeared to be the most thirsty of the guests).
Jonathan Smailes
Director of Sales
If you were a grape, what grape variety would you be and why?
Cabernet Franc – invariably adds a bit of joy to any Bordeaux blend. Though Chardonnay is very versatile, and I have a love / hate relationship with Pinot Noir, it makes the best and worst wines you will ever drink!
Emma Young
Sales Administrator
What is your most memorable wine or whisky moment?
Trying the Glenfarclas 60 Year Old… my other memorable moments are not for sharing!
Tim Webster
Business Development and Brand Manager (Spirits)
If you could invite three people to dinner, alive or dead, who would they be?
Jim Telfer, Mad Mike Hoare & Boydie from Peat & Diesel.
Peggy
Office Security
What is your most memorable wine or whisky moment?
Woof.