Gareth Maxwell

I’ve always enjoyed pushing myself. When I was 18, I was travelling on my own to places like Peru & Cuba. When I was 20, I had a university placement on Gili Trawangan in Indonesia. I’ve always been interested in seeing what else there is, and that curiosity and drive has stayed with me throughout my career. 

I know there are lots of consultants out there, but I approach things differently. If you want to be like the mainstream, then I’m probably not what you’re looking for. If, however, you need a consultant who’ll think differently, make you stand out from the crowd and enable your business to thrive - well, in that case, I probably am.

Alcohol has always been in my blood, so to speak. My Dad was in the drinks industry for 30 years, my extended family-owned wineries in California and my first job was cleaning the lines in a hotel bar, aged 13 (well, that’s not strictly true, my first actual job was a paperboy, but this reads better).

I studied Licensed Retail Management at university and then helped set up Bar So & 1812 Bar in Bournemouth. After that, I worked for the highly regarded Ellis Wines, where I studied for my WSET diploma and built my customer base to be one of the key salespeople in the business. I also helped them hone their identity as well as getting involved with their marketing. 

It was around that time that I really became interested in the English wine scene. I also realised that I needed some export experience. As luck would have it, it was also around that time that I discovered Hattingley Valley. After a successful interview there, then three years as Sales & Export Manager, I was made Commercial Director. I was then in full charge of sales, marketing, distribution, PR, DTC, NPD, and any other set of letters you care to put together.

From doing the deal that saw Hattingley being served in First Class on British Airways flights, to the US-wide deal with Whole Foods, to partnering with TeamGB, to being the first English winery to advertise on TV, to creating one of the UK’s most successful DTC wineries, during my time at Hattingley, I was involved in almost every area of an FMCG business.