This month we shine the spotlight on Adam Ketteringham, Account Manager – based in our new Leeds office.
Q) Tell us a bit about you and your role at Corney & Barrow?
I am one of the account managers for Corney & Barrow in the North of England. I’ve been with the company for around 6 years, a relative ‘newbie’ by C&B standards. Based in our new Leeds office, I look after a mix of private, on trade and corporate customers.
Q) You have recently opened a new office in Leeds, can you tell us about this?
We have recently moved our North of England office to Park Square in Leeds City Centre. We’ve had a Northern office, in North Yorkshire, for a long time, but as the team has grown over the years we decided the time was right to move. We are now in a beautiful Georgian building in Leeds, which as well as giving us the traditional office environment also has a fantastic tasting room and small events space. The ability to offer in house tastings for our private and trade customers in the North is a really exciting addition.
Q) Can you talk about the different customers you look after and where they are based?
When I joined C&B I came from a hospitality background, so to start with most of my customers were bars, hotels and restaurants in the Yorkshire area. This has developed over time and I now have quite a big base of private customers too, based all over the UK. I really enjoy the variety looking after a mix of private and trade customers brings.
Q) How did you end up working in wine? Did you always have a passion for wine?
I have always been around the drinks side of the hospitality industry, my mother owned small hotels and my grandfather was a director at a brewery in Leeds. Good wine was always a feature at family events. But, it was my first job in hospitality, at Hotel du Vin, where I really got into wine. When we finished a shift the sommeliers used to bring wines in for us to taste ‘blind’. I was lucky enough to try some really special bottles.
Q) What has been your favourite wine experience so far and why?
There have been many, it’s hard to pin it down to one specific moment. The excitement of trying a really good bottle and then sharing that with others is something that never gets old.
Q) What advice would you offer to someone looking to start a career in the wine industry?
Speak to as many people in the wine trade as you can and work out which bits interest you. It’s a varied business with a lot of opportunity. Build your knowledge of wine; read, go to tastings, do courses. The wine business is all about relationships, you need to understand your potential customers as well as knowing your product. For example, if you want to sell to the on-trade speak to people who run restaurants. Restaurants are a challenging business to be in at the best of times, if you understand some of their issues you will be in a better position to help your customers.
Q) When you are not selling or tasting wine what might we find you doing?
Out walking with my children and my Springer Spaniel. Playing Rugby. Watching Rugby. Cooking something outside over some form of fire. Enjoying a nice quiet pint in my local.