Wine course picture of wine bottle and glass

Both our wine tours and wine weekends are run by our wine tutors, Fabian Barnes and Alex Hall

Fabian Barnes

A qualified Oenologist from the illustrious Wine Institute of Bordeaux. He has been a wine journalist for over 10 years now, and is well known in French wine circles, having won the Louis Marinier International Wine Writer of the year prize in 2002. Fabian's wine knowledge is deeply rooted in the old world, in particular the aristocratic chateaux of Bordeaux (he is invited to the famously secretive "en primeur" tastings every year). Despite this his personal approach to wine education is untraditional, as you might expect from someone with a parallel vocation as a professional jazz musician who organises the annual Bordeaux Jazz festival.

Alex Hall

After graduating with a degree in law from Oxford University Alex spent his early career working in the City of London.  Following a sabbatical spent on his family's vineyard in New Zealand, he decided to pursue his passion for wine on a full time basis and has since worked with a number of leading wine producers, including Wither Hills in New Zealand and Château Beau-Séjour Bécot, the  Premier Grand Cru Classé estate in Saint-Emilion.  He has hands-on experience in all aspects of viticulture and winemaking and is an accredited tutor at the Ecole du Vin de Bordeaux.