Flint Wines has undergone some team changes as well as expanding its customer service, trade and buying teams. Flint is incredibly proud of the people who work at the company, the vast majority having tons of hospitality experience as well as knowledge gained working for the most famous wine merchants in the country.
Sarah Drake, Head of Trade Sales:
Sarah Drake arrived in London in 2011 from Nova Scotia, Canada to work at Gordon Ramsay’s Savoy Grill. From there, Sarah moved over to open 28-50 Marylebone, the second 28-50 venue opened under Xavier Rousset MS, and started learning about wine. It is during this time that Sarah began her wine studies and met Gearoid Devaney MS, Director of Flint Wines and a good friend of Xavier. Sarah then opened another 28-50, this time in Mayfair, but then moved to Pollen Street Social to work for Jason Atherton as Assistant Restaurant Manager. She then got promoted to Restaurant Manager at Social Eating House, where she worked until 2017.
After taking some time off from hospitality, Sarah began working at Flint Wines in October 2018 as On-Trade Sales Representative, looking after both on and off trade accounts. In December 2021, she was promoted to Head of Trade Sales. As part of an extremely knowledgeable and dynamic team, Sarah knows all of Flint’s producers and their wines as well as the incredible stories behind them. Sarah and her team get to visit the vineyards and winemakers regularly, and know the wines on the list inside out. Consequently, she can provide an honest, informed and comprehensive level of service that will make all Flint’s customer feel special.
Sarah said: “I decided to join Flint Wines after meeting Gearoid, he had so many connections in the hospitality industry, and he inspired me to follow his example. I was also intrigued by Flint’s reputation in the industry, the quality of the wines they import, and most of all the people who work for the company. What I love about my job is working directly with the best hotels, restaurants and people in the business, and nurture and strengthening those relationships.”
Flint Wines Customer Service Team:
The backbone of Flint Wines, the Customer Service (CS) team is essential to the day-to-day functioning of the company. A small team of six people, they work in synergy with our Trade Sales Team to deliver a quick, flawless service to our on-trade and off-trade customers. With first-hand experience in hospitality and wine retail, the CS team is able to build strong relationships with our clients because they can sympathise with their needs and understand the issues that can occur in the industry. Our team would never expect replies during service time, and always comes bringing solutions rather than additional problems. They go above and beyond our customers’ needs and are extremely flexible in order to put them first. On top of their day-to-day activities such as processing orders, the CS team constantly keeps an eye on stock levels, pricing, fluctuations, and provide admin support for our trade team, sitting alongside salespeople during meetings and tastings, and at times attending for them. Building relationships between our costumer service and trade teams is extremely important for Flint Wines, not only to strengthen communications, but also the bond with customers.
Will Heslop, Buyer:
Will Heslop studied languages (French and Spanish) and taught English conversation at the Sorbonne in Paris after graduating. On returning to London, he got a “Christmas temp job” at a Nicolas Store and, well, has never looked back. From there, Will briefly worked at Majestic before joining Berry Bros & Rudd as a Buying Assistant, where he stayed for six years, focusing on Burgundy (ironically, the one region he has no involvement with at Flint). His time at Berry Bros & Rudd also included a six-month sabbatical divided between Frankland Estate in Western Australia and Domaine de la Soufrandière (Bret Bros) in the Mâconnais. At Flint Wines, Will supports the buying department alongside directors Jason Haynes and Sam Clarke, specialising in Italy and New World Wines.
Will said: “In my role as Buyer with Flint, I now have the privilege of working with top producers around the world – since I joined in March 2021, I’ve particularly loved getting to grips with our roster of superb Italian producers and our burgeoning Australian portfolio – and, of course, the best sales team in London.”
