WineGB Trade & Press Tasting 2026: Building the Future of UK Wine Through Hospitality – Meet the Panellists
How can English and Welsh wine become a permanent fixture on Britain’s restaurant and hospitality wine lists? That’s the question at the heart of a major panel discussion at this year’s WineGB National Trade & Press Tasting
Hospitality has the power to transform how consumers discover, understand and ultimately buy wine. From the bottle chosen by a sommelier to the wine poured by the glass in a local pub, restaurants, bars and hotels play a crucial role in introducing consumers to new producers, regions and styles.
Yet while English and Welsh wine has made huge strides in recent years, securing its place as a permanent, year-round feature of Britain’s hospitality sector remains an important opportunity for the industry.
Building the Future of English Wine Through Hospitality will be one of the key discussions at the WineGB National Trade & Press Tasting on Monday 7th September 2026.
Chaired by award-winning business editor, Richard Siddle – who for the last 20 years has become a leading voice and commentator in the drinks industry, first as editor of Harpers Wine & Spirit and then as co-founder of The Buyer – the panel will bring together senior hospitality figures to examine what needs to happen next.
The discussion will exploring how English wine can become a mainstream, year‑round feature of Britain’s dining culture and give tourism and hospitality leaders a clear roadmap for category growth, delivering insight on:
- How restaurants can integrate English and Welsh wine into their brand identity and menu strategy
- The opportunity in securing permanent wine-list placement
- How producers can better support hospitality through training, consistency and storytelling
- How to develop collaborative models between vineyards, urban wineries and restaurants
Meet the panellists
Kate Nicholls OBE – Chair of UKHospitality
Kate Nicholls OBE is Chair of UKHospitality, the leading trade body representing Britain’s hospitality sector. She previously served as the organisation’s CEO for seven years following its creation in 2018, having earlier held senior roles at the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers.
Kate represents hospitality and tourism on the Government’s Tourism, Hospitality, and Food & Drink Sector Councils and is the Government’s first Disability Ambassador for hospitality. She also chairs the Institute of Licensing and ACC Liverpool and sits on the boards of Best Bar None, Hospitality Action and Springboard. Her insight will bring a broad, sector-wide perspective to the opportunities and pressures facing hospitality.
Charles Carron Brown – Restaurant Manager & Sommelier, Aulis London
Charles Carron Brown has spent 14 years working in restaurants, including at The Ritz London, before joining the Simon Rogan group in 2015. During his time with the group, he has worked at Michelin three-star L’Enclume and Henrock in the Lake District, as well as its Hong Kong restaurants, before joining Michelin one-star Aulis London in 2022.
Charles holds the ASI Diploma and is also certified with the Court of Master Sommeliers. His experience across some of the UK and Asia’s leading restaurants gives him a valuable perspective on how English and Welsh wine can work in ambitious, modern hospitality settings.
Calum Chance – Head of Sales & Marketing, Langham Wine Estate
Calum Chance joined Langham Wine Estate in 2023 and is now responsible for its trade, export and direct-to-consumer sales, alongside wider marketing and communications. His career in wine began in hospitality in Leeds, where he worked as a waiter and trainee sommelier before spending three years in business software.
He subsequently returned to wine retail, managing Tivoli Wines in Cheltenham. Visits to English producers in 2019 convinced him that the rapidly developing English wine industry was where he wanted to build his career. At Langham, the only winery to have scored 99 points at the WineGB Awards and the Supreme Champion trophy for two consecutive years, he has focused on strengthening the estate’s UK trade presence while developing its international markets as the business continues to grow.
Sergio Verrillo – Winemaker & Co-founder Blackbook Winery
Sergio Verrillo moved from Connecticut to London in the 2000s and initially built his career in music before moving into Michelin-starred restaurants including Maze, Tamarind and Chez Bruce. He later studied viticulture and oenology at Plumpton College, graduating in 2014, before gaining winemaking experience in South Africa, California, New Zealand and Burgundy.
He established Battersea-based Blackbook Winery in 2017, with an emphasis on quality, single-vineyard, grower-led wines sourced from vineyards within two hours of the winery. Blackbook uses wild fermentation, used Burgundy barrels and minimal sulphur. In 2026, Blackbook’s Pygmalion Chardonnay 2023 won Best Overall Still Wine Trophy at the WineGB Awards, following Nightjar’s Best Still Red Wine Trophy win in 2025.
Anne Roque – Head of Sales, Coravin UK & Ireland
Anne Roque is Head of Sales for Coravin UK & Ireland, bringing a commercial perspective from one of the world’s leading wine preservation brands.
Her role places her at the intersection of wine, hospitality and consumer behaviour, with Coravin’s technology increasingly used by restaurants and wine professionals to offer a wider range of wines by the glass while preserving quality.
Why this conversation matters
English and Welsh wine has already proved that it can compete at the highest levels of quality. The next opportunity is making sure consumers encounter it more regularly – not just at vineyards and specialist tastings, but when they are eating out, staying in hotels or ordering a glass at the bar.
How can producers make it easier for restaurants to list English wine? What training do sommeliers and front-of-house teams need? How can producers tell their stories in a way that works for hospitality? And what can the wider sector do to create genuine long-term demand?
These are just some of the questions that will shape Building the Future of English Wine Through Hospitality. Join the conversation at the National Trade & Press Tasting on Monday, 7th September.