Alistair was brought up surrounded by vineyards on the shores of Lac Léman, just outside Geneva. He also lived in Senegal and New Zealand for several years before moving to the UK to complete his education.

After spending six years working in project management and media relations he wanted to follow his passion for wine and completed a BSc in Viticulture & Oenology at Plumpton College and Master’s degree in Bioscience at Brighton University. Alistair has worked in vineyards and wineries in Australia, New Zealand, France and the UK. He has always had an interest in the potential to improve the sustainability of wine production businesses by focussing on the efficiency and durability of employed practices and processes from an environmental, economic and social perspective.

Alistair is the Wine Sustainability Project Manager for WineSkills and undertakes this role on a 3 day a week basis. He also manages the WineSkills Mentoring Programme and works with Jo Cowderoy to organise training activities. When not involved in WineSkills Alistair lectures in Sustainable Wine Production, manages Plumpton College’s involvement in a European-wide project on viticultural adaptation to climate change, and leads on wine oxidation research at Plumpton.

When not at work or involved in the world of wine he can be found doing almost any outdoor activity mountains or that involves getting muddy, wet or cold. He loves spending time with his wife and kids and thoroughly enjoys fine food.