MEET OUR TEAM
Wine Ark is composed of small group of dedicated wine loving people. Whether they have entered the business with an encyclopedic knowledge of wine or learnt to love it whilst under the Wine Ark umbrella; it’s fair to say that our tasting panel has had many a heated debate.
 | Name: | Dean Taylor | Position Played: | CEO | Nickname: | The Boss | Favourite innings: | 1998 Vintage –Surry Hills, NSW | State of origin: | Victoria | Great influences: | Any beverage above 10% alcohol | Career high point: | The 68’er dinner at Marque Restaurant – 2006 | Career low point: | The 68’er dinner at Marque Restaurant – 2006 | Ideal holiday destination: | Niseko – Japan / Aspen – USA | Worst habit: | Opening another bottle | Favourite wine region: | Margaret River | one bottle of wine to a desert island?: | The one from ‘I Dream of Gennie’ |
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| | |  | Name: | John Cuff | Position Played: | General Manager | Nickname: | Cuffy | Favourite innings: | Winepros – Online wine portal and VC Double Bay (tie) | State of origin: | Western Australia | Great influences: | My parents and their inebriated wine industry friends | Career high point: | Drinking a bottle of 1988 Krug just after saying “I do” to my gorgeous wife. Now it just Jacobs Creek Sparkling! | Career low point: | Breaking 4 magnums of 1994 Chateau Mouton Rothschild in the cellar at Double Bay VC and then having the wine pour onto the shop floor through the ceiling. So yes the saying is correct – “It does rain Mouton in Double Bay” | Ideal holiday destination: | Phi Phi Island, Thaliand | Worst habit: | decanting a bottle of wine before visiting a friend’s house for dinner to ensure that it gets drunk on the night and not added to their cellar | Favourite wine region: | Hunter Valley | one bottle of wine to a desert island?: | Champagne, 1982 Salon. |
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| | |  | Name: | Angus Hughson | Position Played: | Cellar Club Director | Nickname: | Dr Slosh | Favourite innings: | Managing a wine and whisky bar for La Reserve in Soho | State of origin: | Queensland | Great influences: | Jancis Robinson and Len Evans | Career high point: | Len Evans Tutorial | Career low point: | Trolley deliveries in a London Winter | Ideal holiday destination: | Cycling trip through Burgundy with a few good friends | Worst habit: | A little too cocky for my own good | Favourite wine region: | Burgundy | one bottle of wine to a desert island?: | 1990 Krug |
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| | |  | Name: | Phil Neary | Position Played: | Chatswood Site Manager – Deep Long-On | Nickname: | Grasshopper | Favourite innings: | This one – 4 years not out | State of origin: | A Mighty Blue – born and bred | Great influences: | All the great leg-spinners. Probably more Stuart McGill than Shane Warne however | Career high point: | The 2004 Wine-ark Cellar Club Christmas Party – so many great wines on show that it was almost a waste | Career low point: | Breaking my hand at a critical stage in my development so that I could never bowl a wrong-un again, thus dashing my hopes of playing for Australia. Oh well, there’s always a career in the food and wine industry | Ideal holiday destination: | Have just come back from a visit to Adelaide and surrounds – a food and wine lover’s heaven! And then there was the Test Match | Worst habit: | Collecting far too much more wine than I can drink – probably | Favourite wine region: | Barossa Valley | one bottle of wine to a desert island?: | 1993 Howard Park Cabernet Merlot. If I got marooned on the island for 10 years, I could drink it the day I got off and it would still be superb |
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| | |  | Name: | Mark Wynyard | Position Played: | Sales Manager | Nickname: | Marky Mark | Favourite innings: | Thomas Wines Hunter Valley – Cellar Hand 2004 Vintage | State of origin: | Auckland , NZ (we don't hold it against him....much) | Great influences: | The Rees Family in Lovedale, who taught a young New Zealander with no prior experience, how to drink the Australian way | Career high point: | Ryde Tafe Wine Studies | Career low point: | Sultana production in Mildura | Ideal holiday destination: | Langs Beach , NZ | Worst habit: | Whistling whilst working | Favourite wine region: | Hawkes Bay | one bottle of wine to a desert island?: | 1989 Howard Park Cabernet Merlot |
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| | |  | Name: | Mark Camilleri | Position Played: | Cellar Manager | Nickname: | THe Camel | Favourite innings: | Current of coarse | State of origin: | NSW | Great influences: | | Career high point: | | Career low point: | | Ideal holiday destination: | | Worst habit: | | Favourite wine region: | | one bottle of wine to a desert island?: | |
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 | Name: | Emma Brookwell | Position Played: | Finance Manager | Nickname: | Sniper | Favourite innings: | Round the outside tour of Australia – 2003 Rugby World Cup | State of origin: | New South Wales | Great influences: | My Husband | Career high point: | Joining Wine-Ark | Career low point: | Too many messy E&Y X’mas parties | Ideal holiday destination: | Lizard Island | Worst habit: | Being bossy | Favourite wine region: | McLaren Vale | one bottle of wine to a desert island?: | Anything French with bubbles |
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| | |  | Name: | Leanne Ratcliff | Position Played: | Office Manager with some other hats | Nickname: | Millsy or Ling Ling | Favourite innings: | Becoming a Mum to my gorgeous boy | State of origin: | Sydney, NSW | Great influences: | My grandparents, parents and husband | Career high point: | A few too many to list | Career low point: | ???? | Ideal holiday destination: | Europe, Dubai and Singapore | Worst habit: | Talking to myself when doing my work | Favourite wine region: | Hunter Valley | one bottle of wine to a desert island?: | A nice bottle of bubbles or sparkling shiraz |
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| | |  | Name: | Andrew McVey | Position Played: | Commercial Operations | Nickname: | | Favourite innings: | Lets talk cricket - Recently Adam Gilchrist - WACA, Classic Dean Jones - Madras | State of origin: | Dublin | Great influences: | Going to Trvoli College in Bordeaux as exchange student. | Career high point: | While cooking receiving a case of 1990 Grange as a Xmas bonus. | Career low point: | Seeing so much "Vin sub Ordinare" either tired, corked or faulty | Ideal holiday destination: | Kinsale Co Cork/Paris/St Maarten D.W.I | Worst habit: | Buying Wine | Favourite wine region: | Barossa / St Emilion - love to see the Napa | one bottle of wine to a desert island?: | My last, maybe a Rutherglen Rare Muscat to stretch things out a bit. |
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| | |  | Name: | Ash Roza | Position Played: | Gate Keeper | Nickname: | Ashy Bashy | Favourite innings: | Getting Married | State of origin: | NSW | Great influences: | | Career high point: | | Career low point: | | Ideal holiday destination: | Maldives | Worst habit: | Having too many shoes | Favourite wine region: | Hunter Valley | one bottle of wine to a desert island?: | Channel No. 5 |
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| | | Name: | Ben Shillito | Position Played: | National Sales & Marketing Manager | Nickname: | Benny Boy | Favourite innings: | Grange tour guide 2005 - Magill Estate | State of origin: | South Australia | Great influences: | John Bird, Tom Barnes, Steve Leinert and my large family | Career high point: | Opening a '51 Grange | Career low point: | Plunging Pinot ferments by hand...again and again | Ideal holiday destination: | Mexico...anytime | Worst habit: | Being the 'Brett police' | Favourite wine region: | Margaret River | one bottle of wine to a desert island?: | A Primat of vintage Drappier (or any decent French bubbly) |
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