THE GOOD WINE SHOP

Ben Craighead - Operations Manager, All Shops

With over a decade of experience working in hospitality in the UK and Canada, before I came to The Good Wine Shop I worked for an award winning, boutique hotel chain. I’m passionate about wine and spirits. As a trained sommelier I also love suggesting great food & wine combinations! I recently completed my WSET Diploma and was honoured to receive the Liberty Wines Award for outstanding results in the Global Business module. I’m particularly fond of wines from Oregon, Northern Italy and Jerez. Most often though you’ll find me with a great single malt whisky!

Bastian Fischer - Store Manager and Group Hospitality Manager, Richmond

Originally from the outskirts of Berlin I have spend the past 17 years working in hospitality gaining experience in some of the most beautiful parts of Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom. My interest in wine started during a summer season in Trentino Alto Adige where I worked closely with the hotel Sommelier and got to taste some of the most exceptional wines in the local area, providing me with a real sense of place. After Italy I moved to the UK where over the past decade I got to work with some of the best Sommeliers and Hospitality professionals in the world turning the initial interest of wine into a real passion.

I am a wine maverick and love to try new things, challenging my perception of the status quo in the pursuit of flavour and balance. I dont have a favourite wine per se but the wines from the Loire and Rhone Valley tend to be the ones taking up most space in my own cellar. Apart from wine i am somewhat of a parttime cigar aficionado and passionate about all things coffee and rum, though not together.

Olga Golovatenco - Assistant Manager, Richmond

Being in London for over 5 years now, I’ve worked in various roles from waitress to assistant restaurant manager, discovering diverse aspects in hospitality. However nothing captured my attention more than the beverage aspect, to be a bit more specific: wine. Throughout training I was surrounded by people who seem to have caught the same bug, eventually forcing my curiosity to be more active and after this I couldn't stop learning. The wines which I enjoy the most are made from Chenin Blanc, as a style that would be Saumur definitely as for the red, Pinot Noir from Oregon and some Tuscan wine as well.