BBR bolsters Italian team

Berry Bros and Rudd has bolstered its buying team with the appointment of Direct Wines’ Davy Zyw to head up its Italian wine buying.

Davy Zyw joins BBR to head up its Italian category

Zyw has spent the last four years at Direct Wines, where he was a global wine buyer, responsible for wine and champagne . He will be looking after the Italian category with the support of buying assistant Chloe Dale-Harris.

Prior to joining Direct Wines, Zyw spent two year at Tesco as an assistant product development manager, following a year as a sommelier at the Roux brothers’ high-profile restaurant Le Gavroche in London.

He hold a wine business degree from Plumpton College and is also the author of ‘I love Champagne’, a guide to the history and production of champagne, its most famous houses and tasting notes on 50 of his favourite champagnes.

Berry Bros.& Rudd’s buying director Abi Hirshfeld said Zyw would bring both experience and a fresh pair of eyes to the team.

“Davy is passionate about Italy and has a deep knowledge of Italian wines. We look forward to his contribution in bringing our Italian range to an authoritative and market-leading level,” she said.

Italy was previously looked after by Katherine Dart MW, who will continue to buy wines from Alsace, Germany, Austria, North America, South Africa and England.

In March, the company announced that DBG Italia, David Berry Green’s Italian wine agency which launched in 2015 and traded through BBR”s specialist importer and distributor Fields Morris and Verdin, was to become an independent business from Berry Bros. & Rudd, although the independent merchant would continue to source a selection of its Italian wine range from DBG Italia.