Justin Howard-Sneyd joins Dartington

Justin Howard-Sneyd MW has joined the Dartington Trust in a new role as associate director of wine.

The Devon-based trust is a centre for learning, arts and ecology, with a campus for Schumacher College and Dartingotn Arts School on its grounds.

With the academic staff, Howard-Sneyd will develop a new programme of short courses covering the culture, history and appreciation of wine as well as ‘Taste and Talk’ events with leading wine trade figures such as Hugh Johnson and Oz Clarke.

Howard-Sneyd said: “Wine is not just about biology and chemistry but how it interfaces with humans and with culture.

“You just have to look back through history to see how wine is deeply woven into our lives,”

“It’s fantastic that Dartington has made a commitment to have a major focus on wine, running as consistent theme through all sorts of activities.”

There are also plans to use his winemaking and viticultural expertise gained from running his Roussillon estate Domaine of the Bee, into some experimental wine production at the Trust alongside a new Sustainable Food and Farming degree.

The programme will be launched at Schumacher College in September 2021 and will be the first undergraduate degree in the UK to offer agricultural education with crops and livestock developed around sustainable principles.

Howard-Sneyd aded: “The amount of expertise in this industry is quite astonishing – there is an aspect of it which is quite geeky. I would really like to see wine as part of the fabric of Dartington. There is so much to learn at all levels.”