The Drinks Trust appoints new chair of trustees

Industry charity The Drinks Trust has announced a raft of new hires, including a new chair of the board of trustees and three new patrons, and has appointed mentors and a community manager for its Drinks Community platform.

The Drinks Trust has appointed Troy Christensen, CEO of wine and spirits supplier Enotria&Coe, as its new chair of the board of trustees. Christensen joined the charity’s trustee board in 2018 and has been a long-standing supporter of the initiative.

In addition, the charity has appointed three new patrons this year: professional basketball player and recording artists turned rum ambassador Ian Burrell; spirits journalist and co-founder of the OurWhisky movement Becky Paskin; and Wild Card head brewer, chemical engineer and television presenter Jaega Wise.

The Drinks Trust has also made progress on its Drinks Community platform, and will launch the digital platform “very soon”. The project will promote upskilling, training, networking and mentoring within the drinks industry.

Among the new developments this month was the hiring of drinks journalist Millie Milliken as the Drinks Community community manager. Milliken, who was most recently deputy editor of Imbibe UK, will help to develop a networking model for the drinks industry.

The initiative was unveiled back in November last year, with committee members including Alex Wolpert (East London Liquor Co.); Amber Gardner (NoMad); Carole Brown (bar consultant); Declan McGurk (The Boatyard Distillery); Imran Choudhury (Bibendum Wine); Freddie Cobb (Vagabond Wines); Hannah Tovey (London Wine Fair); Harriet Kininmonth (Enotria&Coe); Isabelle Gormezano Marks (Small Beer Brew Co.); Jacine Rutasikwa (Matugga Distillers); Sylvia Oates (Best Bar None) and Tom Surgey (Three Wine Men, Pingza).

Last month, The Drinks Trust also announced details of its Drinks Community Mentoring Programme and has now opened applications for mentees.

The mentors, led by Robin McMillan of Decanter, are: Amber Gardner (NoMad); Andy Brown (Quinta da Pedra Alta); Andrew Shaw (Bibendum); Astrid Lewis (Spritz Marketing) Barbara Drew MW (Berry Brothers & Rudd); Ben Smith (Freerun PR); Elizabeth Kelly MW (M&S);
Gemma Wills (Enotria&Coe); Gus Gluck (GB Wine Shippers); Hugh Sturges; Jack Merrylees (Majestic); Jon Pepper MW (Tenute Del Mondo); Julie Taylor (3CS Consulting); Luca Lorenzoni (Northern Monk); Lucy Richardson (Quintessential); Mike Turner (Please Bring Me My Wine); Nathan Foote (Aspiring Vintners); Russell Kirkham (Quintessential); Tom Platt (Liberty Wine); Sarah Knowles MW (The Wine Society); Simon Thorpe MW (Wine GB); Sylvia Oates (Best Bar None); Victoria Sharples (St John Restaurant Co); Wendy Narby (Insider Tasting).