Who is Francis?

Francis has been passionate about wine since a spell as trainee manager at the Grand Hotel in Brighton. There he found a love for the subject and became a sommelier. A promotion to head sommelier followed nine months later, only a year after he was legally entitled to drink! Eager to experience more he moved to London, where he worked for a fine wine and whisky importer. After four years that included many tastings, travel and all the requisite exams, it was time for a sabbatical and he left the country to try his hand at winemaking.

He later returned to London, having worked in wineries in Australia, New Zealand, California and Romania. His experiences led him to prepare training courses for the hotel and restaurant industry and many of the formats have evolved into wine tasting shows for Taste of the Vine, which Francis started in 1996. Now along with Richard & Peter, he is a regular host for the company at formal tasting events and lighter-hearted interactive stage shows. Francis also has a passion for Malt whisky, having visited all but five of Scotland’s distilleries. He is a frequent contributor of articles to trade publications, on both wine and whisky, attends Master of Wine tastings and is on the tasting panel at Decanter Magazine.

When not entertaining audiences, Francis can be found writing for his Wine Navigator® project or working on his latest book. See left.

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