Charlie Womersley
Hi, I'm Charlie, and my passion for the whole myriad subject of wine is clearly expressed here on our Website. I have been very lucky in working with and learning from the very best in the trade.
Now it’s time to put some of this passion to good effect. This website encompasses all I have learnt about this fabulously diverse and sometimes daunting subject of wine.
So, pour yourself a glass, sit back and surf the site and remember to remain...Forever Thirsty.
Kieron Atkinson
Kieron Atkinson
Hi, I'm Kieron, and in the summer of 2007 I was an Army officer serving in Afghanistan in the Upper Gereshk valley, this was about as unforgiving a place as you can imagine and extreme as it is beautiful. Whilst there and throughout that operational tour, I made a promise to myself that when I return home I would go on to do whatever work I wanted, without too much consideration of the financial return, but focused on a way of life I wanted to follow.
As my considerations widened I also decided I wanted to make something and have an outdoor element to my work. I parked this thought for a further two years whilst becoming a tactics instructor at the Land Warfare School in Warminster, and it was only by chance that my thoughts turned to wine production whilst visiting the south west of France and a small producer Jonathan Hesford at Domaine Treloar. Jon showed me and my wife around his winery and vineyard and offered for me to come and visit over the harvest period for an extended time. I returned two months later; I actually missed most of the harvest, but did get to see how the business operated and what this lifestyle entailed.
The following winter I volunteered at Renishaw Hall vineyard, a modest in size, yet historic vineyard site situated under ten miles from Sheffield city centre, and then enrolled at Plumpton College on a two year wine production course. Whilst at Plumpton I also worked for the Rothschilds and Waddesdon Wine under the excellent MD Christopher Campbell, who showed me what the world of wine sales involved and I carried out numerous tastings of the fantastic and celebrated Rothschild wines. By this stage it was clear that I was bitten by the wine bug, however, it was in production and growing the vines where my passion lay – I was interested in how it got into the bottle, not just drinking it!
Whilst at college, a number of further opportunities presented themselves. Firstly I took on Renishaw Hall vineyard as my own project – Renishaw Hall wine is now selling all over the country, winning national and international awards and being sold into major retailers. It’s also a thriving tourism business that draws thousands of visitors each year. Secondly, I became a contract wine maker at Halfpenny Green vineyards in the west midlands, owned by Clive Vickers. This experience meant I was part of a team now producing well over 100,000 bottles per year and working with over twenty different vineyards in the process. It also meant that I got to produce just about every type of wine out there - from still and sparkling, through to Pét-Nat.
I combined these skills and experiences to start the English Wine Project. This is a consultancy business that covers all aspects of production from vineyard establishment, winemaking, wine sales, tourism and wider wine consultancy. We are expanding all the time and at time of writing, have a production facility producing English wines and ciders in Darley Abbey in Derbyshire.
Oz Clarke
Hi, I'm Oz, and I'm arguably the leading wine expert in the country.
A polymath of the noble grape he has appeared on TV and Radio starred with James May in James and Oz drink to Britain,a romp around the British Isles searching for the perfect glass.He is an award winning wine writer whose many books include the definitive guide to the wines of Bordeaux.
My most recent publication is English Wine which is the theme for our glorious romp around the vineyards of Britain featured in our blogs on the site.
I have been mates with Charlie for over 40 years and we have worked on many projects together including the much loved but now defunct Manchester Evening News Wine Challenge.
To have myself as a contributor and consultant to Forever Thirsty is a great statement of how Forever Thirsty intend to educate, and amuse in equal measures.
