MEET THE GRAPEOLOGISTS

MEET VERONICA

Veronica Alkon liked Pisco, the traditional white spirit of her native Peru, and the occasional glass of beer. When she met David he was consuming a lot of wine. Without protest she accepted a few glasses and was soon whisked up in the prevailing wind of wine discovery. She particularly enjoys travelling to wine regions and tasting at cellar door, immersing herself in the surroundings. She has been won over by dry Rosé, crisp Riesling and seduced by Pinot Noir. She can also give advice on the best places to stay when on the wine trail.

MEET DAVID

David Webster’s passion for wine started back in the mid nineties while working on a food and wine show for Channel 10 and Woolworths. He was dispatched to do wine stories with wine scribe Stuart Gregor. David knew nothing about wine and Stuart knew nothing about making tv, a perfect fit. Traipsing around the Barossa and Eden Valley meeting such characters as Charles Melton, Steven Henschke and Sir James Hardy inspired an interest that slowly consumed him. Like a stamp collector or a train spotter David took to wine with such enthusiasm he could talk about little else. Desperate, his friends and family encouraged him to channel his knowledge and passion into a wine business, a pursuit that might occupy him enough to stop the incessant drone about vintages and varieties. David is happy to chat to anyone about wine at any time of the day or night.

MEET JOHN

John Howard thinks his name alone should be all the credentials he needs to get a job...any job. We weren’t satisfied enough with the name alone so we checked his references.

Apparently he has been working in the liquor industry for 10 years.
Before joining By the Dozen he was bar manager of the West Ryde Hotel.
John has a great passion for wine and especially enjoys recommending wine to suit people’s tastes.
He collects fine wine himself and his favourite red wine is Penfolds St Henri Shiraz, his favourite white, Cloudy Bay Chardonnay.

MEET CHRIS

Chris realised his passion for wine at an early age. It all began with access to his family’s cellar and his secret escapes there to indulge (not always alone) in a bottle or few. Of course he believed he was doing the right thing by only drinking the old ones, you know the ones with the dust and cobwebs! This probably set the bar high for his expectations on wine, consuming the family’s preserved assets will do that to you.

Today, Chris’ love of wine continues to grow and amongst his greatest passions is the sharing of wine and wine experiences with colleagues, friends and family. When he’s not buzzing around with technology, gadgets and all things digital, he travels to wine regions, gets to know the people behind the wines, and loves discovering those excellent and surprising wines along the way. Before joining By The Dozen, Chris was mainly focused on premium and rare wines, and whilst his love of these wines has not abated, his eyes are now open to the depth of fantastic producers and fine winemakers bringing great wines to the table which provide outstanding value and quality – which is core to the philosophy of By The Dozen.