JAMES has 3 decades of experience in the wine trade and now spends his time running Fine Vintage which operates in 15 countries.

Since 2010, James has personally designed each Fine Vintage tour, paying meticulous attention to the smallest detail. He has hosted all of them for several years. Today, James oversees every tour, directing the itineraries and ensuring the quality standards are at the highest level on every single trip.

MINI joined the wine tasting team at university, whilst studying Politics & Economics, and thereafter a hobby became a career. She started in London at the wine department of Harrods, followed by becoming a sommelière in a fashionable restaurant in the City of London. She continued her career with the Symington port family, who have been in Oporto for over 130 years and own the prestigious houses of Warre’s, Dow’s, and Graham’s amongst others.

In 1987 Mini moved to France with her husband and became an agent sourcing wines from South-West France for the UK trade. Since 2003 she has been running her own business, Tastevin du Monde, which has a number of different facets. It includes teaching WSET courses, mainly for young wine professionals, in France, in Bordeaux, and in China, in Shanghai.  Mini also blends wines for various vineyards in South-West France and when replanting helps them choose which grape varieties to use to increase complexity, to cope with climate change, and to lessen the use of chemicals in the vineyard. The final, very enjoyable facet is accompanying groups in France and Spain on luxurious, fun wine tours.