Staff Profiles

Ted studied History and Physical Education at Loughborough University before teaching at Magdalen College School in Oxford for 7 years. He gave up teaching to follow his passion for wine and cut his teeth at Stevens Garnier in Wine retail. During this time he travelled extensively and took his wine exams including the Diploma – which he will admit is much harder these days! Frustration and ambition prompted him to start The Oxford Hamper Company in 1985 which by 1992 had metamorphosed into The Oxford Wine Company.

John joined The Oxford Wine Company as Warehouse Manager in 2002. He worked his way up the ranks and now runs the company in his role as Managing Director, having taken over the post from Ted in 2020. John holds the WSET Diploma in wines, and has extensive knowledge across all categories of wines and spirits. When not looking after the day to day running of the company, John travels internationally to wine fairs, ensuring the OWC range offers the best available around the world.

Thom is West Oxfordshire born and raised. He grew up in Bampton where he now lives with his wife. After leaving school, Thom studied Biology at the University of Gloucestershire. Thom has a real passion for wine, and immediately after leaving University he started work for Majestic, during which time he completed his WSET Level Three. He joined The Oxford Wine Company in 2016 as the manager of our Standlake Shop. Since then his role has evolved and Thom now takes an active role in the buying and operations of the company. He passed his WSET Diploma in 2023.

Emily has worked at The Oxford Wine Company since 2015. She studied English Literature at Pembroke College, Cambridge and went on to study Law. However, her heart wasn’t quite in that and after spending some time teaching English in Hong Kong and Tokyo she found her way to Oxford where she joined us as a Shop Manager. Emily passed her WSET Diploma in 2016, and she is now working on the Research Paper of the Master of Wine programme, having passed the Theory Exams in 2022 and Practical Papers in 2025. When her head isn’t buried in a book, Emily likes to experiment in the kitchen, cooking up new dishes to pair with her favourite wines.

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Karen has been looking after the Oxford Wine Company’s finance department since 2000. She grew up in Oxfordshire, and studied Commerce and Business studies as well as completing a secretarial course at Abingdon College. Before she joined us at OWC, Karen spent time working at North Oxford Garage and Finders Keepers. When she’s not keeping the company finances in shape, she enjoys keeping herself in shape by going to the gym, running and gardening.

Min Yee’s background is in strategy consulting. She graduated from Merton College Oxford with a Masters in Biochemistry, and after graduating spent time working with firms in Hong Kong, London and New York before taking a career break. Min Yee had been a wine lover for some time, and during this time embarked on the WSET Diploma. A stint spent at Château Méaume in Bordeaux gave her some practical experience before she returned to England and joined The Oxford Wine Company as a Shop Manager. After a period working in retail, she took over responsibility for Corporate and University Sales, and passed her WSET Diploma in 2022.

When he left school, John trained as an actor and worked in theatre and TV for five years. He loved it but eventually felt he needed a more secure lifestyle which led him to work in hospitality for many years in various roles, from cocktail bartender to pub manager. His move into the wine trade proper was when he started work at Oddbins in Oxford, and after several years there he joined us at OWC. In 2018 John trained as a WSET Educator, and he now heads up our education arm, taking responsibility for our WSET courses, customer tastings and staff training.

Originally from Dorset, Clare moved to Oxford in 2012 to study Spanish and Portuguese. As part of her degree, she gained experience working for Taylor’s Port in Porto and Montes Wines in Santiago, Chile. After graduating, she worked with Charles Taylor MW, went back to South America for a sabbatical and then trained as a languages teacher upon her return to the UK. She worked in secondary schools for six years before re-embarking on her career in wine – this time setting up her own business delivering wine tastings. It was this venture that brought her to The Oxford Wine Company. She is currently juggling WSET Diploma studies with days spent exploring Oxfordshire with her toddler and playing hockey.

After studying Economics at Southampton University and taking a year off to travel to Asia and Australia, Tim joined the BBC’s Drama department. He rose through the ranks and spent twenty exciting years producing a range of shows filmed in the UK and around the world. Having had a lifetime’s interest in wine, Tim decided to begin WSET studies in 2018. During this time he joined the OWC retail team. This led to further responsibilities overseeing part of the company’s trade sales portfolio, managing accounts in and around Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire. Now alongside both of these roles, Tim is embarking on the challenge to develop his skills as a wine educator to share the world of wine more extensively!

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Katy joined our team in February 2020 as a Retail Assistant, before moving quickly up to a new role as Retail Manager in October of the same year. The Oxford Wine Company was her second job in the wine business, having spent time working at Waddesdon Manor before joining us. She studied English Literature at the University of East Anglia, during which time she became captain of the Women’s Rowing Team. Katy completed her WSET Level Three in 2021, followed by the WSET Diploma in 2024.

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Lucy studied Maths and French at the University of Liverpool, before a change of plans made her forget about accountancy and pursue a much more interesting career in wine. After gaining her WSET Level Three, she joined Grape Expectations, an independent wine merchant in Marlow, where she spent two years as Assistant Manager. In 2024 Lucy commenced work on her WSET Diploma where she met former OWC Shop Manager Nick. Nick introduced Lucy to our team and two months later she joined us as a Shop Manager! She passed her WSET Diploma in 2026. Outside of work Lucy loves to travel – particularly if a vineyard visit is on the agenda – go on hikes and listen to 70s rock bands.

Mark is originally from a farming background, but decided that life behind the wheel of a tractor was too anti-social. Two harvests in Saint-Émilion after leaving school sparked a serious interest in wine. Itchy feet led Mark to travel extensively throughout the Alps, Colorado and Switzerland as well as Australia, Southeast Asia, Mexico and India, working a multitude of jobs just to keep travelling! Mark joined Majestic Wine in 1986, where he stayed for 18 months before heading back to Australia to do a vintage at Penfolds. After a long journey over land back to the UK from Australia, Mark re-joined Majestic where he stayed for almost thirty years. He joined us at OWC in 2017, spending his time working in our three Oxford shops.