EP Business in Hospitality Issue 49 - April 2014

ENTREPRENEUR
The wine industry, and those who supply it, has long since
been seen as something of a specialist sector, the purview
of an elite group usually based in France. However, usurpers
to the throne have been coming in their droves, with British
entrepreneurs leading the charge. EP met with one such
enthusiastic purveyor, David Knott, to learn about what made
him start his own business in an already packed market and
how he plans to set his products apart
The Knotted
VINE
Having originally studied
history and sociology at
university David found
himself at the age of 21
working in a management
capacity for Majestic Wine Warehouse.
Struggling to find a route into trade he
made the brave decision to move to
Adelaide, Australia, to study for a Masters
degree in Wine Business & Marketing.
Checking into a youth hostel for the first
three weeks after arriving, David says: “My
over-riding memory from that move was
trying to sleep on an awful lumpy mattress
covered in plastic, in 42°C heat. It wasn’t
pleasant!” He finally moved into shared
accommodation with another Englishman
and 18 months later he proudly graduated
with an MA under his arm.
Along the way he met and was tutored
by Professor Lockshin, who is the world’s
leading authority on wine marketing, has
written many books on the subject and
guided David towards the NSW Fellowship
Grant. This consisted of a dissertation that
David undertook with great enthusiasm,
titled Boozing or Branding, which explored
the practice of in-store tastings and its
effects on purchase or repeat purchases,
while in the same period he was afforded a
feature in the Wine Business Monthly and
the International Marketing Journal.
Following this success and achievement,
David moved on and settled in Dubai,
where he became a category buyer
covering markets in Australia, New Zealand
and Italy. The market in Dubai amounted to
1.5 million cases annually, of which David’s
accounts made up 75% of the portfolio.
The following 18 months was spent
with a new venture called Liquid Solutions
headed up by Nick Midwood, who was to
become David’s mentor.
Returning to the UK in 2012, David got
straight to work on his business plan for a
wine merchant and, with a small amount
of financial investment from family and
friends, launched The Knotted Vine in April
2013 out of a small office in Farringdon.
“While I was in Australia I learned
an important insight into consumer
behaviours when choosing wine – simply
explained, it says that every action is a
piece of Velcro. Whether it’s referring to the
bottle shape or label design or colour of the
glass or pricing, or if it’s a screw top or cork
stopper, the accumulation of how many of
these pieces of Velcro you can get to stick
with your customer is what will secure your
sale and repeat business.”
Using this technique allows David
to buy his wine based on the customer
rather than his own opinion or personal
preference: “My portfolio is 100% for
my customer.”
The Knotted Vine and David have a
very fixed view on what they will provide
for their customers, and the ethos of this
NICK DAWE
“My portfolio
is 100% for
my customer”
40 | April 14 | EP