Vinescapes Ltd is delighted to announce the appointment of Emma Rice as Consultant Winemaker. Emma is one of the UK’s most respected winemakers, with over 16 years of experience and 21 vintages in the UK, California, Tasmania, and New Zealand. 

In her role as Consultant Winemaker Emma will be advising clients on their wine styles and strategy, production planning and equipment sourcing, winery design and winemaking consultancy.   Emma’s expertise will drive Vinescapes forward as it expands to provide the most comprehensive support for its clients from their early business conceptions, creating and managing their vineyards and wineries through to celebrating their winemaking successes.

In welcoming Emma, Dr Alistair Nesbitt, Vinescapes CEO, said: “We are delighted to have Emma join us. Her expertise will take us forward as we expand and provide the most comprehensive support for our clients. Emma’s achievements, her winemaking skills, passion, and experience puts any Vinescapes client working with Emma in the best possible hands for a range of consultancy services.  Emma and I have known each other for a long time and are both highly driven, I really can’t wait to work together as we push UK viticulture and winemaking standards to the maximum. We share a passion for perfection and Emma will join an elite team with a laser focus on making the best wines possible, and a team that brings both fun and a unique professional edge to our client’s projects.”

Emma Rice said: “I am thrilled to be joining Vinescapes – a hugely exciting company unrivalled in the UK as the leading vineyard and winery consultancy in this fast-growing industry.  I share Alistair and the rest of the team’s drive for excellence, ethos for hard work and dedication to our clients’ viticultural and winemaking success.    I am looking forward to sharing the knowledge and expertise that I have accumulated over my 21 vintages to support our clients’ winemaking journeys to realise the exceptional potential that is achievable in this exciting sector.”

In her previous position as Head Winemaker at Hattingley Valley Wines, Hampshire, Emma was central to the development of the winery as an internationally award-winning wine producer, both for their own brand and their very numerous contract clients.  She has a strong background in wine chemistry and analysis and created the winemaking laboratory Custom Crush at Hattingley Valley Wines supporting the whole industry with wine analytical services. 

Emma graduated from Plumpton College, East Sussex, in 2006 with a BSc degree in Viticulture & Oenology. In 2014 and 2016 she was awarded UK Winemaker of the Year, achieving the highest points for her wines in the national competition. She has the Wine & Spirit Education Trust diploma, is a liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Vintners, co-author of The UK Wine Growers Handbook, with Dr Belinda Kemp, former editor of Hugh Johnson’s Pocket Wine Book, former WineGB chair of the Winemaking Working Group as well as a renowned international speaker.  Emma has an impressive list of prestigious national and international awards for her still and sparkling wines and is considered instrumental in raising the standard and reputation of English Sparkling Wine over the past 15 years. 

Emma’s appointment will expand the services offered by Vinescapes enabling clients to benefit from a complete Ground to Grape to Glass provision with top quality consultancy, including:

• Wine production business consultancy: defining wine style and winemaking strategy market
• Wine production planning: support with strategic and operational planning and decision making
• Advice on winery equipment, utility requirements and other winery infrastructure
• Winemaking consultancy; from trouble shooting oenological challenges to directing production process.

Vinescapes is now established as the leading vineyard and winery consultancy in the UK providing world class research, strategic and operational expertise to grape growers and wine producers.

Photo of Emma Rice, credit: Felicity Crawshaw