James Davis MW joins Henkell Freixenet

By Jo Gilbert

Published: 18 May, 2021

James Davis MW will be joining the Henkell Freixenet team in a newly created role from the first week of July.

Davis will be making the jump from brewer and distiller Adnams where he was retail and commercial director to the sparkling wine giant where he will take on the new role as vice president for product development.

According to the company, Davis will lead the process of working with all the Henkell Freixenet wineries to ensure consistency and quality.

He will also work closely with Henkell Freixenet’s UK arm, Freixenet Copestick, principally to maximise sourcing opportunities and the quality level for the I heart Wines brand.

Board member, Eberhard Benz said Davis’s “experience, his wine expertise and his knowledge of the global wine industry will help Henkell Freixenet continue to improve and cement our place as the world’s leading sparkling wine producer.

“We have ambitious plans for the future of both still and sparkling wine and James’ recruitment will help us all achieve our ambitions.”

Davis added: “I have known the Henkell Freixenet Group for many years and have always been impressed by their innovation, quality and service levels. To help lead such an exciting global project is very exciting for me and I am looking forward to starting this new journey.”

As well as Adnams, Davis has extensive experience in the off-trade having worked for Costco and Tesco supermarkets where he headed up Tesco’s wine buying team.

Davis also worked for brewer and retailer Greene King, where he became a Master of Wine in 2013.

Henkell Freixenet is a major sparkling wine producer, offering Sekt, Cava, Prosecco, Champagne and Crémant to more than 150 markets across the world. It also works closely with its subsidiaries which are based in around 30 countries.

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