Majestic appoints second Master of Wine

By James Bayley

Published: 20 February, 2023

Majestic, the UK’s largest specialist wine retailer, has announced the appointment of Jane Masters MW to its buying team.

Masters, who became a Master of Wine in 1997 and was elected as chairman of the Institute of Masters of Wine in September 2016, has joined Majestic as buying manager.

She joins the team alongside fellow Master of Wine, Elizabeth Kelly, under the leadership of trading director John Storm and COO Robert Cooke.

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Masters is an independent wine consultant with more than 30 years of experience, dealing with clients around the world. She will oversee the buying of Bordeaux, Loire, Spain and Portugal at Majestic – key categories that the retailer believes will have an important year in 2023.

Having originally trained as a winemaker at the Institute of Oenology in Bordeaux, Masters worked in wine production in France, before moving into UK retail. She spent 11 years at Marks & Spencer, holding key roles including category manager Wines & Drinks, and technical manager Wines & Drinks, before setting up her Mastering Wine consulting business in 2004.

Masters became a board member of the Institute of Masters of Wine that same year and served as chairman from 2016 to 2018. She is also a founding member of the Institute’s Sustainability Committee, set up with the aim of increasing understanding of the complex issues of environmental, social and economic sustainability in the global wine trade.

Master’s addition will add further expertise to Majestic’s buying team, which has scooped more than 20 awards since the business was acquired by Fortress Investment Group from Naked Wines plc in 2019.

Majestic COO Robert Cooke said: “We are delighted to welcome Jane to Majestic. She brings a wealth of knowledge and experience, all of which will help us further deliver on our mission to help our customers discover and buy wines that they love.”

On joining Majestic, Jane Masters MW said: “I am very excited to be joining Majestic Wine. As the UK’s largest specialist wine retailer, I love the team’s passion and wine focus, and the aim to share that passion with customers – delivering a fantastic range of wines with great customer service. Majestic has a great reputation, lots of ambition, and I can’t wait to get started.”

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