Sam Linter says farewell to Bolney

By Jo Gilbert

Published: 20 April, 2023

Bolney Wine Estate’s longstanding chief winemaker is moving on to pursue new opportunities, following a transition period to new owners Freixenet Copestick.

Bolney Wine Estate was sold to the UK arm of multinational sparkling specialist, Henkell Freixenet, in January 2022. After 16 months of a successful transition, Sam Linter has now decided to move on to explore new opportunities, with her last day in the business being 5 May.

Linter has been the face of Bolney for some time. During her tenure, she guided the West Sussex estate to prominence, which included nods at the WineGB awards: the estate picked up a Gold medal for its Estate Chardonnay 2020 and a Silver for its Cuvée Rosé in 2018.

Read more: Bolney Wine Estate acquired by major international

Since 2022, Linter has remained in the business as chairperson in order to ensure the ‘smooth integration’ of the estate into Freixenet Copestick. In a statement, Freixenet Copestick said it was keen to use Linter's expertise to ensure that ‘the vision and ethos of Bolney was embedded and retained for the long-term’.

“I feel I have successfully guided Bolney Wine Estate in becoming part of Freixenet Copestick and the Henkell Freixenet Group,” Linter said.

“I am excited by their plans for the future of the business, which closely follow the aspirations I had. However, it is time for me to move on and start my next challenge, knowing I have left Bolney Wine Estate and my family’s legacy in safe hands.”

James Davis MW will remain as Bolney’s general manager – a position he has held since October 2022. Over the past six months, Davis has helped to steer Bolney through a period of growth, with 2022 seeing a 16% increase from 2021. Further investment in the estate is pegged for 2023, with an expansion of the hospitality and retail area – due to open in late summer – forecasted to increase visitor capacity by 120%.

Freixenet Copestick MD, Robin Copestick, added: “Sam has built a great brand and business, and we are proud to be taking Bolney forward into its future. The business has made great progress in the first 16 months of our ownership, and we are indebted to Linter for her very professional approach to the integration process. I have no doubt that Bolney is on the right trajectory to be one of the very top English wineries.”

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