About Taurus Wines
Taurus Wines is an independent, award-winning wine merchant and importer near Bramley in the Surrey Hills. We specialise in parties, weddings and celebrations, as well as having an extensive range of champagnes, fine wines, beers and spirits, plus wine-related gifts. All of this nestles on the shelves of our beautifully renovated, 400-year-old barn, which we moved into in spring 2018, having founded the company originally in 2001 in the Old Cart House next door.
Rupert Pritchett AIWS - Managing Director rupert@tauruswines.co.uk
Rupert has spent over 20 years in the wine trade, starting his career at the less-than-glamorous Victoria Wine in Guildford before becoming a manager at Majestic Wine. He gained his practical experience of winemaking both in the Southern Rhône (Gigondas) for Gabriel Meffre, where he earned the Certificate de Vinificateur, and in Western Australia (Margaret River), where he worked a vintage for Capel Vale. He holds the WSET Diploma and the professional certificate in spirits.
Rupert has judged for both the International Wine Challenge and the Decanter Magazine Wine Awards and is a liveryman of the Distillers Company. For three consecutive years he was named by the Observer Magazine as one of the 50 "Rising Stars of the Drinks Industry". Rupert has also attended the Ecole des Grandes Maisons d'Alsace; a course run annually for ten of the UK's top wine-buyers and sommeliers, from which he graduated as top candidate.
Away from wine, Rupert is a keen runner, although even this seems to become vinous in the location - he completed the Marathon du Medoc (Bordeaux) in September 2007, despite stopping off at quite a few of the wine tasting stops on the circuit and the oyster tasting at the 23rd mile. He also took part in a similar event in Beaune (Burgundy) in October 2011.
Felicity Pritchett - Director felicity@tauruswines.co.uk
Although Fliss's specialism leans towards words rather than wines, her years spent writing about lifestyle and interiors weren't a complete waste... It seems a decade sampling the offerings in London's bars and restaurants, press junkets and parties has given her a finely tuned palate for all the fun things.
Fliss loves writing and has happily taken on creating our catalogues and email newsletters, and is always there with a red pen to correct Rupert's spellings and tone down his more geeky wine chat.
Never one to let a holiday get in the way of a wine tasting, Fliss has tasted her way through Bordeaux and Burgundy, as well as visiting wineries in Georgia, Spain and France.
Fliss, writing under her maiden name of Chester, is also a novelist and has written ten books, mostly whodunnits based in the 1920s and 1940s, but also some cheeky romances too. There's more information on Fliss's writing here on her website.
Joe Domican AIWS - Shop Floor Manager joe@tauruswines.co.uk
As our Shop Floor Manager and fan of all things beer-related too, Joe keeps a keen eye on anything hoppy happening. An avid home brewer, Joe would love to one day start his own microbrewery (these days, who doesn't!?). Joe holds the WSET Diploma and it's a joy to hear him wax lyrical about his favourite wine regions. Catch him on the shop floor and ask him anything you like about our wines - he'll most likely know the answer!
In his spare time Joe enjoys tinkling the ivories and pretending he's relaxing on 52nd Street with his favourite jazz musicians from the 1950s.
David Webber - Assistant Manager david@tauruswines.co.uk
David started his career in wine with Oddbins in 1992. He managed the branches in Sutton, Canterbury, Cannon Street, Hampstead Village, Marylebone High Street and then Pimlico before a two year stint as an Area Manager. Responsible for much of the south outside the M25, at one point he had responsibility for 25 branches from Truro to Brighton and up to Reading. The departure of the Buying Director, Steve Daniels, spelt the end of Oddbins, in David's eyes, so he moved on in 2003.
After a slight flirtation with the car industry he came back to wine, working for Davy's in Greenwich for 18 months before joining The Revelstoke Wine Company in 2006. After six enjoyable years there he joined us at Taurus in 2012, and we're very glad to have him. David can be found at Taurus on a Thursday and Friday, spending the rest of the week looking after his two young children, Jamie and Evie, whilst his wife Kelley has a 'proper job' at Caffè Nero.
James Holmes - Trainee Manager james@tauruswines.co.uk
James joins us direct from Plumpton College, the premier wine school in the UK, where he studied International Wine Business, after a career as a historian. He is also a font of knowledge on English wine, as he worked at Ridgeview Wine Estate as a tour and tasting guide during his time at Plumpton.
James previously worked for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and has been a contributor to several historical documentaries. He discovered a great passion for wine and knew he wanted to pursue a career in the wine industry. Having also completed the WSET level 3, James is working on achieving his diploma.
Outside of wine, James enjoys history, art, rugby and is currently learning French.
Matt Harris - Freelance Retail & Logistics
Matt started his working life in broadcast media, spending 16 years as a producer at Sky on the Movie channels, making programmes and generally gallivanting around the globe interviewing the great and not-so-good from the world of film. Following a change in career, Matt is now a professional photographer who specialises in event (private and corporate), marketing and wedding photography. He joined us during the pandemic when taking pictures of people in places was suddenly a big no no. Fortunately for us, now that things are back to normal, he has chosen to stay on and, in between photo shoots, can be found in the shop or out and about in one of our vans a couple of days a week.
A Cranleigh resident for 10 years, Matt recently moved down to the Petersfield area with his wife, sons and black lab Bronte, but loves coming back up to his old stomping ground and being part of the Taurus team.
When it comes to wine and spirits, he has a shortlist of “go to” drinks – New Zealand Sauvignon for the day to day, a nice smooth Malbec (preferably by Zuccardi) with a Sunday roast and a pint or three of ale for days when the rugby is on. Oh, and gin and tonic Fridays hold a particularly special place in his heart...
Do give him a wave and a honk if you see him out and about in either our bright red van Ron Burgundy or Chateauneuf-du-Zap, our all-electric VW iBuzz van!
John Wilson - Operations Manager john@tauruswines.co.uk
John has been a neighbour and friend to Taurus Wines for many years and we're very glad he's now joined the team. He brings with him a wealth of experience in project management and has already ticked almost all the things off his list that we gave him to do... and that was a long list!
John has always loved wine and is cementing his interest in it by taking the WSET courses and has recently passed the Level 2.
As someone not afraid to muck in, you might see John out on the road, here in the shop or down at the warehouse - wherever you see him, you'll be guaranteed a cheery wave and a friendly smile.
Lottie Cook - General Assistant / Christmas elf
Lottie was sold to us for a tin of crisps as a Christmas temp back in 2021. Thankfully she approved of us as much as we approved of her, and she has returned ever since between terms studying History at the University of York. Although we haven’t yet convinced her that wine is the most delicious drink in the world (she is far happier sipping a hot chocolate), she has passed her Level 1 WSET with flying colours and will be starting her Level 2 this year. Up for any challenge, Lottie is one of the most competent members of the team! Whether she’s on the shop floor with customers, packing Christmas orders, helping with admin tasks in the office, or ensuring the store is tidy and our hired glasses are sparkling clean, it's always a pleasure to have her with us.
Ed Owen - Consultant & Shareholder
A long-standing customer of Taurus Wines along with his wife, Ed helps with IT-related projects, including the website and our Shopify back office. His great passion is cars and he puts his expertise to use helping us source our fleet of vans - even if they're not quite as snazzy as what he drives! It's thanks to Ed though that we now have our electric VW iBuzz van, Chateauneuf-du-Zap!