Matt Wilkin MS
Director / Founder
Matt Wilkin has travelled the globe for over 30 years immersing himself in all facets of the industry; from humble beginnings in McLaren Vale before venturing further afield to the UK (1998) following a number of years working in hospitality & wineries throughout Australia & France.
He is South Australia’s 1st Master Sommelier (one of 274 globally), along with Australia’s only Sommelier to win UK ASI Sommelier of the Year Title (2005). He’s held a variety of prestigious roles including Executive Sommelier Capital Hotel (** Michelin), where he oversaw purchasing, training, tastings & cellar management for 6 operations. He jointly owns London-based H2Vin specialising in Loire, Burgundy, Rhône, Spain & Sth Africa. Matt also consults several restaurants, educates & adjudicates for the Court of Master Sommeliers’ Worldwide, assists as a regular Judge for Sommelier Competitions, TEXSOM IWA, IWSC and DWWA.
His dedication has been recognised through high profile Awards & Achievements: Gosset Trophée Cèlébris UK 2002, Wine Intl. Sommelier of Year 2002, Harpers & Queen/Moët & Chandon UK Sommelier of Year 2002, Hunters & Frankau Cigar Travel Award Scholarship 2002, Habanos Cuba Intl. Concurso Cigar Sommelier 2003 (2nd Place Internationally), WSET Diploma, Dom Perignon Award of Excellence 2004 and Young Australian Achiever of the Year UK 2009.
Christian Honorez
Director / Founder
Hailing from the Rhône Valley in France Christian Honorez was no doubt destined for a career in quality wine, one which took him from the roots of the catering industry as a chef at Lou Miradou (Cavaillon, 2 Michelin forks) which he bought in 1978 and cooked until 1983.
Christian then went on to study wine in 1984 before moving to the UK in May 85 where he started working in the wine trade. In 1988 he created H&H wines which sold to Bancroft in late 99 where he continued on in his capacity as head wine buyer. To this day Christian has more than 25 years’ experience in bringing quality wines to top restaurants and hotels across the UK.
Such is his recognition for skill in sourcing quality wines that he judged for many years at the IWC, and has been requested on the Decanter World Wine Awards judging panels annually since 2005 as a consistent reference due to his tasting capabilities.
Jo Burns
Sales Support Manager
First introduced to fine wine during a university year working in the Jurançon region of south-west France, Jo Burns returned to London keen to turn his sweet wine dissertation into a full-time career.
Having followed the tried-and-tested Oddbins apprenticeship at several flagship fine wine stores, he progressed from cellar to retail manager for the award-winning La Réserve independent chain (now part of the Jeroboams group), where he bought his first bottle of burgundy from Christian Honorez (H2Vin), then moving into wine broking at Fine & Rare Wines, before an extended time at Ten-Acre Wines Limited organising all aspects of the selection, purchase and delivery of high-quality estates from across Europe and beyond. His twenty years’ experience of high-level customer service to private clients, brokers and independent retail are now put to good use at adVINture, having joined the team in summer 2021.
He holds the WSET Diploma and tries to improve his pruning skills as a regular volunteer at London’s Forty Hall Vineyard.
Sujia Qian
Ecommerce
A change of career from finance to wine was a big challenge for Sujia after she realised her life passion is wine. First, she took a Diploma in Wine and Gastronomy at Le Cordon Bleu in London, researching the many wine regions and styles from around the world, which included an internship at a wine importing agent’s firm in London.
Following her internship, she moved back to China to set up her own distribution & trade wine company, where she specialised in hosting wine events, designing wine menus for restaurants, training staff in wine for restaurants, and serviced private clients as a wine consultant. During her 2 years in China, Sujia rapidly built good relationships with many wine contacts. She was also a shareholder in an iconic independent wine shop in central Shanghai.
For family reasons she moved back to London, where she’s joined adVINture as our Sales Support Coordinator. She holds a WSET Level 3 qualification and plans to study the WSET Diploma further!
