The Sommelier Cru Team
Coz Kampanaos
Managing Director
Favourite restaurant: Dasheene Restaurant, Pitons, St Lucia (or our clubhouse, Shampers in Soho!)
Recommended food/wine pairing: Aged South African Chenin Blanc with Crayfish Tails and Cape Beurre Blanc. Preferably eaten at Chappies in Hout Bay.
Wine most likely to drink on a Sunday evening: Domaine du Cros, Lo Sang del Pais (Blood of the Earth), AOC Marcillac. 100% Mansois/Fer Servadou; nothing else could simultaneously root you so pleasantly in the earth whilst giving flight to creativity.
An entrepreneur and retail marketing professional, specialised in the wine business (10 years). He started the strategic marketing agency VibrantC in 1999, and Sommelier Cru is its brainchild. Was Marketing Director responsible for Interlotto’s £40m start-up and launch of Pronto!, where he played a leading role in building the company from 3 staff to 120 at launch seven months later, delivering the retail customer base on time and budget.
Prior to this Coz was the European Marketing Manager of ENZA New Zealand (European sales £200m), the world’s largest premium apple exporter where he significantly increased sales with the multiple retailers through FMCG marketing campaigns driving volumes and market premiums. He spent the first 10 years of his career as a management consultant and corporate analyst with RW Rowland (Tiny) Rowland’s Lonrho Plc in the Management Information and Corporate Finance departments, during which time he also gained his MBA at Cranfield.