Meet the Team
Meet the dedicated team behind Poulton Hill wines
Our experienced vineyard team have been carefully nurturing the vineyard and its wines since first planting in 2010. We take pride in every aspect of the vineyard and love to share our passion with visitors at our Tour and Tastings events.
Natalie
Graduating with a degree in Real Estate on the day Northern Rock collapsed precipitating the worst property crash since 1929, Natalie went to work for Tony Laithwaite in 2008 and has never looked back.
Starting her wine industry career in Laithwaite’s sales department, somebody obviously thought that Natalie had potential as she was summarily handed a one-way ticket to Sydney and instructed to help set up the company’s Australian operation.
Since then Natalie has worked with vineyards across the UK, Bordeaux, South Australia and New Zealand.
Under Natalie’s management since arriving at Poulton Hill Estate in 2015, the vineyard has developed vigorously, expanding its range from just one sparkling white wine to a full range of sparkling white and sparkling rosé wines, four still whites, two still rosés and two spirits. Poulton Hill Estate’s wines and spirits have now won over forty national and international awards.
Natalie’s work at Poulton encompasses every element of the enterprise from the estate’s hands-on viniculture to its sales, marketing and cellar door management. In the summer Natalie can usually be found among the vines leading Poulton’s highly regarded wine tastings which are enjoyed by over a thousand visitors from around the world every year.
Diogo
Diogo joined the estate team in 2012 as the Estate Manager. In his teens, he spent his summers working throughout vineyards in France and went onto work within the FMCG industry before changing his career to spend more time working outdoors. He is an instrumental part of the estate team, with a keen eye for detail and passion for excellence. He’s rarely seen without his quad bike and a pair of secateurs in hand. When he’s relaxing in his garden, his go to Poulton Hill favourites are our Arlington White and award-winning Bulari Brut.
Francesca
Francesca joined the Poulton Hill team in early 2024, needing to complete a placement for her Agri-Food Business Management degree, she started running the Cellar Door and our Tour and Tasting events every Saturday. Due to summer vine growth and the launch of the Bulari Bar, Francesca stayed in Cirencester to work part time at the vineyard throughout the summer before going back to university and reverting to lending a hand wherever possible. Come the end of her degree, Francesca handed in her dissertation and started full time a week later. She now works alongside Natalie to run the Cellar Door and organise all events happening at the vineyard, helping out with everything else whenever possible.