Chris Foss, Chair of Sustainable Wines of Great Britain (SWGB), is half-French and Bordeaux-trained. Whilst in Bordeaux, he managed the family vineyard in the Entre-Deux-Mers and worked in in Sauternes (Chateau d’Yquem) and St Emilion, becoming Winemaker for the GFA Leclerc vineyard group.
He moved to Plumpton to launch programmes in Wine Production in 1988. Plumpton College is now an international centre of excellence in wine training, education and research. Chris lectured principally in vineyard establishment and management, vine protection, and sustainable viticulture, and established and managed Plumpton’s 10-hectare vineyard. His principal research interests lie in climate change and vineyard sustainability and he was a member of the Life+ ADVIClim research group. He publishes regularly in the industry journals and has presented at conferences in France, Austria, Germany, Spain, Australia, China, Romania, New Zealand and the USA. He was Chair of the South East Vineyards Association (and thus Council Member of the UK Vineyards Association) for 10 years and led the team that designed the academic programme for the highly successful ninth International Cool Climate Wine Symposium, held in Brighton (UK) in May 2016.
Chris is now actively encouraging and supporting grape growers and winemakers in producing sustainable wine through SWGB. This aims to create a strong and vibrant community within the English and Welsh wine industry that actively promotes sustainability through information sharing and a certification scheme that is inclusive, effective and well-respected by our customers.
