Fiona is Managing Director of Thienpont Wine, an international wine merchant and négociant and with her husband, Jacques Thienpont, runs their three Bordeaux estates, Le Pin in Pomerol, L'IF in Saint Emilion and L'Hêtre in Castillon. Having ran the hugely successful MW Endowment Auction, been a member of Council and a Trustee of the Endowment Fund, organised the programme contents of three symposia - Bordeaux, Florence and Logrono - and played an active role in Education, she is now ready to step back from her MW activities to concentrate on her day job. She continues to write books and articles and select the wines for Brussels Airlines as well as a variety of other extracurricular activities.

Primary area(s) of work: Wine production, Trade

Industry sector(s): Viticulture, Winemaking, Distribution, Business owner, Agency/Importer, Journalism, Author

Wine styles: Still red

Wine region expertise: France, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Rhone

Market expertise: Europe, Asia, North America, Germany, Netherlands, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal

Specialisms: Life cycle of the vine, Acquisition of vineyards, Harvesting of grapes, Organic viticulture, Processing of grapes, Fermentation, Maturation and blending, Elevage / maturation, Blending, Marketing wine, Investment strategies, Financial and commercial structures, Supplier/customer relationships, Routes to market, Importation, Distribution, Branding