Born and raised in Ireland, Ray won the George O’Malley Trophy for the highest tasting paper in Ireland in the WSET Diploma exam before moving to London where he worked as a sommelier for Gordon Ramsay. The six years spent working as Commercial Manager for the International Wine Challenge enabled him to train his palate for the practical paper of the Master of Wine exam and was also selected for the AXA Millésimes scholarship. Over the years, Ray has been a wine judge, ran his own wine school and won the Young Wine Writer of the Year Award in 2007. He was the Wine Director for Naked Wines U.K. for 10 years and spent a large amount of time in wine regions around the world sourcing new winemakers and communicating about the wines and lives of winemakers to customers online and at live events.

He is Founder/Director of Atelier Wines: Wines Creation Studio.

With his team, he makes wine in France, Spain and Italy.

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

Industry sector(s): Buying, Consultant, Educator, Events, International trade, Market access, Marketing, Off trade, PR, QA/QC, Wine business strategy, Wine judge

Wine region expertise: Austria, Italy, Provence, Rhone, South Africa, Spain, Tuscany

Market expertise: England, United Kingdom

Specialisms: Legal compliance with authorised oenological practices, Maturation and blending, Production costs, P&L, Wine styling, Blending, Bottling, Bulk shipment, Packing and labelling, Sensory evaluation , Direct to consumer, Distribution, Ecommerce, Events, Food and wine pairing, Identifying and meeting consumer demand, Investment strategies, Marketing wine, Music and wine pairing/events, PR, Restaurant wines, Routes to market, Starting wineries, Supplier/customer relationships, Wine judging