Meet the Team: Marketing

Marketing Team
Marketing Team: Rupert, Louise & Maria
Rupert Lovie, Head of Marketing
Rupert Lovie, Head of Marketing
Louise Wishart, Marketing Manager
Louise Wishart, Marketing Manager
Maria Blackstone, Graphic Designer
Maria Blackstone, Graphic Designer

Put a face to the name at the Ellis family...

At Ellis, we pride ourselves on our level of customer service and creating long standing relationships with both our customers and growers alike built on loyalty, integrity and respect. These values start with our staff, all working hard to ensure our business runs smoothly and our service remains at an impeccable standard. Many of our loyal team have been with us over 20 years, proving both our dedication to our staff and their commitment to our customers. 

To find out more about our Marketing team, we asked them some quick fire questions...

Rupert Lovie, Head of Marketing

What’s your highlight at Ellis Wines? Not one highlight but I love getting out to meet our customers. It’s always a great chance to learn about their business and there’s also the chance of some fab food too!

Favourite wine and why? This changes every day because I really believe it’s about the food, company and occasion. I’m never one to turn down a silky-smooth red though like a quality Rioja or Burgundy with a bit of age.

Where were you born? Cuckfield in West Sussex but there were no vineyards back then.

Hot or cold? Warm with occasional cold (max 30 deg in the summer but snow in the winter please)

Sweet or savoury? Savoury, definitely

Red, white, sparkling or rosé? Red (generally)

Random fact. I learned to fly a plane before I could drive a car

Dark chocolate, milk chocolate or white chocolate? Dark

Tea or coffee? Coffee, short and black

Your ‘go-to’ breakfast. Eggs benedict – especially when I used to have my own chickens – mmm.

How long does it take you get to get ready in the morning? If I have to do the school drop and then get to work, I can get myself and the two boys out in around half an hour but my normal state is more “bed slug” as the kids call me!

Is your glass half full or half empty? Half full

Tell us your best jokeA French cat (called ‘un deux trois’) and an English cat (the ‘one two three’ cat) had a race across The Channel, which was the winner? The ‘one two three’ cat of course because the ‘un deux trois’ cat sank! (Sorry)

What makes you happy? Getting out in the great outdoors (especially a bike ride), spending time with friends and family, good food and wine – simple pleasures really.

Death row meal – 1 dish & 1 drink. Steak frites with bearnaise sauce and a drop of Bordeaux.

Lifelong dream. Don’t dream, live in the moment and spend as much time as possible with friends and family

Who would be your 2 dinner party guests (dead or alive)? Probably Sandi Toksvig and Lauren Laverne for varied and amusing banter

Biggest fear. Heights

What did you want to be when you were small? A pilot

What is your party trick? Probably opening a beer bottle using another bottle – learned during a misspent year studying in France.

Would you rather win the lottery or work the perfect job? Lottery because then the perfect job becomes the perfect hobby.

Do you collect anything? Odd socks

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Louise Wishart, Marketing Manager

What’s your highlight at Ellis Wines? The people from Customers, staff and producers.

Favourite wine and why? Susanna Crociani’s Secreto di Georgio. Not only a great wine but a very personal story.

Where were you born? Govan, Glasgow. Long way from home. 

Do you have a nickname? Floss

Hot or cold? Hot

Sweet or savoury? Savoury

Favourite Harry Potter character. Dobby

What do you think of when we say ‘fruit’? Any sweet wine

Dark chocolate, milk chocolate or white chocolate? Dark

How long does it take you get to get ready in the morning? 10 minutes

Is your glass half full or half empty? Half Full

If you were the 8th dwarf, what would your name be? Numpty

What makes you happy? Good food and drink with friends and gardening.

Death row meal – 1 dish & 1 drink. Scallops, black pudding and apple with Marion's Vineyard Pinot Noir.

How did you find yourself at Ellis? Answered an advert and the rest is history

Who would be your 2 dinner party guests (dead or alive)? Stephen Fry and my Dad

Biggest fear. Drowning

Best childhood memory. Winning first prize for my handwriting aged 6

What did you want to be when you were small? Air hostess

If you could be one person for a day, who would it be and why? Billy Connolly to tap into his humour

What animal would you be and why? Meerkat. Always on the lookout (nosy)

If you could instantly become an expert in something, what would it be? Disco dancing

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Maria Blackstone, Graphic Designer

What’s your highlight at Ellis Wines? My highlight has got to be visiting Lorgeril in Languedoc. We stayed in the most beautiful chateau, and were looked after by our host Frank, and his team. We ate some amazing food and learnt all about their fantastic wines. So great to visit some vineyards and get a hands-on experience. 

Favourite wine and why? My favourite wine at the moment is probably the AB Valley Loureiro. Its light, fresh and zesty and the perfect easy drinker. 

Sweet or savoury? Definitely sweet! I’m not sure I could live without chocolate. I am also a keen baker, and love making (and eating) desserts.

Latest Netflix obsession. I’ve just binged on season 2 of You, and finished two seasons of Mindhunter.

​​​​​​​Dog or cat? Dog!

Dark chocolate, milk chocolate or white chocolate? Good milk chocolate, but I wouldn’t say no to any chocolate to be honest.

Tea or coffee? Coffee. I'm a coffee snob - I recently went on a latte art course, but won’t be a barista anytime soon!

Morning, noon or night? Noon, I'm not really a morning person, and love being in bed early. (Call me a grandma, I know!)

Your ‘go-to’ breakfast. I love a dippy egg with soldiers.

Is your glass half full or half empty? Half full

Are you a listener or a talker? Others probably think I’m a talker, but I really enjoy listening to people’s stories, and finding out what makes them tick.

If you were the 8th dwarf, what would your name be? Clumsy

Tell us your best joke. Rupert stole my original joke, so here goes... what do you call a tick who lives on the moon? A lunatic!

What makes you happy? Family, friends, food and being creative

Death row meal – 1 dish & 1 drink. Probably my mum’s sticky toffee pudding, with lashings of toffee sauce and vanilla ice cream. To drink, a good flat white.

Lifelong dream. To write a cookery book

Biggest fear. Failure – currently listening to a podcast called ‘How to Fail’ to try and be better at it.

Best childhood memory. Cooking with my mum, particularly at Christmas, making gingerbread houses and mince pies.

What is your party trick? My school friends would say dislocating my knee, which I did once at my school prom, and many times since!

Would you rather win the lottery or work the perfect job? Work the perfect job, because if you love what you do, you never work a day in your life.

What animal would you be and why? Giraffe. It’s my favourite animal, and I love to have a nosey, so it would be great to see over everything.

If you could instantly become an expert in something, what would it be? I love the learn, so enjoy that part of the process, but would love to be an expert in my creative field, or instantly be able to speak a foreign language! 

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Meet our other team members here...