About
Our Team
Lance Foyster MW
Lance Foyster was seven when he first became aware of the existence of wine on family holidays to Portugal. He observed his parents' amazement and delight at the large and apparently free bottles of wine which regularly arrived on the dining table at lunch and dinner. Upon subsequent visits, when he and his sister hit their teens (still not drinking, mind, but no longer paying child fares) he witnessed his parents' valiant attempts to polish off the second bottle which now appeared automatically. Once he hit 18, there was no holding him back as he set off to work on the harvest in Tavel, where he discovered the romance of the vineyard. Later still, with his BA Hons (Oxon) in his back pocket, he passed over the opportunity to join the world of banking, law, teaching, academia (as if...!) and followed his growing passion in a series of menial jobs in the wine trade which eventually led him to the MW in 1991. The next 10 years saw him exploring all areas of the wine trade, from own-brand wines for supermarkets, to sourcing top Burgundy.
The opportunity to set up Clark Foyster Wines came in 2002. He looks after buying and selling, in collaboration with his colleagues, and finds his enthusiasm for this endlessly fascinating subject as vivid and stimulating as he ever did.
Isabelle Clark
Clark and Foyster met many years ago in the library at Magdalen College Oxford. Foyster was a worried finalist trying to make up for lost time spent on the hedonistic pursuits of rowing and wine; Clark was a keen fresher who was conscientiously ploughing her way through all 24 books of the Iliad in Greek. After many years, and many more hours in the library, she finally emerged from the world of academia with a D Phil in an obscure subject and a determination to earn a reasonable living. She was initially lured into the bright shiny world of accountancy and finance, but soon tired of corporate life and envied Lance his carefree days of long lunches, convivial tastings and glamorous foreign travel. When the opportunity came for Lance to take over a small wine business, she sorted out all the back office work and became increasingly involved as the business grew until she was able to chuck in her boring day job and become a full-time member of the wine trade.
Amongst other things, she looks after invoicing, credit control and cashflow; the dull but essential stuff!
Bénédicte Lacour
Bénédicte joined Clark Foyster Wines, in June 2004, as an office/admin support to help Lance manage the growth of the company. With a background in IT (project management), she seemed, on paper, to have little to do with the world of wines except for her French roots, her Burgundian in-laws, a taste for change and... bien sûr... enjoying drinking wines! Entering the "world of wines" and meeting so many passionate and knowledgeable people has been very fascinating and hmmm... quite different from the world of sofwtare development!
At Clark Foyster Wines, she mainly looks after stock replenishment, supplier payments, customer order processing, events organisation and marketing. Please do not hesitate to contact her with any query.
Hilário Ribeiro
Hilário Ribeiro was born in France and moved to Portugal aged 12 where, together with other family members, he helped during harvest making the years's supply on Red Vinho Verde. Surprisingly, this experience didn't put him off drinking wine for life.
After finishing a tourism degree, he worked as a tourist guide and event organiser, but decided to move to the UK in 2006, where his conversion to the wider world of wine began. After two years of making himself well-nigh indispensible at Fortnum and Mason, he has decided to exchange the tail-coat and cravat for a more casual attire with Lance, Isabelle and Bénédicte. He is joining the Clark Foyster team to further his love of fine wine. He'll be concentrating on the sales side of the business and will be working closely with Lance to support our customers.