Our team

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.

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 finance; the dull but essential stuff!

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 and shipping, events organisation and marketing. Please do not hesitate to contact her with any query.

Oliver joined the team here at Clark Foyster Wines in March 2018. Oliver’s interest in wine and food date back to his childhood where he has fond memories of big family meals. The wine would be passed around from when the cooking started until the cheese was finished, and then it would be time for a digestif! His passion and interest in wine really sparked while he was studying his Hospitality Degree and working in a fine dining restaurant in London. Whether he was learning how to decant fine wines or deboning Dover Sole it drove him forward to gaining his Advanced WSET. After over ten years in the hospitality industry he then moved to New Zealand for two years and had the opportunity to work in the Gibbston Valley. Here he fell in love with Central Otago Pinot Noirs, though whether this was from the fact he could spend his mornings skiing and his afternoons touring vineyards we’re yet to find out!

Oliver works with the team helping to keep our customers happy, mainly with customer order processing and customer payments.

South African born, Guy grew up amongst the Cape vineyards, but his love of wine was truly unleashed when he moved to London in the late 90s. Working at Michelin-star restaurant Chez Bruce, the head sommelier Jason poached Guy from bar duty and introduced him to wine service. Lucky he did, as it was this that sparked the passion. Guy went on to hone his nose and palate in some of the finest establishments in London, working with the world’s finest wines.

He moved on to sommelier roles at The Ledbury, Theo Randall and Pied-à-Terre, before returning to South Africa to manage private client and trade accounts for an international wine importer specializing in Burgundy – one of Guy’s first loves in wine.

The pull of Europe was too strong though, and Guy returned a few years later to continue his career in wine sales, based in London. Now, with more than 15 years of experience in the business, from service to sales, he has joined Clark Foyster, working once again with the selection of wines he first grew to appreciate at Chez Bruce, including his much beloved Schloss Gobelsburg from Austria.