We started off by asking him about his whirlwind buying trip downunder and what surprises lay in wait.

Given the leaden skies and wintry weather back home in Edinburgh, I guess the only surprise is that I came back! My most recent trip was the longest that I've undertaken so far and was a great experience. I started in Margaret River where we source the marvelous Stella Bella Wines. Margaret River is a beautiful place and one that I hope I'll get the chance to take some customers ( and some staff if they're lucky) to over the next couple of years. Then began a whistlestop tour of the great wine regions of Australia (apologies to the Hunter Valley) including Coonawarra, Mclaren Vale, Barossa Valley, Langhorne Creek, Clare, Strathbogies, Yarra Valley and finally Tasmania before I left to do a brief visit in New Zealand. Phew! It all sounds very glamorous but by the 16th flight I was pretty knackered.

What is the outlook for Oz wines in general and Alliances range in particular.

I'm very much in favour of continuing to focus on what Alliance is doing well at and, over the past 18 months, we've taken two previously unheard of wineries (Two Hands and Stella Bella) and built up some really impressive sales growth. We need to continue this focus and add some other cutting edge producers to enable this to continue. The work done on Hillsview and Blewitt Springs over the last couple of years has brought immense results and I'm continually looking at improving the presentation and varietals to keep the range current - we're currently looking at bringing in a Viognier into the Hillsview range which will provide some much needed aromatics in the Aussie range.

More than anything, I'm looking for wines that reflect the climate in which they are grown. The notion of Terroir has often been rubbished by the Australians but the relative weakness of Aussie wines in the on trade suggests that more focus on regions and "sense of place" is what's needed to convince the consumer to trade up. My recent visit included some amazing discoveries in Coonawarra and Tasmania and whilst I can't say anything just yet, I'm very excited about what's likely to come on in the very near future.

Have you ever made a buying decision abroad in beautiful conditions and then come back home and realised you were totally wrong and what you actually tasted was crap?

These days I'm probably over cagey when visiting a potential supplier - this is generally a good trait but some of the top producers need a little ego massaging and it's very difficult to do that if you're still acting cool and undecided. No decisions are ever made in the field - samples are ordered and then tasted back at the office where I try to convince the rest of the team that I was doing something more than just sun bathing.

We did once make an early morning visit to a Burgundy supplier after an extremely heavy night which resulted in us buying magnums of some dodgy Vosne Romanee that the supplier was desperate to get rid of. Not very shrewd!

What areas in the Alliances range do you feel are particularly strong?

Well, I'm bound to say Australia, but it is generally a strength - and is one that will only get stronger. The improved packaging on Sherwood Estate has also made a big difference and last week's N.Z tastings in London proved that we are on the right track there with the wines and presentation much commented upon. France has always been a strength for Alliance and will remain so but I think we'll see a more focused

approach with time spent developing other European countries to give a more quality led feel. Whilst we have been successful in South America, the range remains centered around budget and mid priced varietals - this no doubt reflects where both Argentina and Chile are at but I think that we all have to hope that they make the next step towards consistently delivering in the £5-10 mark.

Given the choice as a long term partner do you go for a plain Jane who shares your interest in all things fine or a blonde busty stunner who only drinks Malibu with Irn Bru?

I'm tempted to say that in my current position I'll settle for either! Hmmmm, do I plumb the shallows by going for the bimbo instead of the brains? No, I'll be enigmatic and pass no comment - I don't want to deter anyone at the moment!