Education
Welcome to episode 960 in which host Polly Hammond interviews Christian Holthausen in this episode of Uncorked.
This week, we’re joined by Christian Holthausen, an absolute rock star of Public & Press relations in wine. We’ll talk relationships, budgets, influencers, and how good ol’ fashioned bar stories can help us be better brand communicators.
More about today’s guest:
As the founder of Westbrook Marketing Partners, Christian Holthausen is an experienced Sales, Marketing & Communications Director with a successful track record of more than twenty years in the international wine and spirits industry developing and implementing comprehensive brand value strategies, and with a strong focus on the Champagne category. Holthausen currently works with several of the most prestigious producers in Champagne and also with a number of international clients.
A dual citizen of France and the United States, Christian Holthausen graduated from New York’s Vassar College in 1996 with a double concentration in English Literature and Feminist Theory before completing his post-graduate studies at La Sorbonne in Paris in 1999.
Prior to founding Westbrook Marketing Partners, Holthausen served as the Export Sales & International Communications Director for Champagne AR Lenoble for six years after spending seven years as the International House Communications Director for Champagnes Piper-Heidsieck & Charles Heidsieck. He previously spent five years managing the wine and champagne portfolio of Rémy Cointreau USA in New York after starting his career at Champagne Veuve Clicquot in 1999. In between, he also lived in London for 18 months where he was head of marketing for Nyetimber and a branding consultant for Gusbourne.
Outside of his role at Champagne AR Lenoble, Holthausen has contributed articles on wine and spirits to a variety of publications including Meininger’s Wine Business International in Germany as well as Decanter, The Guardian, www.jancisrobinson.com and The World of Fine Wine in the United Kingdom. In 2017, he was shortlisted for Emerging Wine Writer of the Year at the Louis Roederer International Wine Writers Awards.
To learn more visit:
www.linkedin.com/in/christian-holthausen-04b3a92/
More about the host Polly Hammond:
Polly is Founder and CEO of 5forests. She splits her time between Barcelona, Auckland, and Napa, consulting, writing, and speaking about the trends that impact today’s wine businesses. She’s an advisor to New Zealand Trade & Enterprise, host of Uncorked with the Italian Wine Podcast, cohost of the Real Business of Wine with Robert Joseph, and, occasionally, a knitter.
Polly is a graduate of the University of Southern California, where she earned degrees in International Relations and French. Those studies led to a deep and abiding love affair with behavioural Economics, and her wine work is based on insights into all the crazy and irrational reasons consumers engage with brands.
With over 20 years experience in growing successful companies, Polly knows first hand the challenges faced by independent businesses. She approaches each client experience with empathy and understanding for what it takes to adapt and thrive in the real world.
To learn more about Polly Hammond visit:
Twitter: @mme_hammond
Instagram: @5forests
website: 5forests.com/
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Until next time, Cin Cin!