Skibo’s special relationship with wine merchant Justerini & Brooks is based on a shared ethos, says its buying director Giles Burke-Gaffney A FRUITFUL ALLIANCE L  ast year I celebrated two decades at Justerini & Brooks. These days it’s rare for somebody to stay with a company for so long, but when you work with passionate people and things you are enthused about – in this case, fine wine – you don’t want to leave. I run a buying team of six. We each look after specific regions and spend lots of time travelling to discover the best wines from around the world, and really get under the skin of each area to fully understand it. Justerini & Brooks has provided wines to The Carnegie Club since 1995 and there has always been a very natural synergy between the two establishments; both focus on exceptional quality, real relationships and personal service. In addition to keeping Skibo’s cellar stocked with a variety of high-quality wines, we also collaborate on special events, such as inviting key producers over to Skibo to host an exclusive dinner for members. Inviting the wine makers themselves to talk about their wines, and meet the people who like to drink them, is really nice. Such occasions are very intimate and a lot of fun. The Carnegie Club members are people who appreciate the finer things in life, so genuine quality is the focus of everything. Skibo’s food and beverage manager Diane Munro has an innate understanding of that. She wants to hear about wines that are exciting and have something interesting to say, rather than what is necessarily fashionable and trendy. Justerini & Brooks also operates this way. We look for the best wines out there, whether they’re well known or not. As traditional as we are (Justerini & Brooks’ history dates back to 1749), we continually strive to be dynamic. Skibo’s guests have clearly always been very open to trying new wines, which makes it an exciting partnership for us. We invest a lot of time and money in travelling, tasting and selecting the best things, so as well as supplying our clients with all the wonderful fine wines they know and love, we can also introduce them to new wines we think they’ll be excited by. Just like at Skibo, our service is very personal and tailored to each customer, be they a business or a private client. We have a vast portfolio of 4,000 wines and deal with more than 300 producers around the world. Providing a great service depends on trust – getting to know people and developing relationships. This takes time and needs to be nurtured. Offering what our customers want is the number one priority, and Skibo operates on the same principal – it’s all purely for the enjoyment of the members, and that feeling really comes across. ª – 33 – T H E C A R N E G I E C L U B Outer jacket Inner jacket Blaser Outfits HYBRID Men´s 1 | HYBRID 2-in-1 Jacket 2 | HYBRID 2-in-1 Inner jacket 3 | HYBRID Trousers Our brand new Blaser Outfits HYBRID line is tailored to changing weather con- ditions. Its design according to the multi-layer principle consists of a wind- and waterproof as well as warming layer. This turns the HYBRID line into a multi- functional hunting companion for the cool season. For more information on Blaser Outfits please go to: www.blaser.de/outfits HYBRID – TWO IN ONE 2 | 3 | 1 | © 2018 BRANDMARK