Pierpaolo Petrassi was born in London of Italian parents and holds dual Italian & British citizenship. He followed his father into the wine industry in 1983 and having worked for the Carnevale Group, International Wine Services, WaverleyTBS & Tesco, he became Head of Buying for Beers, Wines, Spirits & Soft Drinks at Waitrose in 2010. Pierpaolo was the first Italian to become a Master of Wine, having worked with Italian wine throughout his career and having lectured and spoken on Italian wine over three decades. He lives in Windsor, Berkshire with his wife Astrid and children Jessica, Oliver, Luca, Charlotte & Daniel.

Primary area(s) of work: Trade

Industry sector(s): Buying, Off trade, Wine judge

Wine region expertise: Abruzzo, Alto Adige, Australia, Campania, England, Italy, Lombardy, Marche, Maremma, Piedmont, Sicily, South Australia, Tasmania, Tuscany, UK, Veneto/Friuli, Western Australia

Market expertise: United Kingdom

Specialisms: Branding, Distribution, Financial and commercial structures, Food and wine pairing, Identifying and meeting consumer demand, Marketing wine, Supplier/customer relationships, Supermarket and multiple retail