Tamara Roberts of Ridgeview Wine Estate, has been named CEO of the Year at the highly contested 2023 Sussex Business Awards. The inspirational CEO has been a leading strength in her family’s international award-winning English sparkling wine journey, and a proud pioneering force in the English wine industry.

Founded in 1995, Ridgeview Wine Estate was one of the first wineries devoted to the production of English sparkling wine, in what is now a thriving industry.

At a glittering ceremony at The Grand Brighton, Tamara was commended by the judges, “The winner stood out as an exemplary leader, steering the company with vision, diligence and strategic action, and continues to be at the heart of the business with innovation driving the company towards a sustainable and profitable future. She is a firm believer in the well-being of the staff and implementing progressive strategies to ensure the team feels valued, included, and motivated.”

New for 2024, CEO of the Year was sponsored by Ignata Finance, and was am extremely hotly-contested category. It included Sussex business nominees Adam Stoud from Paxton, Bankim Chandra from Dotsquares, Carina Bauer from Imex Group and Richard Lee from Paula Rosa Manhattan; an array of fantastic flourishing Sussex businesses.

Tamara commented, “Receiving the CEO of the Year award at the Sussex Business Awards is truly an honour and a testament to the collective efforts of our incredible team. Together we have created a wonderful culture in which we can embrace challenges as well
as celebrate our successes. This award inspires us to continue strive for excellence in everything we do.”

Tamara’s career began with obtaining a Degree in Law and Accountancy at King’s College London. She then completed her chartered accountancy qualification, working in the London financial services industry. In 2004, she took the decision to join Ridgeview to grow the family business, originally as General Manager and then promoted to CEO in 2014.

Tamara has overseen the growth of production in that time from 25,000 bottles per annum to 500,000 bottles, with plans to double sales over the next five years. She is responsible for the financial management of the Ridgeview, as well as setting and implementing the strategy across all other areas from grape to glass.

Highly active in the English wine industry, Tamara was previously a director of the national bodies Wines GB, and the Wine & Spirits Trade Association. She is now a Governor of Plumpton College which specialises in training the English wine industry. She is also on the Business Advisory Board of Sussex University. In 2020, she became the first English wine professional to become President of the prestigious International Wine & Spirit Competition.

Tamara is very respected within the local Sussex business community. As a testament to her experience, professionalism and reputation, she was awarded Sussex Businessperson of the Year at the 2018 Sussex Business Awards, and ‘The Dynamic Award’ at the Women in Business Dynamic Awards 2022. Sussex CEO of the Year is now testimony to her success at Ridgeview, and her respect in the wider Sussex business community.

With ambitious plans to double Ridgeview’s production, Tamara’s vision is to focus on quality and sustainability while increasing brand awareness for growth in sales, tourism and export, which currently sits at 15 countries around the globe. Under Tamara’s guidance, with her passion for sustainability, Ridgeview has recently been accredited as a B-Corp. It is one of only 25 wineries around the world to achieve this status. Tamara is passionate about creating Ridgeview as a wonderful and ethical place to work with respect of client, customer, and community relationships.

In 2018, Ridgeview made history when it became the first English winery to gain the global accolade of ‘International Winemaker of the Year’ in the Inter-national Wine & Spirit Competition. Its award-winning sparkling wines can be found at number of quality restaurants, hotels and speciality resellers across the county, as well as direct from Ridgeview’s onsite shop, which is open seven days a week.

Ridgeview’s acclaimed restaurant, the Rows & Vine, is open throughout the year for visitors to sip and savour stunning seasonal menus perfectly paired alongside its award-winning wines; the perfect, unique location for celebrations with friends, family and colleagues.