The Good Wine Tours team
Good Wine Tours is owned by Malcolm Franks and Vivienne Franks. Collectively they have several decades of experience in the wine trade and have organised and managed wine trips to many of the world’s finest wine regions.
Malcolm Franks
Malcolm’s original background was in Chemistry and following an early switch into Technical then General Management he climbed to the role of a UK Board Member for a large Swiss Multinational Corporation. Here his role encompassed business development, Mergers and Acquisitions and eventually he became Company Secretary for the UK Group.
With strong analytical and accounting skills the Company enjoyed a period of strong growth but as time progressed it became clear that a further challenge was required that did not involve working for others in such a global environment. Malcolm’s wife, Vivienne Franks, had by then been working with Sandy Leckie who owned the Wine Education Service, one of the largest providers of wine courses, tastings and events.
Malcolm had a long standing enthusiasm for wine and it was a natural progression to join forces with Sandy Leckie to strengthen the management of the Wine Education Service where his previous wide commercial experience has been put to great use to expand the offering.
Vivienne Franks
Vivienne has an MA in French and German. Her background in food buying for a major retailer, led her to develop an interest in wine. This has grown into what has now become her passion. Her wine qualifications include the WSET Diploma in Wine and Spirits.
Vivienne is the Honorary Secretary of the Circle of Wine Writers and a member of the Association of Wine Educators and a WSET Certified Educator. She is an international wine judge and a regular panel Chair for the Mondial des Vins Blancs in Strasbourg, France and a jury member for the Mondial du Chasselas in Switzerland, the Berliner Wein Trophy in Germany, and the Michelangelo competition in South Africa. She is also a senior judge for the International Wine Challenge in the UK. She is a Chevalier of the Confrerie des Chevaliers du Tastevin at the Clos de Vougeot in Burgundy and a Compagnon of the Confrerie St Etienne d’Alsace
She has an enthusiastic approach to organising informative tastings for wine clubs, restaurants and hotels as well as running informal events for private and corporate clients.
Vivienne has travelled extensively throughout the world’s wine regions, most recent trips include South Africa, Hungary, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Italy and France.