Friendly faces of Busy Manor.
Matty, National Sales Manager
matty@busymanor.com.au | +61 450 900 610
Matty started out in fashion retail — he worked his way up to a State Manager before starting a clothing label of his own. A fateful meeting with Dylan lured Matty to a role at the AB&D cellar door, where he fell in love with wine, eventually taking on the role of South Australia wholesale, adding Victoria, and now looks after all of the key accounts nationally.
His love of wine extends to the industry as a whole; the people, the craft, the product — he’s especially drawn by its ‘old school edge’, such an ancient and storied drink! The only things that rival wine in Matt’s world are cycling, his partner, and his whippet, Evie.
Erika, Area Sales Manager VIC
erika@busymanor.com.au | +61 499 653 451
Erika’s worked in sales in the wine industry for more than 25 years. She started out in Adelaide before moving to Melbourne where she spread her wings into on-premise sales with Samuel Smith & Son and Negociants. Since then she has worked in sales and management roles with Rochford and TarraWarra Estate before joining the Alpha Box and Dice team in 2022.
Erika loves that wine takes you on a journey; it connects you so strongly with a sense of place and even with childhood memories in such an enchanting way. She also loves entertaining and eating out, and running away to Anglesea with her family to hike and wine and hunt down local breweries.
Andrew, Area Sales Manager SA
andrew@busymanor.com.au | +61 499 109 328
Andrew spent a really long time at university, which meant he also spent a really long time working in restaurants and bars. That’s how his love for wine came about. After uni, he worked in the arts — he managed logistics and guest services and looked after production and programming for festivals like WOMAD and the Adelaide and Sydney film festivals. He also worked on film and television projects and as a venue manager for a number of performance venues. But Andrew’s wine love called him, and he eventually returned to wine as Cellar Door Manager for Alpha Box and Dice. Then he moved on to a DTC role at Shaw and Smith, managing the Cellar Door and Wine Club and creating a festival food project called ‘Mangia, Mangia!’. At the beginning of 2022, Andrew returned to Alpha Box and Dice, working across the whole suite of Busy Manor brands.
Andrew loves that wine always tells a story. Every bottle holds the stories of the places and the people behind it, and when you open it, you don’t just unlock those but you become a part of the story too. He also loves the constantly evolving styles and approaches to winemaking; it’s never static, always fresh, and always innovative. Wine is tough to top but he also adores his two children, cooking, and dreaming about restoring his vintage car.
Abby, Area Sales Manager QLD
abby@busymanor.com.au | +61 499 147 673
Abby has worked with wine in almost any capacity that a person can, counting viticulture, winemaking, sales, logistics, and purchasing amongst the well-tuned strings in her bow. Starting her journey in the vineyard as a passionate eighteen-year-old, the two decades following have seen her traverse the wine regions of New Zealand, namely Marlborough, and Australia, as well as venturing further afield for stints in Burgundy, Nuits-St-George.
A people-person (provided the people are dogs) and mum of two, Abby’s passion for the wine industry is matched by her love of travel and other cultures; catch her at her happiest when pairing delicious drops with Vietnamese food and spice.
Sam, Area Sales Representative VIC
samlittle@busymanor.com.au | +61 499 406 861
For many in our humble industry, there is a defining moment involving a very particular bottle. It’s a tale as old as time in the wine industry, a wine that over the course of a few sips causes a person to change career paths. Sam’s foray into wine follows a similar story. Years of study were unraveled by a bottle of S.C. Pannell Grenache Syrah. Giving up a career in journalism to foster his newly found love of wine, he spent the next few years at S.C. Pannell, growing his knowledge while working in the cellar door and kitchen. Fully entrenched in the industry, the following four years at Shaw & Smith saw him garner the assistant manager role and feet. His next move is to Melbourne as the latest member of our Busy Manor team.
Sam loves the romance in wine and the fact that it's the work of so many hands is ineffably gorgeous. He loves watching winemakers evolve and adapt, particularly the paradigm shift from big and buttery Chardonnay to lean and balanced drink-fresh examples. He also loves how approachable wine has become. Beggar or king, you still have access to wine. Once it was bourgeois, but now it’s the unsung hero of every table.