Our Story

Born in Ireland, Sarah moved to London from Dublin to continue her career in Banking.  She moved to Kent in 2016 after meeting Simon in late 2015 and in September 2019 married Simon at the vineyard. Sarah stopped working in Banking in 2024 and when she isn’t working on the estate, taking photos and managing social media, Sarah is busy with their daughter, Ellie, who was born in 2017 and Roan, who was born in 2022.

Sarah is very passionate about interior design and was heavily involved in the recent refurbishment of our sister business The Samuel Palmer.

Charlene grew up in the beautiful farming community of South Africa's Boland winelands, 120km from Cape Town, before studying Food Service Management at the Granger Bay Hotel School. Her passion for hospitality and fine wines truly took root in 1995 when she joined the Jamie's Bar group in London, where she spent a decade and met her husband.  After a year of travel through Southeast Asia and South America in 2008, Charlene returned to Cape Town. Charlene set up her own business "Flowers and More", specializing in corporate and function floral décor, a role that allowed her to be a full-time mom after her daughter's birth in 2011. In 2016, Charlene joined The Hospitality Management Company, progressing from Area Manager to COO, overseeing the profitability and operations of 22 Cape Town venues. Charlene and her family relocated back to the UK in 2024. Charlene joined the The Mount Vineyard and The Samuel Palmer, overseeing both businesses, in April 2025.

Sam begun his journey at the Mount Vineyard in 2019. His passion was driven from a young age coming from a family of chefs in the outdoor catering industry and his father owning his own company. From a young age Sam was involved in catering for private weddings, parties and large corporate events.  Sam became our Bar Manager  in the Spring of 2022 and elevated the drinks menu with more variety and making the step to offer cocktails not only classic but some signature. After running the bar for 3 years Sam then took the step to become our Assistant General Manager at the beginning of 2025. Sam was heavily involved in the recent opening of our new Wine Deck whilst also expanding our outdoor food offering.

Emily swapped the City for the Kent countryside in 2017 after 16 years in Investment Banking at Goldman Sachs.  During her tenure, Emily worked on events such as The Chelsea Flower Show, The Wimbledon Championships as well client conferences and other sporting events. Since joining The Mount, she has planned and executed countless private events and beautiful weddings as well as launching The Mount’s own music and outdoor cinema events.

Originally from Austria, Sarah relocated to the UK at the age of 19 to start her career in the hospitality industry. She quickly moved through the ranks working with the management teams at two renowned London restaurants, Kitchen W8 and Scott’s. After a year of managing a family bistro on the outskirts of London, Sarah decided to follow her passion for wine and joined the team at The Mount Vineyard in 2018. She now oversees the Accounts department, as well as managing the Back of House operations.

Having grown up in the village of Shoreham, Will knows the estate like the back of his hand. He ran his own gardening business for 5 years which included tending to The Mount’s gardens. He joined The Mount in his current full-time role in 2019 where he now looks after the gardens, estate and vines.