HI MY NAME IS THE JOLLY DILYAN !
I was born in Ruse, the biggest Bulgarian city on river Danube and was raised since a young child with the culture of helping in their small family vineyard overlooking the river and also the grape picking, winemaking and Rakia distilling every autumn.
After graduating International Tourism I moved to UK in 2005 and built a career in hospitality reaching the level of Michelin star restaurant manager, along with WSET Advanced qualification and various wine and spirits trainings before switching to the wine trade for good 8 years ago.
You can find me browsing various Balkan producers to discover interesting new wines and spirits for us to introduce to the UK market, organizing a tasting event or wine dinner or helping a customer build a successful drinks list selection.
My belief is that “The Central and Eastern European wines are our responsibility to the future generations to show the value and authenticity to the whole world”!
Favourite Wine:
Dilyan Kolev - Director also - Buyer, Logistic Manager, Events Manager and Delivery Driver.
EMAIL: dilyan@thejollymerchants.co.uk
PHONE: 07716737680
HI MY NAME IS JOLLY GEORGE !
I was born in Harmanli, a small town near the border with Greece and Turkey.
Raised in a winemaking family I have spent most of my childhood helping my Father and Grandfather in the vineyards which shaped me as a wine and nature lover from a very young age.
After graduating Bsc Agricultural Tourism I wanted to travel and went on a gap year to the US and then continued my education in the UK graduating Msc Business and Management in University of Portsmouth in 2013.
Following my dream to go back to my roots, I ended up working for the biggest wine retailer in the UK ( Majestic Wine). After 9 years’ experience of going through the ranks and working as an Area Sales manager for South London and then 3 years being part of The Old Cellar it was the natural progression to be part of this exciting project.
I am so passionate about indigenous grapes and sharing our producers exciting stories and if you need support in terms of training ,tastings or you just need to share your experience with Wines from Central and Eastern Europe please feel free to contact me.
Georgi Panayotov - Director also - Sales Manager, Accountant, Marketing Manager and Delivery Driver.
Favourite Wine: “ No such thing - just pass me a bottle with bubbles and that will keep me happy, Pet Nát preferably ”
Find him at :
EMAIL: georgi@thejollymerchants.co.uk
PHONE: 07907486729
Instagram: @geor_gi
