Meet your buyer | Ben Goodman

It takes a special kind of person to be a Mofo Wine Buyer. Someone who balances the needs of the drinkers and the makers with integrity and consistency. It’s a tougher gig than you’d imagine, not all Barolo and Champagne skittles. Take off your rosé-coloured glasses for a minute, and get to know our head buyer, Ben.

What I love about the job: I get to work in an industry that I thoroughly enjoy on a personal level. Work travel involves beautiful wine regions, we get to taste heaps of wine, and it's a fun, positive and laid-back workplace.

What makes a wine good enough for the ‘fo: It's quite simple actually. The wine has to be of high quality and demonstrate value that will be clear to the customer.

For international wines, we look for under-the-radar producers making awesome wines and import them directly. That way we get the best price possible for our customers.

The wine would I would love to see at Vinomofo: Our white whale is good value Burgundy. It's nearly impossible to find but we keep searching. I'd like to see some California and Oregon wines, so I'm working on some relationships with American producers…

How we get a fair deal for producers: Our offers to producers aren’t based on the lowest amount we think we could pay. We simply base them on the sell price needed to move the volume on offer. There are many great winemakers who make a little too much good wine from time to time, and they know they can come to us for help. In turn, we get to pass on awesome deals to our mofos.

For international wines, we look for under-the-radar producers making awesome wines and import them directly. That way we get the best price possible for our customers.

The favourite wine I've bought for Vinomofo: Ibizan Cab Sav – a delicious Margs, and the purchase also gave the winery owners the boost they needed to start their retirement comfortably. That’s a pretty satisfying win-win.

The first wine I got drunk on: Boone's Farm Strawberry Hill. This was in Virginia, USA and I was definitely underage. It was sweet, ripe and low in alcohol. 0/10 – Would not try again.

So you want to be a Mofo Wine Buyer? Join the queue. Meanwhile, you can check out their latest recommendations. Thank them later.