Acorn Awards 2025: Luke Harbor, the Pig hotels

Age 28

Position Group beverage director, the Pig hotels

Nominator Sarah Holden, head of talent development, the Pig hotels

From kitchen porter to group beverage director in under a decade, Luke Harbor’s rise through the ranks at the Pig hotels has been impressive. Now overseeing 23 sommeliers and a group bar manager with their team of 39, Harbor has built a beverage programme that balances commerciality with deep-rooted care for craft, people and planet.

In 2024 alone, Harbor’s strategic leadership helped push wine turnover past £6m, with English wine sales hitting a record 22% of that total – a 5% increase on 2023. He launched new quarterly wine rotation panels, revamped menus to champion local vineyards, and introduced a sustainable ‘Coffee by Sail’ initiative to reduce carbon footprint, all while supporting the group’s commitment to sustainability and responsible sourcing. He’s also behind the rollout of the Pig’s home-grown wines and a guest WSET programme – one of only a handful like it in the UK – training 24 participants in just three months.

His impact goes beyond the bottom line. Harbor has retained 76% of his sommelier team, developed and promoted all but one of the group’s current head sommeliers internally, and personally mentored several from zero experience to diploma-level success. He regularly leads immersive learning trips, spearheads WSET courses for guests and staff, and contributes to the UK wine industry as a judge, educator and ambassador.

Whether he’s reimagining wine lists, empowering his team, or championing sustainability, Harbor brings an infectious energy to his all-important role at the Pig.