Sommelier loses unfair dismissal claim after resigning during harassment inquiry

Jake Crimmin, a luxury fine wine ambassador for E & J Gallo Winery, has lost his unfair dismissal claim after resigning while an investigation into sexual harassment allegations was under way. The tribunal found that the winery had not dismissed him unfairly, despite his argument that the disciplinary process was already decided.

Two women alleged that Crimmin made inappropriate remarks and touched them at a food-pairing dinner hosted by Gallo and Molson Coors at Heathrow’s Radisson Red in January 2025; he denied the claims. He was suspended the following month and resigned after being told he would face a disciplinary meeting. The judge said the winery’s zero-tolerance policy did not mean the outcome had been predetermined.