Wine Merchant issue 145 for web by The Wine Merchant magazine

THE WINE MERCHANT.

An independent magazine for independent retailers Issue 145, April 2025

Dog of the month: Shelby Hometipple, Walthamstow

Direct imports continue to rise despite Brexit hassles

Survey shows that almost half of independent wine merchants do at least some buying direct from producers

About 18 of every 100 wines on sale in the independent trade have been shipped directly from the producer, according to new data.

The Wine Merchant’s 2025 survey of independents found that 48% of indies ship at least some of their own wines, up slightly from 47% in 2024.

A third of respondents say they will directly import more of their wines in the coming year. Merchants who are enthusiastic about direct imports say they achieve the sort of margins and exclusivity that they can’t get with wholesaler wines. But many say they are less inclined than ever to get involved in shipping their own

wines, citing post-Brexit paperwork and rising transport costs.

David Perry of Shaftesbury Wines says: “The government is making it hard enough for suppliers. I’m happy to let them do the hard work.”

• Part two of our survey analysis starts on page 13.

Communiqué Wines is the latest business to join Edinburgh's bustling independent wine retailing scene. Read more about how its first year is shaping up on page 9.

4 comings & GOINGS

The customers who liked their wine shop so much that they bought it

12 tried & tested

Meet the 240-volt Lambrusco that made our brains explode

25 bright ideas

You sell half-bottles. So why not merchandise them all together?

28 duncan mclean

Some pleasant Welsh wine surprises at the London showcase

30 leeds round table

Report from our indies’ discussion at the Northern Lights tasting

34 merchant profile

Vinotopia was born in a barn and now operates from a far bigger one

42 focus on france

We discover an interesting wine country just to the south of the UK

51 reaching for roussillon

Ten indies taste 100 wines and choose their favourite 20

67 Q&A: matt hennings

A cricket fanatic born into a family of Sussex wine merchants

GRAHAM HOLTER Editorial

EPR: just the latest in a long line of costs that are fuelling inflation in the wine trade

By now, given how long it’s been in the pipeline, you should be pretty clear about what EPR means for your business and what your responsibilities are.

I joke, of course. Have you met anyone who can give you chapter and verse on what Extended Producer Responsibility is all about? There are plenty of people in the wine trade who are slowly getting their heads around bits of what EPR entails. Those bits are generally so horrifying that you can’t blame them for failing to read on.

I know of retailers as well as suppliers who are hoping that the whole idea will soon be abandoned as unworkable. Failing this, that the government will kick the can down the road and allow us to worry about some of the other stuff for a while. You know – the crazy duty system, consumer nervousness, trade tariffs, world war three.

As you can read on page 6, the WSTA maintains that EPR as it stands is “not fit for purpose”. Independent merchants who have recently been wasting hours of their lives weighing wine bottles, and trying to get packaging data from bemused wine growers in rural outposts of Europe, would doubtless agree.

UK Hospitality, an umbrella group for the on-trade, is pointing out that its members will be forced to pay the packaging levy twice, with bottles of wine and other drinks being “incorrectly classified as household waste”. Of course most hospitality businesses – and retailers – are already paying for the disposal of their bottles, cardboard and other rubbish.

EPR is the latest in a long line of costs that are fuelling inflation in the wine trade. Up to now, businesses have had to make a best guess about what their fees are going to be, and either pass them on immediately, or tweak their prices more accurately once the full facts are known.

Both approaches will create irritation and resentment. Because, while the drinks trade is still scratching its head over the whole question of the EPR project, it seems to me that hardly any consumers have heard of it at all.

winemerchantmag.com 01323 871836 Instagram/Bluesky: @WineMerchantMag Unit 52 Newhaven Enterprise Centre, Denton Island, Newhaven, East Sussex BN9 9BA

Editor and Publisher: Graham Holter graham@winemerchantmag.com

Assistant Editor: Claire Harries claire@winemerchantmag.com

Reporter: Jacob Stokes jacob@winemerchantmag.com

Advertising: Sarah Hunnisett sarah@winemerchantmag.com

Accounts: Naomi Young naomi@winemerchantmag.com

Admin and reader liaison: Charlotte Gingell charlotte@winemerchantmag.com The Wine Merchant is circulated to the owners of the UK’s 1,007 specialist independent wine shops. Produced in Sussex by East Print. © Graham Holter Ltd 2025

Bacchus

A safe space for the sane

While their leader threatens to annex Canada and Greenland, insults his allies and imposes crippling tariffs that even he acknowledges may make everyone poorer, spare a thought for the US citizens who find the new administration’s antics as perplexing as we Europeans. And congratulations to Damn Yankee in London’s West End –owned by American Jen Avina – who is offering her sane-minded countryfolk a safe space to drown their sorrows, as our picture shows.

We’ve never had it so good

If you think 2025 is shaping up to be a bad year, consider the risks of being a wine merchant in the Middle Ages. According to Dr Matthew Green, who hosts medieval wine tours in London, if a city vintner was convicted of being fraudulent they would be tied to a stake and “surrounded by violently untalented minstrels”. Then they’d be forced to drink their own wine before being smashed over the head with the empty bottle by the Lord Mayor.

Can a label be libel?

The labels on wines made by ice hockey legend Wayne Gretzsky have been cruelly doctored by pranksters in response to his MAGA cap-wearing behaviour. The Cabernet Merlot is now proclaimed to be as “weak as its namesake’s moral fibre” and should be paired with “boiled racoon”.

Farewell to Flora Fine Wines

Flora Fine Wines in Maida Vale, west London, has closed.

The shop was first opened in 1968 as Moreno Wines by Juan and Salome Moreno. It was later taken on by their son Manuel and was rebranded in 2019 by his daughter Abbi Moreno.

The premises operated as a wine and tapas bar as well as a shop.

The company filed for a creditors voluntary liquidation last month, with debts of £26,616. Bancroft Wines, Astrum Wine Cellars and Portal, Dingwall & Norris were among the named suppliers.

Abbi Moreno told The Wine Merchant that the business had enjoyed some successful wholesale trade until recently.

“I was working with a few other small wine importers and together we gained

some great UK listings,” she said. “But this must have created some panic within the wine trade, as I found customers who I have known for 20 years not returning my calls and ignoring me.

“I was losing customers, which was very difficult given that over my many years I helped most of these people develop their business through Moreno Wines. We even lost the Greek restaurant next door who had been buying from us for 20-odd years. But the big boys got wind of it and, as always, the big boys win.”

She added: “I became disheartened and disappointed by the lack of loyalty within the indie sector. With the pressures of Brexit and the pandemic I found that the trade changed and that most people were looking for less expensive wines due to the cost of living, making it difficult for me to continue with my passion.

“So now I work for Community Southwark, a wonderful charity, which I really enjoy.”

NoNo Wine Bar opened last month in Leeds. The bar, launched by Yorkshirebased online retailer Barrique Fine Wines, includes a “small retail space”. The 60-seat venue occupies one of the railway arches in Granary Wharf, a waterside location five minutes from the city centre.

COMING DOWN THE LINE

By WSTA chief executive Miles Beale

EPR is not fit for purpose

April is normally associated with showers but this year, for wine and spirit businesses, there is a storm on the horizon in the shape of the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR).

Wine businesses obligated by EPR face significant challenges and some may miss the deadline for registering their data. The scheme is designed to increase the use of recyclable materials, create a circular economy, and ensure the polluter pays.

Companies should have submitted data on April 1 if their annual turnover is £1m or more and if they were responsible for more than 25 tonnes of packaging in 2022.

Smaller organisations must report data while larger organisations will also need to pay hefty EPR fees.

Industry wants to ensure the UK has the best environmental policy, but the scheme is not fit for purpose. Many businesses remain confused over whether they are obligated and there is huge concern over the disproportionately high glass fees, currently estimated at £240 per tonne.

The glass fee is about eight times higher than similar EPR schemes in Belgium or Germany which will discourage glass bottle use, contradicting EPR’s core principle to encourage recyclable materials. The WSTA argues that this incentivises a shift to plastics or metal cans which will be included in a future Deposit Return Scheme (DRS). Final costs won’t be announced until July 2025 with invoicing starting from October.

There was a promise to exclude hospitality waste from the scheme, as this packaging waste is disposed of with private waste collections, but unless the government intervenes, most business waste will unfairly be charged EPR fees.

Modulated fees, starting in 2026, pose further uncertainty as these introduce higher rates for less recyclable materials and packaging formats. These fees are still unknown, meaning companies selling produce this year are unable to mitigate costs, change packaging, or tell customers future price changes. Expect this to flare up in 2026!

The WSTA remains concerned that costs are excessive, some companies are still not registered for the scheme and that, as currently designed, EPR will create unfairness and market distortion.

Find out more at wsta.co.uk

Customers take on Wimbledon indie

Artisans Depot in Wimbledon has been under new ownership since December and, thanks to changes including the introduction of events and an onlicence, business is looking good.

Phil Gould and Rob Collard had not met until they both expressed an interest in buying the same business.

“I’m more finance-based and Rob is a lawyer,” says Gould, “so our skill sets are quite complementary. We both have full-time jobs, and this was an investment that we wanted to make. We were both customers of the shop under its previous ownership and first and foremost we really didn’t want it to close down. It is a lovely local store and it would have been a great shame to lose it.

“We bought the business at the start of December and there wasn’t too much that needed to be done apart from some minor alterations, and we managed to get up and running about two and a half weeks before Christmas.”

The shop originally opened in 2021 as a bottle shop and deli but, since relaunching, Gould and Collard have installed a full-time manager and two part-time staff. The new licence has given them another revenue stream with the addition of the bar, and they’ve also introduced cheeseboards to encourage customers to stay a little longer and maybe order a bottle rather than just a glass.

“Coming from the corporate world, it has been quite a learning exercise for us both,” says Gould. “But we both have a huge interest and a love of wine. We’ve already grown the stock considerably [working with Hallgarten, Enotria&Coe and Vin Cognito], and we’ve also bought in more local craft beer.”

A bit of networking with the local PTA has also paid off. “The school is at the other end of the road from the shop and just

before we opened we sponsored the bar at the school fair and handed out supplies,” says Gould.

“We were able to talk to all the locals, who hopefully would become our customers, and just got some feedback. We asked why they weren’t going to the shop, or what they didn’t like, and what we could improve, and that was invaluable.

“We discovered there was a perception that the cost of the wine was too high. We’ve immediately addressed that and made sure we’ve got bottles starting at £12, as opposed to £20. We’ve got wine on the shelves up to £100, so we’re really trying to cater to the needs of the entire community.”

Peckham Cellars consolidates

Cellar Next Door in Camberwell, the wine shop and delivery business owned by Peckham Cellars, has closed.

Little Cellars, which launched at the same time as Cellar Next Door in September 2023, remains, along with the original Peckham Cellars. Both offer retail sales.

Co-owner Ben McVeigh-Whitaker explains that the rising costs of ecommerce was the driving force behind the decision to close Cellar Next Door. “Online is too low on margin and you need such high volume,” he says. “There are just too many additional costs to make it work. So we’ve consolidated and we’re re-focusing to make sure both sites are operating at their best.”

• Whitmore & White has closed its Heswall store on the Wirral but the Frodsham branch continues to trade. The business was started by Joe Whittick in 2014 and bought by Brian Sparks and Chris Fletcher in 2022. The closure is “due to economic challenges”, the company said. But it has announced the launch of a weekly food and wine home delivery service for its Heswall customers.

Hot topics that could impact independent wine merchants

Next-door bistro for Wine Monkey

Last month Wine Monkey in Chippenham, Wiltshire, opened a bistro called The Kitchen.

Owner Bryan Houde was able to take on the adjacent premises and has teamed up with chef Lisa Gale who is the co-owner of the new venture.

“I’ve had two years to talk to customers and live in the community and realise that there is a lack of high-quality food offerings in the town centre,” says Houde. “There are lots of other businesses and office workers around here but there is nowhere for them to go. When the unit next door became available, it was too good an opportunity to miss.

“Lisa has worked in Michelin-starred

restaurants in Bath and Bristol and she is a highly skilled chef. She’s always wanted her own restaurant, so we started this place together.

“I have a great wine shop right next door and it’s a perfect space to experiment with wines, to put on events and tastings. They are separate spaces but I’ve put a connecting doorway in so they share the

same toilets and that kind of thing.”

The focus of The Kitchen will be brunch and lunch. “We have a desire to do the type of food that appeals to the locale, so it’s an artisan deli and bistro rather than a fullyfledged restaurant,” says Houde.

“Right now the plan is to use the space in the evening for either overflow, when the bar is busy, or for private events.”

Bryan Houde has teamed up with chef Lisa Gale to create The Kitchen

Summertime selections from Lanchester Wines

Trevisana Bio Raboso Frizzante

RRP £13.00

For those looking to add a unique twist to their summer sparkling selection, Trevisana Bio Raboso Frizzante is a must-stock. Made from organically grown Raboso grapes in Veneto, this frizzante offers bright, juicy acidity with vibrant red berry and cherry notes. The slight spritz enhances its refreshing, fruit-forward profile, making it an excellent alternative to Prosecco for customers seeking something a little different. Raboso’s natural tannic structure gives it a satisfying depth, while its dry, lively finish makes it a versatile pairing for charcuterie, summer salads and lightly spiced dishes. With organic credentials and a charmingly rustic appeal, this is a great hand-sell for customers who love artisanal Italian wines. Serve well-chilled for maximum refreshment and encourage customers to try it as an aperitif or with alfresco dining. The combination of sustainability, regional character and sheer drinkability makes it a strong seasonal choice for independent retailers.

Famille Moutard Crémant de Bourgogne

Brut Cuvée Trois Cépages

RRP £24.99

A serious alternative to Champagne at a fraction of the price, this Crémant de Bourgogne from renowned Champagne House Famille Moutard offers sophistication and exceptional value. Made from Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Aligoté, it delivers a complex yet crowd-pleasing balance of orchard fruit, citrus zest and toasted brioche, lifted by a fine, persistent mousse. Extended lees ageing brings depth and texture, making it a fantastic choice for customers seeking an elegant sparkling wine beyond the usual Prosecco offerings. This Crémant is an excellent hand-sell for those looking for celebratory fizz, with the added appeal of Burgundian craftsmanship. Perfect as a summer apéritif or paired with seafood and creamy cheeses, it’s a wine that overdelivers on quality. With the demand for traditional-method sparkling wines rising, this is a must-have for independent retailers aiming to cater to customers who appreciate finesse, heritage and value in their bubbles.

Edinburgh indie finds its niche

Alistair Graham opened Communiqué Wine “quietly” in Stockbridge, Edinburgh, last May.

He has worked in the wine industry for 25 years, running shops in London for other people as well as some time at FMV and WoodWinters.

“I’ve always had my perfect imaginary wine shop in my head,” says Graham, “so I thought, why not give it a go? There’s a lot of independent wine shops in Edinburgh, but I saw a gap in the market.”

Almost a year on, Graham reflects that his wine range has changed to accommodate the tastes of the locals.

“It’s been really interesting to see people’s reactions to the shop and see what’s working, as opposed to what’s not working,” he says.

“I was keen to make sure that my list was quite egalitarian and there was something for everybody at all price points. I had a good, well priced Prosecco and a good, well priced organic Chilean Sauvignon Blanc, but nobody comes to see me for those wines. It’s like my customer base seems to be either really engaged with wine, very knowledgeable already, or they’re looking for something perhaps a little bit more special.

“When I opened I thought my average bottle price might be around the £15 mark, but the reality is it’s more like £25.”

Edinburgh is home to a healthy number of independent wine shops and Graham is confident there is room for everyone to benefit from the vibrant foodie scene of the city.

“There’s the Michelin-starred Avery restaurant just round the corner and there is a big demand for this kind of thing. Vino is just the other side of the road from me but we’re all quite good friends and we help each other out. We’re all pulling in the same direction.”

Graham runs regular tastings and meet-

the-maker evenings. “We close the shop at 7pm and make it a seated event with some cheese and charcuterie from the wonderful shop down the road. It’s been really encouraging to see how keen people are to engage and learn a bit more about the people behind the wines.

“It’s been nearly a year now,” he adds, “and all the feedback has been very, very positive. So perhaps for our first birthday, we might throw a bit more of a party and sort of push ourselves a bit more.”

Eastbourne store

looks for buyer

Chapmans Wine Merchants in Eastbourne, East Sussex, is on the market.

Victor Chapman, who bought the business in the town’s Meads district from Steve Hodden in 2019, says: “I have secured and grown a solid local repeat customer base and built wholesale sales.

“I’ve achieved this as an owner/operator with no staff, and I believe with additional staff support there is very good growth potential.”

The premises has a retail space of approximately 12 x 9 metres and comes

complete with cellar and kitchenette. It has operated as a wine shop for several decades, at one time as a Threshers shop.

New Forest Wines is on the market

New Forest Wines in Ringwood, Hampshire, is up for sale. The business was established in 2008 by the late Graham Sims, who sold the shop to Daniel Read in August 2022.

“I’ve decided to change my direction but there’s plenty of scope here for someone to come in and make a go of it,” says Read. “We’ve a database of nearly 1,000 customers and it’s a very affluent area with people who are enthusiastic about fine and interesting wine.”

The sale is being handled by agents. Contact mark.nurse@goadsby.com.

Alistair Graham always had the “perfect imaginary wine shop” in his head

With Flying Füchs

1. Which 6,810ha region, in Aragón in Spain, is home to Borsao and specialises in Garnacha?

2. The word feinherb on a German wine label generally means the wine is what? (a) sweet (b) dry (c) organic?

3. Which two countries have a border with the Italian region of Friuli?

4. What is the most widely planted variety in Hawke’s Bay, ahead of Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc?

5. Which toxic element was used by winemakers in Roman times to preserve wines and add a note of sweetness?

Answers on page 27

by Brett

DAVID PERRY

Irregular Thoughts

When it come to spirits buying, I’m like a kid in a very expensive sweet shop

At the risk of starting a game of scribbler’s ping-pong, I have to reply to Cat Brandwood’s regret at delving into spirits (The Wine Merchant, February). I am very happy with our carefully curated range of spirits. We only have one hundred and eleven different lines, so only about £10k tied up in … Oh, hang on, maybe I should think again too!

It has sort of snuck up on us and expanded while I wasn’t paying attention. When I bought the shop there were no spirits to talk of. I inherited a couple of bottles of Bell’s and Gordon’s which were kept under the counter “in case anyone wanted some” and three bottles of Maxime Trijol Elegance that someone had ordered and never collected.

I suppose it started from there. Re-ordering Maxime Trijol introduced us to Marussia and a few more lines were added. Then gin took off. We mainly bought directly from small producers, and still do where we can. We were one of the first shops to sell Black Cow vodka (Dorset), bought out of the back of Jason’s muddy Land Rover. Eventually we had to buy it via Gordon & McPhail (in Elgin!) and that led to a range of malts. We now buy Conker Dorset Gin from The Craft Drinks Company (Cotswolds). Someone wanted a special grappa so we found Emporia Brands. When we could no longer get the bourbon we had sold, we found Proof Drinks.

pieces from Matthew Clark, before Conviviality. They sent us a Dear John letter so we got into bed with Inverarity Morton. We also found A D Rattray. Sadly, Morag has now retired but whenever we spoke I could imagine her rushing off to let the sheep out while Wee Jimmy held the fort. We still buy from them but, so far, I have resisted their single cask range which average around £100 a bottle. I’m very tempted, though. What worries me is that they will sell and my stockholding will increase by another few thousand pounds. I’m running out of shelf space too.

Of course when you start looking at a bigger supplier’s catalogue you see all the other goodies they offer and act like a kid in a sweet shop. You have to hit a minimum drop anyway so why not try a few bottles of Provençale Pastis and – oooh look –Calvados.

One range I always think I should get rid of is cocktail liqueurs, but I’ve been saying that for about 15 years now. Every time I reorder from Emporia I need to top them up, so they evidently sell. The Gabriel Boudier range takes up a top shelf at the back of the shop that is not much use for anything else. We sell quite a lot of cassis which I buy by the case load but otherwise it is just a bottle of this or that to top up.

keep at least three bottles. One Christmas someone drove over from a town 20 miles away and panic-bought four bottles of crème de menthe because he was worried the two bottles he had bought online wouldn’t arrive in time. Luckily we had four. I bet he still does, too.

Obviously spirit sales peak at Christmas and the multibuy deals mean we generally fill our boots and buy enough to last until at least Easter. I also tend to be drawn to new additions by the same mechanism. So our Armagnac range has now gone from one to four. We don’t sell a lot of the 20 year old but it looks good and makes the VS look good value.

At Christmas the top shelf briefly goes two-tier using old wine boxes. It means using a set of steps, but we can get the enlarged range on. By January it has usually settled back to normal. By normal I mean playing Tetris whenever we accidentally buy a new line. So far we have managed but we really are at the one-inone-out stage, so I don’t know where the expensive whiskies might go.

The thing I like about spirits is that it doesn’t take much to run up a sizeable bill. We don’t sell that many wines over £40 but that’s about the mode for spirits.

Customers still surprise me. Often we will get someone march in and say, “half bottle of Bell’s please, mate” then be furious that they have to stagger another 50 yards to Tesco. Other customers will wander around for a few minutes studying the wine before asking where the gins are. “Behind the counter where you might expect them to be.”

Most frequently though it is the customer who bowls into the shop, stops, looks around and states “oh, it’s just wine, is it?”

To which the standard answer is: “Mainly wine, yes, but we also do whiskies, gin, port, sherry, vermouth, grappa, brandy, rum, tequila, vodka, ouzo, Calvados, pastis, and a ludicrous range of cocktail liqueurs … except we couldn’t fit that on the sign, so we settled for just Shaftesbury Wines.”

In the old days we could get bits and

I probably shouldn’t fret if we run out of banana liqueur but we always tend to

David Perry is the owner of Shaftesbury Wines in Dorset

TRIED & TESTED

El Escocés Volante

El Puño Blanco 2022

Norrel Robertson MW’s Aragón project is producing exceptional wines and this was one of the stars at the recent Boutinot tastings. This cuvée isn’t always 100% Viognier, but it was in 2022, fermented spontaneously in old barrels, where it remained for over a year on its lees. Freshness, depth, and a hazelnut undercurrent.

RRP: £35 ABV: 13.5%

Boutinot (0161 908 1300) boutinot.com

Philippe Alliet Chinon Rouge 2023

There’s a lot more Cab Franc around these days but, as with Pinot Noir, quality and quantity are often out of kilter. The style here will delight purists, with its kick of stalky greenness but absolutely no harshness or alcohol burn, and balanced fruit that contributes to a wine that’s tasting beautifully in its youth.

RRP: £25.99 ABV: 12.5%

Alliance Wine (01505 506060) alliancewine.com

Bergianti Perfranco

Lambrusco NV

Many people with bad memories of the Lambrusco that the UK knocked back in the 1980s are near death by now, but this electric shock of a wine would jolt them back to life. Gianluca Bergianti’s bottle-fermented, biodynamic 100% Salamino di Santa Croce is fizzing with lemons, grapefruit and at least 240 volts.

RRP: £32 ABV: 12%

Swig (020 8995 7060) swig.co.uk

Tapanappa Whalebone Vineyard

Cabernet Shiraz 2017

You sense that Brian Croser adores making wines like this, deftly blending Cabernet and Shiraz from two sites (in the Piccadilly Valley and Adelaide Hills) once they’ve both spent 18 months in French oak. There’s a comforting cigar-box aroma, dark fruit and chocolate, with just a touch of perky, nettley bitterness.

RRP: £37 ABV: 13.5%

Mentzendorff (020 7840 3600) mentzendorff.co.uk

Nerantzi Pythagorian Armonia 2023

This organic rosé from Greece’s Serres PGI comes from the Limnio grape, a local variety with such a long lineage that it’s thought to have been known by Aristotle. What we have here, however, is a thoroughly modern wine, with an enticing array of flavours and aromas, lots of zest, and a satisfying weight.

RRP: £21 ABV: 13.5%

Southern Wine Roads (01689 490349) southernwineroads.com

Terenzuola Forma Alta Vermentino Nero 2018

Ivan Giuliani is a master of Vermentino at his organic estate straddling the Tuscany-Liguria border, and was instrumental in reviving the variety’s rare red mutation. In this example it’s surprisingly fiery, with rustic tannins and an enjoyably wild character –perhaps a wine that comes into its own with spicy food.

RRP: £62.50 ABV: 14%

Vin de Vie (07707 778719) vindevie.co.uk

Sea Smoke Southing Pinot Noir 2022

Sun, fog and soil are said to be the key ingredients at this Santa Rita Hills estate, where Pacific mists are funnelled up the valley to cool the vines and allow fruit to mature in its own good time. Another secret weapon is oak. There’s a subtle but delightful vanilla caress at work here, and it suits the wine perfectly.

RRP: £130 ABV: 14.5%

The Wine Treasury (020 7793 9999) winetreasury.com

Agricola Tiberio Trebbiano d’Abruzzo 2023

Winemaker Cristiana Tiberio is seen as one of Italy’s rising stars and Armit is convinced that the business she runs is “an iconic producer waiting to be discovered”. Her forensic approach is yielding pure, concentrated and robust wines such as this zippy TdA with its grapefruit and apricot accents.

RRP: £21.25 ABV: 13%

Armit Wines (020 7908 0602) armitwines.co.uk

The Wine Merchant

SURVEY OF INDEPENDENTS 2025

in association with

The second and final part of this year's survey analysis starts here

Overlapping ranges under scrutiny

Many indies want local exclusivity on their wines – but some are relaxed about crossover with rival retailers

“Notification of wines stocked in the supermarkets and larger multiples is very important and usually never communicated to indies.”

Chris Bain, Harris & Co, Castle Douglas

“I do like to be told by suppliers when their wines are available in other retailers. I would avoid wines that are in supermarkets but would be less bothered if they are available from other local independents.”

Kat Stead, Brigitte Bordeaux, Nottingham

“We don’t list any wines that are available in the supermarkets. Not one, never have, never will. Since day one we have ensured we only sell wines that can’t be found in supermarkets. We sell wines they can’t have and offer something different to our customers.”

Simon Evans, The Naked Grape, Alresford

“If it’s in the high street or supermarkets we will very rarely go anywhere near it. Especially Majestic.”

Matt Harris, Planet of the Grapes, London

“I would really like suppliers to support indies better by letting us know what wines are being sold next door to help us choose accordingly. I have one deli across the street who is undercutting to a point where margin isn’t being made and making us seem expensive, which is a shame.”

Halle Stephens, Vindinista, west London

“In the era of internet shopping, the concept of ‘local’ is somewhat academic. Majestic has always been, and remains, a challenge in regard of low pricing and ease of customer engagement via their stores and website, though we have little or no listing crossover. But in the past year The Wine Society has been causing anxiety as we have some crossover and they have become increasingly aggressive with regard to swallowing cellar door and tax increases in order to widen a price gap that is already challenging due to their business model.”

“I am not concerned about exclusivity. Our town – population 9,000 – is serviced by Morrisons, Tesco and Aldi, plus numerous convenience stores. The fact we sell wines starting at £15 and the majority of bottles sold are £19.99-plus gives me the reassurance not to covet their customers.”

Sam Howard, Fredricks Fine Foods, Diss, Norfolk

Toby Webster (pictured), The Black Dog Wine Company, Epping, Essex

“I have always tried to maintain a unique offering when compared to other local indies, otherwise we will become a chain of independents.”

Andy Langshaw, Harrogate Wines

“It’s important for me to stock the best products I can possibly get. As such I’m not too concerned if they are sold elsewhere. I think customers understand that when purchasing through a small independent there may be a small premium paid.”

Barnaby Smith, GrapeSmith, Hungerford

“We’re not fussed about Waitrose too much; the rest of the supermarkets have limited or no crossover. The Wine Society is a problem as they seem to be able to bypass the UKbased importers and buy direct, then undercut our prices by a healthy margin.”

Bristol merchant

“It’s hugely important to us to offer wines that are not available in supermarkets. But we cherish the overlap with our fellow indies. If someone created a giant Venn diagram of the intersection of common wines in indies nationally, even the likes of Saturday Kitchen might pay attention to our thriving sector.”

Paul Auty, Ake & Humphris, Harrogate

“Heavily discounted wines in supermarkets can do untold damage to independents, which is stating the obvious – but it still happens!”

Patrick Rohde, Aitken Wines, Dundee

“We prefer to have exclusivity in our immediate area. However, we fully appreciate that suppliers need to make a living as well. Some of our larger suppliers are selling to increasingly more of our local competitors. We are doing steadily less with these suppliers and look to work with people who have less exposure in our region. We always ask our suppliers to be upfront and honest about what they are supplying to our competitors – we can then make our own judgement.”

Peter Fawcett, Field & Fawcett, York

“Suppliers sometimes state that they are not aware of certain wines sold to large supermarkets and that someone else within their organisation might be supplying them. This leaves independents to carry out their own research or sometimes be told how much cheaper certain wines are on the supermarket shelves. Very disappointing when you then have to sell stock at a loss to compete and are threatened with online price shaming.”

Melina Cucchiara, Moreton Wine Merchants, Gloucestershire

“I don’t care who stocks what wine as long as there is access to fair pricing. I would never expect to get pricing which allows me to compete with a multiple in some fashion without a commitment to volume, so I’m not naively shouting ‘it’s not fair’ like a spoilt toddler.”

Rob Hoult, Hoults, Huddersfield

“Though it is still something we consider, we worry less about local exclusivity than we used to.”

Greg Shaw, SH Jones Wines, Banbury, Oxfordshire

“We try not to stock any wines that are found in multiples. However, I don’t think it’s detrimental, and to a certain extent it can be beneficial to have a few more well known/high profile higher-end wines such as Whispering Angel, Chateau Musar, Chocolate Block, Cloudy Bay and Leftfield, as for some customers it is reassuring to see them and these are the wines they want to buy. It also helps with opening conversations about alternatives that can be much better value for money, which leads to developing a good relationship with the customer.”

Alex Edwards, York Wines

“I believe as a sector we need to stop bleating on and champion what we do – not complain about a vital part of the wine sales framework called the supermarkets. If you’re a butcher you sell sausages, just like the supermarket, but it doesn’t stop you selling. Indie book shops are thriving, probably because Amazon does what it does. Selling wine to your customer is a service: this customer service cannot be replicated by the mass market competition. If you believe in a product, who cares if consumers can buy it cheaper online or at Tesco?”

John Chapman, Oxford Wine Company

As far as you know, how many of your still wines are also sold by other retailers?

Based on 185 responses. Respondents were asked to ignore any overlap for Champagnes and fortified wines, which we felt would distort the figures

18% say at least six wines in their range are also in Majestic

have an e-commerce website

This is slightly down on 73.8% recorded in 2024

produce video content that they share online

Close to the 20.4% figure last year

have a website without e-commerce Last year’s figure was 21.5% 20.7% sell online mainly to people in the local area Down from 28.8% in 2024

regularly update an Instagram account Down slightly from 76.4% in 2024

regularly update TikTok Perhaps a surprise fall from the 4.7% we saw in 2024

The slow decline of social media

regularly update an X feed Less than half the 15.2% figure recorded in 2024 7.3% 2.6% don’t use any form of social media Up from 2.1% in 2024

Based on 193 responses

Almost all indies post on Instagram or Facebook, but regular usage of all main platforms has dipped

Last year, we asked whether social media use might have peaked for independent merchants. This year’s survey results suggest that 2023 may have been the high water mark.

Indies are engaging slightly less than they were last year with Instagram – still

the social media platform of choice – and are less inclined to keep a Facebook page up to date. X use looks in freefall, with only 7.3% of indies now posting regularly, a third of what we saw two years ago.

What about the challengers? TikTok has apparently failed, as yet, to capture

the imagination of indies, while X rivals Threads and Bluesky are only used regularly by 3.1% and 3.6% of merchants respectively.

Despite all this, 97.4% of independent merchants use some form of social media as part of their marketing effort.

Five lucky indies win Hatch prizes

Once again, our partner Hatch Mansfield has put up some exciting prizes to be awarded to five of our survey respondents chosen at random.

Congratulations to this year’s winners, who each receive some goodies from the Hatch Mansfield range.

They are:

Nichola Roe, Wine Therapy, Isle of Wight

Melina Cucchiara, Moreton Wine Merchants, Gloucestershire

Simon Evans, The Naked Grape, Alresford

David Beswick, Corking Wines, York

Louise Oliver, Seven Cellars, Brighton

In recent surveys the figure has gone from 74% to 65% to 63% and now 60%. (21% say very important; 39% fairly important.)

Imported beer

A fairly consistent performance over the past three years of the survey. (6% say very important; 19% fairly important.)

Cigars and

No change on what we recorded in last year’s survey. (4% say very important; 15% fairly important.)

Another figure that has been edging downwards; last year it was 52%. (13% say very important; 37% fairly important.) British craft beer

The figure was 22% for three years running but is up two percentage points. (8% say very important; 16% fairly important) Delicatessen items

Up on what we usually expect, and two percentage points ahead of 2024. (2% say very important; 17% fairly important.)

Oliver

Roe

Based on 186

Last year the figure was 8%, and in 2023 it was 13%. (2% say very important; 9% fairly important.)

Up from 4% last year, but it remains a fringe category for independents. (0% say very important; 8% fairly important.) Wine accessories

Nichola

Louise

The shipping forecast

Direct importing is a topic that divides the independent trade straight down the middle

“I have significant volumes of core lines and own-labels. These are very important to the business, especially Champagne, claret and rosé.”

Maxwell Graham-Wood (pictured), Satchells of Burnham Market

“Our aim for 2025 is to start importing our own wines. We would like to start by finding a Bordeaux producer at Wine Paris whose wines we can import and put our own label on.” Nottinghamshire merchant

“To maintain margins we need to be more efficient, and buying more efficiently, such as directly, has clear benefits.”

Greg Shaw, SH Jones Wines, Banbury

“I would increase my direct shipping if it wasn’t for the ridiculous post-Brexit labelling requirements for EU-sourced wine.”

Francis Peel, Whitebridge Wines, Stone, Staffordshire

“We regularly review the opportunity to buy direct but haven’t reached the point where the disadvantages (bad for cash flow, admin, restricton of the range etc) outway the benefits (better margin and exclusivity). But if wholesale business grows consistently, or the range available from UK suppliers is too restrictive, or producers we love become unavailable from them, we may reach that point.”

Shropshire merchant

“After The Wine Merchant ran an online seminar and published some other material about direct importing we’ve looked into the possibility of going down that route. I think the only large obstacle stopping us this year would be cash flow issues and tying up money – we may need to be more fluid financially this year to be able to address any issues arising from the uncertainy of 2025.”

Jefferson Boss, Starmore Boss, Sheffield

“We have been buying from some producers in France for over 30 years, and have some very strong relationships with these as well as more recently-added producers. Buying direct enables us to have the best possible margins, and maintain greater levels of exclusivity.”

Alex Edwards, York Wines

“We’ve worked hard to build good relationships with wineries and family estates in France and their wines are very popular with our customers. We will definitely continue to import these exclusive wines.”

Simon Evans, The Naked Grape, Alresford

“I’d love to direct import but I just don’t have the volume to make the cost of shipping come in at a reasonable price, and it’s difficult to release enough extra margin to make the risks and hassles of post Brexit direct importing worthwhile.”

Cornwall merchant

“We would love to import more ourselves. But the costs continue to increase, and to make the price as attractive as possible we are having to import more on each shipment from the places that we currently ship from, so we are not in a position to ship from more wineries at the moment. Our storage facility is at capacity with what we currently ship.”

West Sussex merchant

“We’re planning on it being a tough year ahead for importing with the new duty rates. We will just have to wait and see.”

London merchant

“I don’t have enough time to deal with the headache of importing directly.”

Cat Brandwood, Toscanaccio, Winchester

“We would love to import directly. But we aren’t in a position to have so much money tied up in stock. We like to offer as diverse a range as possible and ordering directly generally means buying in bulk from one producer. For a company of our size, it isn’t feasible. A tie-up with a group could be possible. However, thankfully there are plenty of suppliers out there who can fulfil our needs.”

Mark Stephenson, Grape & Grain, Morpeth

“I will not buy any more wine directly as the paperwork and red tape involved is too timeconsuming.”

Barry Howarth (pictured), Lancaster Wine Co

“Why bother with currency rates, additional paperwork, storage issues and money tied up unnecessarily in stock when you can order via a supplier with a 48-hour lead time?”

Dean Pritchard, Gwin Llyn Wines, Pwllheli

“The government is making it hard enough for our suppliers. I’m happy to let them do the hard work.”

David Perry, Shaftesbury Wines, Dorset

How will your direct buying of wine from producers change this year?

Our survey shows that 48% of indies import at least some of their own wine, up from 47% in 2024.

According to our data, 18 out of every 100 bottles on indies’ shelves have been sourced this way, compared to nearer 14 last time.

As the graph shows, fluctuations like this are common, and it’s the fourth time in nine years that the 18% figure has been reached.

The table above illustrates, just as it did last year, that around a third of respondents plan more direct imports in the coming year.

How much of your range is bought direct from producers?

Will independents be joining forces with their buying?

There is more enthusiasm for collective buying in this year’s survey, with almost a quarter of respondents saying they source at least some of their wines as part of a formal buying group.

When asked to repond to the statement “I will source some of my wines this year as part of a formal buying group”, 20% agreed strongly, up from 19% last year.

But 66% do not expect to buy as part of a formal group, and 63% have effectively ruled out informal alliances.

Overall, 17% of respondents expect to buy jointly with other merchants more than they did in the preceding year, one way or another.

Based on 179 responses

Finding our people

Most indies are only as good as the staff they employ. But for some, recruitment is a perpetual bugbear

Staffing is an issue that causes problems for merchants across the country. But in this year’s survey, many indies seem delighted with the way they have been recruiting and retaining valuable members of their teams.

“In 2023 we tried to recruit two new team members and after months of searching we struggled to find anyone,” reports one merchant in Essex. “But 2024 has been incredible as far as recruiting goes. For years it’s been difficult to find staff with good knowledge; it’s been a case of training people.

“It’s possible that Covid may be partly responsible for so many people now taking WSET courses. We took on two new staff in 2024: both have Level 2, one in wine, the other in spirits. Both are studying further. We are meeting more and more customers who have done Level 2 and some even Level 3.”

A merchant in West Yorkshire is just as upbeat. “I recruited a new bar team in April, and was struck by how good the candidates were,” he says.

“I ended up interviewing 13 for three positions initially and it was very competitive. We used a local hospitality Facebook group to advertise the positions but many of the applicants knew us because they worked in venues that we supply. The team we’ve now got is fantastic and a credit to the local hospitality industry.”

Simon Taylor, of Stone, Vine & Sun in Twyford, described 2024 as “an outstanding year” on the staffing front. “I hired a new MD to take the business forward, took on two brilliant staff to run our shop in Stockbridge and retained every

one of my highly experienced staff,” he says.

Matt Harris, of Planet of the Grapes in London, says: “We took on some fabulous new staff in the last 12 months. We pay a decent wage and have good retention. Happy staff usually means happy customers.”

At D Vine Cellars in Clapham, Greg Andrews is also upbeat. “We have been fortunate to maintain a consistent team for a while – and feel that is the case because of the dynamic nature of the range, which keeps thing interesting, and trust – which allows the team to accept responsibility,” he says.

Mike Boyne, of BinTwo in Padstow, says: “Thankfully we have a superb, stable core team who’ve lost none of their energy. But recruiting people in the right numbers and retaining

them continues to be one of the biggest challenges for a small business.”

Plenty of survey respondents agree. “Recruiting was pretty difficult in 2024,” reports one London merchant. “Many applicants did not have relevant skills or did not want to learn about the products. Those who do have the skills wanted a higher salary than we could offer.”

Simon Evans, of The Naked Grape in Alresford, adds: “It’s been hard to find the right people to join our team this year. People have replied to our job vacancy adverts but it’s a certain type of person that excels in wine retail, and they seem to be thin on the ground recently.”

Several merchants report problems with the calibre of job applicants.

A merchant in Cornwall says: “The hardest bit of the business is finding members of staff with the right attitude to work and are motivated to do more than

Pay staff a decent wage, give them trust – and make them feel part of a family

the absolute bare minimum.”

A merchant in north west England says: “Finding good staff is becoming more difficult. A lot of young people are not prepared to work hard. The increase in minimum wage will cause problems and will mean that we reduce staff numbers, especially the young ones. We try to give them jobs to help them learn life skills but will be forced to use fewer more experienced staff where possible.”

Julie Irvine-Mills, of Vinomondo in Conwy, north Wales (pictured below), says: “In more rural, holiday areas it is almost impossible to find staff with the qualifications we need. Most of our time is spent educating new staff and trying to get our team up to a level our customers deserve.”

For Mark Wrigglesworth, of The Good Wine Shop in west London, recruitment “was our biggest challenge last year, and took up a huge amount of time and energy which distracted from driving the rest of the business”.

The owner of another London merchant adds: “Payroll continues to grow more quickly than sales. We are still seeing far fewer applications for advertised positions.”

A third merchant in the capital says: “Retention for shop floor staff is an issue despite paying good rates. There are fewer staff available with a good base of knowledge – a problem since Brexit –and fewer who see wine as a long-term career.”

with many more CVs received. But the quality of knowledge and experience is still lower than what we saw before Covid.”

There’s no single formula for building a good team, but many indies testify that it can be done.

“The majority of our existing team have been with us for over 15 years and a number of them for longer than 20 years.

Andrew Lundy, owner of Vino in Edinburgh, is another business owner who argues that “Brexit-related lack of movement for under-30s is seriously hampering our business”.

Hugo Meyer Esquerré, of Provisions Wine & Cheese in north London, says recruitment has been “easier than in 2023,

“It’s difficult to find the right people but well worth taking the time to do it right,” says Paul Auty, of Ake & Humphris in Harrogate.

“Retaining people is easy if you get them emotionally invested into the business. If the team feels like family, it endures.”

Christopher Piper, of Christopher Piper Wines in Ottery St Mary, Devon, says: “Careful selection and methodology are the key factors in successful recruiting.

“It is vital to remunerate them properly but also to support them in times of trouble. We are a family team and we try and make sure that what they do is praised and appreciated. Saying thank you doesn’t cost anything but is incredibly valuable.”

Marc Hough, of Cork of the North in Manchester, would doubtless agree. But he adds: “We all have to accept that it is a never-ending churn. We have always treated our staff very well, but no matter how much you pay them, how many trips you send them on, how much you pay for their training and how highly and regularly you praise them, if a better alternative pops up, they’ll be off.”

Hugo Meyer Esquerré of Provisions

Negotiating the trip hazards of 2025

Daniel Hart, director of commerce at Hatch Mansfield, discusses the challenges – and the opportunities –facing independent wine retailers as they gear up for a difficult year ahead

How is Hatch dealing with the new duty regime?

It has been a lot of work. Our preparation started a few years ago, whilst also campaigning against it by lobbying the the government and working closely to support the WSTA.

We have been working with our family of producers to control ABVs to minimum levels that maintain the integrity and quality of the wines in our portfolio. We are also taking advantage of tolerance levels to label ABV down as much as possible.

We had to integrate an overhaul of our system and product data processes to cope with the structural changes required and for ABV info to be included on export and customer invoices. All of this has not made dealing with the implications of variable ABV in pricing decisions any easier! It remains complicated and a challenge to manage, especially when we are setting prices for wines when the grapes are still on the vine and we have no idea what ABV the wine will be.

What does this mean in practice for your customers?

Our main aim is to limit the tax to the

We have worked with our producers to control ABVs to minimum levels that maintain integrity and quality

minimum possible level, while at the same time ensuring the quality of our wines on offer to our customers is not compromised. We want our customers to have full visibility of the ABV through invoicing communications and product data, as well as the removal of the risks of getting it wrong by Hatch paying the duty when our customers purchase wines duty-paid.

What impact do you think the new duty regime will have on trade?

It will be a catalyst to polarising trade into manufactured, mass-produced “to a recipe” wines that are traded at low prices versus premium wines of integrity and provenance, that cost more but command a higher price with the quality-conscious consumer.

Even before the February duty change, we were seeing significant reductions in the ABVs of some global brands – and

a very quick backlash from their loyal consumers who noticed a change in taste and quality.

How is Hatch planning to manage other legislative challenges on the horizon?

As if the biggest increase in tax on wine in a generation, twice in two years, was not enough, increased taxes on wages, businesses and packaging are also biting. From Hatch Mansfield’s point of view the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), an increased tax on waste packaging materials, is the next trip hazard. Many businesses are in scope to report on their imported packaging materials and pay a tax, including independent retailers. This is difficult for a small independent business to understand and implement, especially when we do not yet know the level of the tax that is being incurred. All businesses, small and large, are facing the prospect of a significant tax bill in the near future that could be crippling to some.

What else is on your radar?

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is increasingly coming into focus with the very real chance of a carbon tax being levied in the not-too-distant future. Ultimately consumers need to be able to make informed choices, and being able to see environmental impact at point of purchase will help. Hatch has been tracking and reducing GHGe for many years across our business and the scope of understanding and reduction is growing to

Daniel Hart: indies can ask suppliers for help

include packaging materials and weights and GHGe in viniculture.

The biggest challenge in moving this forward is a lack of a universal and consistent approach, but there are plenty of discussions across the trade around this subject. I think we’ll hear more about this over the next few years and rest assured Hatch Mansfield will be an active driver of that conversation.

Through dedication and hard work, we are proud to share that we have achieved B Corp certification. This recognition reflects our commitment to sustainability, ethical business practices, and making a positive impact on our community and the planet.

What about ingredient and calorific labelling?

This is a real risk in the mid-term. This has recently been implemented in Europe but we are yet to understand the true impact on business from it. If we can show government a united trade movement towards sensible labelling, we may be able to influence requirements before they are forced on us so, after EPR implementation, this will be the next topic that Hatch Mansfield will campaign and lobby government on.

Being able to demonstrate due diligence and prove an ethical supply chain with facts is another area that we at Hatch Mansfield are continuing to develop as we recognise a need from our customers and consumers to make an informed and positive ethical choice.

Having a focused portfolio of supplierpartners with negligible churn certainly helps here. Even in the heartlands of traditional winemaking regions, the landscape of who is picking grapes has changed significantly over a short space of time, and as an industry we are yet to get to grips properly with the risks associated with seasonal and temporary workers in our supply chains.

What can independent retailers do?

Joining the WSTA is a good start. They are fantastically knowledgeable and truly have the trade’s best interests in mind. They are a great team to get advice from, as well as access to their library of helpful files covering many aspects of legality and conformity.

Now is also a great time to put your UK agent-supplier to work to help you to understand your obligations and to explain how they can help. I’m available all three days at London Wine Fair in May for a drop-in clinic to talk all things compliance, quality, environmental or ethical, and we’ll have the WSTA at our portfolio tasting in London on September 15.

Despite all this, are you positive about the future?

The average price for a bottle of wine in the UK is not growing at the same rate that increases in taxes are, which means the quality of wine in the bottle that consumers are drinking, on average, is declining.

The razor-thin space between government taxes and retailer margins needed to run a business are eyewateringly small, or non-existent at the scale end of the market, and that’s what’s left to cover the most important element of the product – the wine itself.

Even consumers with limited knowledge of wine know when a wine they are familiar with has been mechanically manipulated from 13.5% to 11% ABV, and they are spending their money elsewhere.

As a wine merchant with a focus on premium wine we see this as a once-ina-generation opportunity for premium wines to take a significantly larger share of a declining market and grow. This is a great opportunity for quality-conscious independent retailers who have a different business model to large retailers, including choice, the ability to talk to the consumer and being nimble and able to cope with variability to take market share.

Big retailers need consistency and scale, which relies on manufactured and massproduced commercial wines, whereas independent retailers can take advantage of their flexibility, communication and entrepreneurial skills and increase their share of voice and volume.

Premium routes to market like independent retailers are essential for brand owners to get their exciting wines to consumers and so it is our focus, if we are to support a sustainable premium wine sector in the UK, to help our independent customers navigate the legal compliance and tax regimes so we can all grow together.

Consumers know when a familiar wine has been manipulated to a lower ABV, Hart maintains

Rising Stars

Opening a wine shop specialising in just one country could be considered risky. But The Tipsy Palace has instilled such an enthusiasm for English wine in its customers that, shortly after opening last year, owner Jonathan Cooper-Bagnall expanded the business by taking on the adjacent premises.

Jonathan credits Josh as being partly responsible for the success of the business, which now comprises a main bar, a drawing room and snug.

“Josh has been here from the very beginning,” says Jonathan. “I know his parents and I knew he had experience in hospitality. I spoke to him last July before we opened and I was lucky that I got him at a moment when he was wondering what to do. I talked to him about the English wine industry and how it was going to be lots of fun, and it just caught his imagination.

“He’s just been learning at real speed, he’s tasting more and more stuff and getting to know it. He’s learning how to run the wine bar and the shop and he gets unsolicited reviews from customers – somebody referred to him as ‘the wine whisperer’.

“With English wine we have great producers, talented winemakers, and you’ve got folks like Joshua coming in who form the bridge between the producers and the end consumer. They’re really valuable in getting the message across.

“Josh is only 22, so he’s a young guy, but he’s now teaching our new staff. And what better way to consolidate your knowledge than teaching it to someone else? He’s getting involved and enjoying himself.”

Afront-of-house role at Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons gave Josh his first notable wine experience. “Just sitting with the sommeliers and learning what I could from them at the time and trying some amazing stuff … that was when the seed was first planted,” he says.

“I’d taken a bit of a break from hospitality before I started working with Jonathan and the wine element was a little bit overwhelming to start with. But there was so much excitement around setting up the business, and I really enjoyed being part of the process.

“Jonathan sent me on my WSET Level 2 and hopefully I’ll do my Level 3 this year, and I’ve just been learning ever since,” adds Josh. “Specialising in English wine is

josh smith

The Tipsy Palace, Woodstock, Oxfordshire

super-refreshing, because it means I can just focus in on this one corner of the wine world that’s really new and exciting. A lot of people don’t know too much about it and I love being part of something that is developing so fast and everything that’s coming with it.”

So which English wines score highly with Josh?

“Hundred Hills is quite close to us and they make exceptional wines,” he says. “I was at Gusbourne just before Christmas last year and we were going to be picking grapes but the weather was bad, so we sat inside and tried all the wine instead. Their sparkling rosé is absolutely delicious – and Rathfinny do a Blanc de Noirs which is phenomenal.”

Josh wins a bottle of Spottswoode Sauvignon Blanc courtesy of Mentzendorff

If you’d like to nominate a Rising Star, email claire@winemerchantmag.com

In a nutshell: As an alternative format, the half-bottle has a number of attractions, as Jon discovered when he created a dedicated in-store display.

Tell us more.

“We didn’t realise how many half-bottles we had because they were scattered around the shop. Because our shop is laid out in country order, the half-bottles were within those sections. And then one day somebody came in and asked, ‘do you have half bottles?’ and we felt like we had to do a couple of laps of the shop, walking around, trying to locate them. That spurred us on to find room to give them their own section.”

How many do you have in that range?

“Well at the moment we have 13, and we’ll be building on that, not just because it’s an unlucky number. That’s just the still wine. We have a separate section for the halfbottles of Champagne, of which we have five. We also have a half bottle of port, but we keep that with the other ports.”

Is it easy to source half-bottles?

“Now I’ve been actively looking for them, I’m more aware of the half-bottles that are being listed by suppliers. Quite often when I’d be ordering I’d notice some wines that we stock – The Chocolate Block is a good example – also have magnums and half bottles, but obviously there’s a cost implication for producers. I wish some

65: Focus on half-bottles

Jon Moore Mumbles Fine Wines, Swansea

of the Welsh and English wine producers would do some half-bottles because there’s still a lot of apprehension about those wines. And as much as we can tell the customer that the wines are brilliant, and delicious, if we had half-bottles to sell it would encourage them to buy and the sales would go up. It’s not quite half the price of a full bottle, but it still makes it more reasonable for them to try.”

What’s the appeal of this format for your customers?

“The younger generation is a bit more health-conscious, and they’re drinking less, so this small size is attractive. With older people, especially if they’re single, they don’t really want a full bottle either. It can

also be a seasonal thing. For gifting, halfbottles are a welcome addition to a hamper and for us with the tourist season and lots of Airbnbs around us, people might just be staying for one night, come in and see our half-bottle range and go for that.”

Have you seen an uplift in sales?

“Yes, and all because of a really small change that we were able to put in place straight away. We’ve put the display right next to the till at the front of the shop. I don’t think people like looking around too much and now the bottles are right in front of them and they make a good display. It’s also freed up space on the shelves where they were, so we’ve bought more wines and refreshed our range.”

Jon wins a WBC gift box containing some premium drinks and a box of chocolates.

Tell us about a bright idea that’s worked for you and you too could win a prize.

Email claire@winemerchantmag.com

The half-bottles now have their own section and not scattered alongside full-sized equivalents

Favourite Things

Bond Hoc Loco, Horsforth, Leeds

Favourite wine on my list

I’m currently enjoying a glass of Ostara from Patricia and Rémi Bonneton. It’s a Grenache, Syrah and Cinsault blend and is practically liquid black forest gâteau.

Favourite wine and food match

I grew up in a family of pig farmers, so I’m a big fan of a pork dish. I absolutely love apple-roasted pork belly with beautiful, crisp crackling served with a glass of Psarades from Lyrarakis. The herbal bay and rosemary notes really complement the flavours from the pork and it has an almost savoury, acidic finish that cuts through the fattiness.

Favourite wine trip

Shockingly, I haven’t been on ANY yet! But I’ve cajoled my partner into a trip to Portugal this summer and I’m already planning the vineyard itinerary.

Favourite wine trade person

I’ve got a whole lot of love for Becs Winlow from Wayward Wines and Liv Thompson from Barrique Fine Wines. Both had such a feel for what I wanted Hoc to be from the get-go.

Favourite wine shop

It’s got to be Vino Vero in Venice. Saying that, I think my choice is soon going to be overtaken by Nono in Leeds, which is opening at the end of March and will be run by Liv, mentioned above.

Essex vineyard values leap by 20%

Average vineyard value in Essex has risen 20% in a year, while prices have come under pressure in several more established world wine regions, says the 2025 wealth report by Knight Frank.

Interest in producing still wines has pushed vineyard prices in Essex to US$120,000 per hectare on average.

Marlborough was down 33% over the past year to $110,000, and Los Carneros down 15% to $290,000. Barolo and the Loire Valley were both up 5%, to $2.08m and $90,000 respectively.

Decanter, March 24

Vending machines sell bottles of wine

Self-service wine vending machines

could soon be a feature of French roadsides after an Aix-en-Provence firm perfected a model which meets laws for selling alcohol.

The machines, called Cave O Vin, display wines and prices behind glass doors, with bottles only released after the buyer has scanned a QR code and provided a photograph of their ID to prove age.

Authorisation for the machines, which cost producers €1,230 a month, usually has to be obtained from the mayor of the commune.

The Connexion, March 24

Berrys hopes to inspire collectors

Berry Bros & Rudd is encouraging potential wine collectors to “start with one bottle” in a new brand campaign featuring people from the art, fashion and design world.

The digital campaign aims to “build brand awareness, and achieve specific marketing goals” by bringing to life the joy of collecting to a curious millennial audience, the company said.

“For many, the transition from wine lover to wine collector can be traced to a single bottle: one that marks a specific memory, or a certain important place in time.”

The Drinks Business, March 12

• German wine exports in 2024 saw a 3% increase in volume, reaching 1.2 million hectolitres, while the export value held steady at €384m.

The Drinks Business, March 24

US wine lovers try to beat the tariffs

With the threat of 200% tariffs on EU wine set to begin April 2, some American oenophiles are stockpiling as suppliers and importers warn of delays and possible shortages.

“Everyone wants to stock up – we’re seeing ‘beat the tariffs’ shopping,” cofounder of Flatiron Wines & Spirits Josh Cohen said.

The US Wine Trade Alliance, which represents all tiers of the US Wine Trade against tariffs, has advised all companies to halt shipments of alcohol from Europe as “the current risk of tariffs is too high”.

New York Post, March 21

Emma

Crows Lane vineyard in Essex

UK vineyard visits see 55% increase

Wine tourism in the UK has seen significant growth, with a 55% rise in visitor numbers since 2022, reaching 1.5 million visits.

With a potential visitor pool of 16 million, WineGB is urging the government to introduce policy changes that would unlock the full potential of the sector. Wine tourism currently contributes 25% of total vineyard income, and 60% of producers expect over 20% growth in visitor numbers within the next five years.

The Drinks Business, March 25

£100 energy drink shop up for sale

A shopkeeper who went viral on social media after reportedly selling bottles of an energy drink for over £100 each has put up his business for sale.

Fans of Prime Energy drinks flocked in 2022 to visit the off-licence in Wakefield known as “Wakey Wines” run by Azar Nazir, where bottles of the beverage were said to be on sale for as much as £120.

Father-of-11 Mr Nazir, who has earned over 900,000 followers on Tik Tok, told the BBC that running the shop had affected his mental health and he felt it was “time to move on”.

BBC News, March 4

QUIZ TIME

Answers to questions on page 10

1. Campo de Borja

2. (a) Sweet

3. Austria and Slovenia

4. Sauvignon Blanc

5. Lead

? THE BURNING QUESTION

Do you mind when a rep visits without an appointment?

�This is a tricky one as I have been on both sides of the coin. It’s not easy cold-calling or door-knocking but it is a means to building the business. So I have sympathies, but I think these days it’s best to send an email or give a quick call in advance so there are no surprises on both sides.”

Del Crookes

Alexander Hadleigh Wine Merchants, Southampton

�We are essentially in the same sales industry, and I understand that. But if they show ignorance by not appreciating our worktime patterns then reps are doing us a disservice. I’m the first to applaud ambition, but coming into the shop on a Friday afternoon, unplanned, demonstrates a lack of understanding of my business as this is when we do the majority of trade. It’s annoying and an indicator that we won’t be a good fit going forward.”

Greg Andrews H Champagne winner H D Vine Cellars, south London

�Being down on the Kent coast means that we’re very appreciative of the reps who make the effort to come and visit. The majority of our business is with importers who take the time to come and see our space and understand our offering. The journey from London means we’re mostly spared the inconvenience of unexpected visits, which can be disruptive to our busy daytimes when we’re sorting out deliveries, serving customers etc. In short: do come and see our lovely coastal spot, but only with an appointment!”

Louisa

Walls

John Dory, Sandgate, Kent

�Actually, I’m just expecting a rep to arrive on an appointment. We are in a rural area so unexpected drop-ins don’t happen very often. But when they do, I’d really rather they didn’t. I feel bad that I’m not prepared and able to give them the attention they deserve, which leads to neither of us getting the most out of it. On that note, I’d better go and get ready!”

Gill Mann Jaded Palates, Devon

The oldest wine house in Champagne: Äy 1584

Champagne Gosset

DUNCAN MCLEAN

Northabout

The best place for exploring Welsh wine turns out to be in Pall Mall

Every day’s a school day. My biggest lesson last week was the meaning of Digwyddiad Arddangos Gwin Cymreig. I’d come to London for a couple of portfolio tastings and a look around SITT but had nothing scheduled for my last day. Was there anything that would fill an hour and help justify my £450 return flight from Orkney? Yes! And so I ended up entering glamorous 67 Pall Mall, then being redirected into their less than glamorous basement, to attend my first ever Welsh Wine Showcase Event.

I was vaguely aware of wine being produced in Wales. I remember tasting two or three at a Real Wine Fair a few years ago. I think it must have been the biodynamic Ancre Hill Estates, who are distributed by Les Caves de Pyrene. They were interesting but not what I was looking for at the time, so I moved on. While my attention was focused on France, Spain, Italy, and 20 other countries – yea, even unto the South Downs of England – Wales moved on too. There are now nearly 50 vineyards scattered across the country – and nine of them were gathered in Pall Mall to show their stuff. It reflects badly on me and my prejudices, but I’ll be honest: I was amazed at the high quality of almost everything on offer. I was expecting the kinds of wine I used to encounter when I started attending tastings of English wines around the turn of the millennium: thin whites, weedy

reds, sparklers better but often painfully acidic. Everything’s different now, of course: the improvement in the quality of English wine has been one of the most exciting developments during my time as a merchant.

This was only the second ever Digwyddiad Arddangos Gwin Cymreig in London, and I suppose I expected to find quality commensurate with the infancy of an industry. I was wrong: table after table provided wines that were interesting, unusual, and delicious – with the best of them being all three simultaneously. Yr Franc 2023, for instance, a blend of Reichensteiner, Schönberger and Phoenix from The Dell Vineyard in Monmouthshire, was florally aromatic with a crisp clean finish. The vines are 22 years old – a rarity here – which no doubt helps with the intensity of the fruit. And the Dell’s striking labels would make it stand out on any shelf.

Robin Goch 2023, from Vale Vineyard up north near Denbigh, was an amazingly vibrant ruby hue. Was it made with some teinturier grape like Alicante Bouschet? No, it was a blend of Rondo, Cabaret Noir and Divico. Lovely Pinot-like aromas, not much tannin, decent acidity to balance the ripe cherryish fruit. I’m a sucker for light but characterful reds like good Gamay or Bobal, and this ticked all the same boxes. “Yeah, Rondo’s great for that style of wine,” I was told.

Rondo? Rondo? And, for that matter, Cabaret Noir? And Solaris and Regent, which I enjoyed on other stands? Again I’m going to admit to my ignorance. I’d never heard of PIWI grapes before. Pilzwiderstandsfähige Traubensorten (every day’s a school day, remember) means, prosaically, Fungus-Resistant Grape Varietals. These new hybrids, combing the traits of Vitis vinifera and American and Asian vines, often Vitis rupestris, have been developed over the past couple of decades. They’ve impressive resistance to fungal diseases, so thrive without chemical spraying. They do well in cool climates. And they taste like a proper wine you happen never to have encountered before. Good for them, and good for Wales.

Some noble grapes were represented. Velfrey Vineyard’s fizzes (my favourites in a strong field) blended Pinot Noir and Seyval Blanc. Their Rhosyn 2021 benefited from 22 months on lees, and was an impressive sparkling rosé by any standards. White Castle Vineyard’s Pinot Noir Reserve 2022 was the most sophisticated red I tried. Last year White Castle completed their own production facility, which should provide opportunities for experimentation and closer control in years to come. It’s notable that the number of wineries in the country is tiny compared to the number of vineyards. Hats off to contract makers like Halfpenny Green and Black Mountain, who are doing a great job for their clients.

Is my enthusiasm tempered? Yes, for two reasons. First, price: RRPs for still wines were £20 to £25, and for sparklers, £35 to £45. Competitive versus English wines, but still a tough sell compared to the classic producing areas. Second, and most important, quantity: some of these wines were released in quantities of two or three hundred bottles. The highest volumes were only a few thousand. This severely limits their potential for widespread impact. But curious shops and sommeliers should certainly get their hands on some Gwin Cymreig while stocks last.

Duncan McLean is proprietor of Kirkness & Gorie, Kirkwall

Why focus on one grape variety when there’s so much to celebrate about German wine?

For more than a decade, 31 Days of German Riesling – held annually in July – has inspired many creative campaigns from wine merchants as well as restaurants and wine bars all over the UK. This year the campaign has evolved to expand its focus to highlight the full diversity of German wines.

We spoke to two of last year’s winners about their successful promotions and the benefits of getting involved.

To take part in this July’s promotion, scan the QR code and sign up by May 31

Archie McDiarmid, Luvians, St Andrews

“I think we've done every 31 days of German Riesling and we’re very proud to say that we’ve won it three times and and placed highly in a few years as well.

“Obviously there’s a lot more to the German wine story than just Riesling so I think it makes sense to expand it, and it will give us the opportunity to talk about more wines.

“We’ve tried a real mix of things over the years. We always kick off with some quite indepth staff training so that the whole team are completely versed on why we’re doing the campaign and what we’ll be selling.

“We identify five or six wines that we really want to push through. It helps to focus on story, so one year we really highlighted female winemakers in Germany. We try and partner up with at least one or two of our wholesale customers and we get some wines on by the glass for the duration and that’s really helpful. We usually have a ticketed masterclass as well as barrel-top tastings every Saturday.

“It’s not just about the immediate uplift in sales, although of course you do get that boost. What really marks out a successful campaign is how well those sales hold. You want to have people buying those wines in the months afterwards. That’s why we’ve always found success with this campaign.

“We work with quite a few suppliers as we like to have a broad base but ABS (via Alexander Wines in Scotland) is really key to what we do. Graft and Delibo Wines have got nice German selections and just recently, with Alliance taking over H2Vin, they’ve really beefed up their German collection. There’s some really fun German stuff out there.”

Penny Edwards, Cellar Door Wines, St Albans

“We’ve always added other German wines to the mix when we’ve done 31 Days of German Riesling. It’s much better to have that variation and highlight some of the other great German varieties and styles.

“Last year we did a tap takeover with other German wines as well as a Riesling, and that was really successful, along with the push we did on social media and our website homepage.

“My local town, Harpenden, is twinned with Alzey [in the Rheinhessen region], and I’ve been invited to do a German and English wine tasting. That’s something in the diary for this year, and it’s because the twinning society saw all our social media from last year’s campaign.

“Education and trips are important. We’ve got a team who really thrive on those incentives and last year I visited Von Buhl in Pfalz and we really got behind their wines. I think we like Von Buhl’s approach because of their labelling – some of it is groundbreaking in terms of modernising the image of German Riesling.

“We take part in these initiatives to support the industry as a whole, including the smaller importers like The Wine Barn. Stocking wines from specialty importers like that, with whom we’ve done training and extensive wine tastings, shows that we understand our wines.”

Leeds Round Table 2025

At this year's Northern Lights tasting, involving nine of the trade's leading suppliers, The Wine Merchant invited seven independent wine specialists to a lively group discussion covering some of the issues facing the indie wine sector.

Four pages of coverage starts here.

Our session included (pictured, left to right): Jonathan Cocker, Martinez Wines, Ilkley and Bingley; Frankie Mitchell, Mitchells, Sheffield; Chris Hill, Latitude Wines, Leeds; Jodie Pollitt, Cork of the North, Manchester; Alex Edwards, York Wines, Sheriff Hutton; Richard Walker, Campbells of Leyburn; and Peter Fawcett, Field & Fawcett, York.

They were joined by Laurie Webster of Ucopia Wines and Graham Holter and Claire Harries of The Wine Merchant

How much have you seen wine prices go up this year, and how has this affected your buying and your margins?

Jonathan Cocker: We've put our margins up to cover the cost of living. You just have to. The cost of toothpaste has doubled in the last six months but you can’t double the cost of wine.

Things are going to keep going up and we’re getting battered left, right and centre. I do try and explain it to customers because people will vote with their feet. If they think your prices have gone too high they won’t come back.

I think you have to try and alleviate that by clarifying things, certainly to your regular and bigger customers.

Just a quick explanation: “I’m sorry the price has gone up again, but my business rates have just doubled, and you know about the packaging? Do you know about the increase on 14.5% and 15% abv wines?”

Our margins were 33% to 35% retail up to five years ago, and now we’re 38% to 42%. What else can you do?

Frankie Mitchell: We’re 25%-30% in Sheffield. We have a lot of supermarkets around us.

We have regulars who are looking at alternative lines because they just won’t

pay the increase on something they’ve been drinking for such a long time. An example is the Torres wines from Fells which we’ve marketed quite a lot. There’s a Rioja we’ve had as a staple for a long time. It started at £8.99 but now it’s at £12.99 and people just won’t go there with it.

We try and explain that we’re not increasing prices because we want to. My hands are tied, and we’re seeing sales dip quite significantly as a result.

Alex Edwards: Our margins were at 25%30% but it’s more 30%-35% now.

A few people had read about the duty increases, but EPR? Try explaining that your prices are going up again because of packaging. Wholesale is more pricesensitive and I don’t know if this is disturbing or surprising, but the number of pubs that haven’t heard of some of these changes that are happening … it’s like they have their heads in the sand.

It definitely rings true that if a customer has been paying £9.95 for a wine and then it tips to £10.50, they can be a bit hesitant. You can offer them an alternative at that same price, but it is harder to find competitively-priced wines.

Chris Hill: We've gone from 32% to 35% over the last two years. When Rachel Reeves announced the National

Insurance increase, I came into work and put everything up on retail by 50p just because we needed to make some money before that kicks in. It kind of goes against my marketing mentality in that you’re not increasing your customers, you’re increasing your prices, and sometimes it feels defeatist.

Jodie Pollitt: Boutinot have incorporated the EPR into their new prices and that’s been our biggest jump at the moment. Suppliers like Liberty increase their prices per vintage and it just goes up and up. It would make our lives so much easier if the price increases were just once a year. I spend half my time going through every invoice checking the price.

We have about 26 different suppliers, so each time we’re ordering, it’s a lot of work.

We’ve had to push our margins. We’ve had to put our prices up. Our average

spend has always been about £10 to £15 and that’s now moving towards £12 to £17. Those wines that were originally £12-£17 are now hitting £18-£20. So we’re trying to find wines that are good enough for the same consumer, but at a cheaper price, which I’m sure everyone’s trying to do, and it’s difficult.

Jonathan Cocker: We lost a big wholesale customer because we put the prices up twice, fairly close to each other. Now we just put them up once, and just try and allow for things that are coming and if it goes above that, then I can lose a little bit. Yes, you have to swallow it, but try and guesstimate once, especially with wholesale.

Chris Hill: Good value is such a Yorkshire attitude and we try to wow people with every bottle from a value-for-money perspective, even if it’s a £40 bottle of wine.

Jodie Pollitt: People like the cheap and cheerful as well as the expensive wines. During a tasting, I would pitch it as “this is your midweek wine, it may not be your Saturday night wine or for impressing the in-laws”. There is a place for both of those, I think.

Alex Edwards: We sell all our wines across all channels and our average price would be much nearer to £10-£12, so we are competing with the supermarkets. It kills me when you see Aldi selling wine at £4.50 and you know they’re selling at a loss.

Jonathan Cocker: Let’s be honest, we all

have customers who mention Aldi. I say, “yes, they have a great Portuguese wine in there at the moment, but you’ve gone in and bought three wines for a fiver each. One of those wines was good. You’ve just spent £15 to get one good wine”.

Richard Walker: We’re in the Yorkshire Dales, and we get lots of visitors and people with second homes, and they do

We ask about suppliers in our reader survey and it seems that relationships have improved over the past decade or so. Do you agree that suppliers have got much better at working with indies?

Chris Hill: I remember the days when people were quite vitriolic in their survey responses, and I thought at the time that everybody’s just doing a job within this scenario, and I kind of pity some distributors having to put up with the likes of us. It’s not an easy job.

Jonathan Cocker: We have about 26 suppliers and we don’t see them as much as we used to.

Jodie Pollitt: It’s got a bit less personal. I’d rather have a phone call than an email. The amount of emails I get inviting me to tastings … we’re all hanging on for dear life, we don’t have time to go to multiple tastings every week. Come and visit us.

Chris Hill: I think Covid changed the rep’s role. There was a time where the rep had to build a relationship with every customer. And then all that moved on to Zoom, then it all moved on to email, and now it’s hard to

like to trade up and buy a nice wine to enjoy on holiday. Obviously the locals have some money as well, so we are lucky in that sense. If you put your wine up from £17.99 to £18.99, people who spend that on a wine probably aren’t going to stop buying it. But we buy a lot of the promotions that the suppliers do. If you’ve got a shelf token in front of the wine that says it’s £4 or £5 off the recommended price, that does help.

track anyone down. There was a brain drain of personality out of the industry.

Jonathan Cocker: I like having that longstanding relationship with somebody from a company. You get to know them, trust them, and they get to know your business and what you like and what you want. We've lost a bit of that post-Covid.

Frankie Mitchell: In some cases where there’s been a really important relationship over 30-40 years, starting with my dad, the reps have changed and there’s been absolutely no interest towards us. If people don’t support us anymore, we have to buy very differently to reflect that.

Peter Fawcett: Too often I think people want to sell you the wines that they think are easy. They’ll say, “I've got this great new Malbec,” and I’m like, well, I’ve got Malbec from other people, I’m sorted. Use your imagination a little bit more, bring me something that’s interesting and stimulates me, rather than trying to sell me yet another New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. They should be able to see what I’ve already got and sell me something I need.

NORTHERN BITES

“Last year and the year before I did lots of advertising on Google, and I did none this year and nothing changed: my sales stayed the same. So I don’t think it’s worth spending a lot of money on advertising.”

Jonathan Cocker, Martinez Wines

“It’s trendy to be healthy – just look at social media. A lot of young people are really into that and they’re drinking less and taking fewer drugs. I was working on a vineyard in France recently and the owner told me that there’s much less wine consumed domestically. We might imagine the French sitting there drinking wine all day every day, but they are drinking less, and it’s the same in the UK.”

Jodie Pollitt, Cork of the North

“We do some direct importing because you can make better margin and you’ve got no competition for the vast majority of it. Pretty much everything from France we bring in ourselves, and a big chunk of Spain and Italy, but nothing outside of Europe.

I’m lucky I inherited an established model along with good suppliers and shippers.”

Alex Edwards, York Wines

“I’ve kind of given up on trying to compete with spirits that are advertised online, because we need to appeal as a retail destination for people. You can’t make more than 30% out of spirits without having somebody coming in and standing there looking at Amazon on their phone and comparing the prices.”

Peter Fawcett, Field & Fawcett

'I did a Rotary Club tasting –they bought £2,500 of wine'

How important have customer tastings become for you?

Jonathan Cocker: We were hugely down last April, like 37% down – that’s the worst drop in a month I’ve ever seen. And May and June weren’t much better. So I started doing tasting after tasting. I found that that every time I did one, say for 40 people, I’d get three or four new customers. I eventually ended up with 100 new customers, which had a good effect on October, November and December.

Jodie Pollitt: Me and my dad pretty much do two tastings a week, with about 30 people in each tasting on a Wednesday evening and a Saturday afternoon.

We make it really inclusive; it doesn't matter how much you know about wine. And a lot of people get gifted these, because we do them as wine tasting vouchers. Some people don’t know what to expect and they might feel a bit nervous, but I’m really Mancunian, and I get up and start talking. We make it fun, informative and we have a laugh. People love it.

Over the years we’ve put the price up to £40 a head. We don’t theme the tastings at all because that can be divisive, so we choose six wines to cover a bit of everything and also we include a cheeseboard.

Jonathan Cocker: PTAs are good. I might charge £15 a head and I’ll make a fiver profit. There’ll be 90 people there and they’ll buy wine at the end and then you see them coming in the shop afterwards.

Jodie Pollitt: We get asked daily to do charity events, but we just can’t stretch ourselves to do that.

Jonathan Cocker: If it’s within our town

I’ll do it. Sometimes you leave those events and think, what a waste of time, but sometimes it’s fantastic. I did one for a Rotary Club for 22 people and I thought it was going to be pointless, but they bought £2,500 worth of wine.

Chris Hill: We moved out of our shop last year and into a unit that’s three times the size, and opened a bar and got an onpremise licence. All the years before that, in a little railway arch, I’ve avoided doing tastings because there wasn’t enough room and it was a horrible environment to do them in.

I used to do these sommelier tastings, and the charity tastings, but do them in other people’s venues. I let the other venues take the money and I’d call it networking and business building.

But it has cost a shitload of money to open a bar and get to the position we’re in, so if people want the tasting, then they have to do it on our terms in the bar. There’s probably one in 10 enquiries that actually go for it once you tell them how much it’s going to cost.

After a year’s worth of effort, we’ve found we can do a ticketed event on a Wednesday and a corporate event on a Thursday most weeks, and it brings in two or three grand’s worth of turnover, on our terms.

Discounting can be useful, but perhaps not at Christmas

What loyalty schemes do you offer, with what sort of discounts?

Chris Hill: About 15 years ago, we started a loyalty scheme where if you sign up to the loyalty card, you get 10% discount as long as you remain subscribed. The discount code doesn’t work on the till or the ecommerce site if you aren’t subscribed, which basically means that although I might have costed everything at retail at 35%, the actual return is 30%. But we’ve got 11,000 people on that database and 4,000 of them have shopped in the last six months, so we can definitely see the loyalty is there.

Wholesaling is getting more important for lots of indies. How are you finding that market?

Chris Hill: There was a time that I felt my wholesale pricing was uncompetitive compared to the nationals like Matthew Clark, LWC and Venus. But what I’m seeing now is they have all whacked up their margins, and then they’ll negotiate on

Peter Fawcett: We did the same sort of thing with a loyalty card – no minimum purchase required. We also did a 5% off a six-bottle purchase and 10% off 12, but at Christmas, when you get a whole load of people you see maybe once a year, they buy 300 quid’s worth of stuff we’re effectively giving £30 away. That’s when I think: this is the one time of year we need to be making money!

Jonathan Cocker: It’s difficult with discounting because are they going to come back later and be disappointed to pay more money? I don’t know the answer to that question. For the last five years in

November and December, we’ve done 20% off around 30 wines [bought from Boutinot when offers were on earlier in the year]. This year we stopped it two weeks before Christmas – and sales didn’t drop.

Richard Walker: One thing that really works for us is that we take advantage of bin-end sales. We’ve had some cracking deals from suppliers when they’ve wanted to clear out the vintage etc. We pass that saving on to customers, and the orders we have from them have been great. We don’t deliver or do anything online, so they have to come in and collect and then we hope they will buy something else from the shop.

Is wholesaling really less cut-throat than it used to be?

individual items. I’ve just religiously stuck to a certain price for wholesale because I’m aware that we have costs to cover.

Leeds city centre has always been ridiculously competitive. You’d have three national companies all fighting for the same business, so they’d cut each other’s margins along the way just to get to it. That doesn't seem to be going on anymore.

Peter Fawcett: I know for a fact a couple of people on the trade side who have been offered a crazy amount of money by some of the big boys. It’s a form of bribery, it’s lazy and it’s a really bad business model. I don’t think it does our industry any good. My worry is about wholesaling to restaurants. I’m beginning to see one or two dragging their feet with payment.

Chris Hill: I’ve started treating my wholesale customers like an extension of

retail, to a certain extent. I’d much rather have 10 customers spend 100 quid and pay that up front, and not debate the pennies on everything, than have one customer spend a grand and not pay me for three months.

Peter Fawcett: As independents we probably need to be more prepared to say no to people who we’re not interested in dealing with.

Thanks to all involved in Northern Lights for supporting our round table

Delibo Wine Agencies; Fells; Gonzalez Byass UK; Hatch Mansfield; Marta Vine; Mentzendorff; North South Wines; Richmond Wine Agencies; Ucopia World Wines.

reborn in a barn

Vinotopia’s smart new premises in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, could be said to bring its story full circle – though the purposebuilt barn it now calls home is a far cry from the agricultural building where it started out back in 2011.

Nigel Huddleston pays a visit

When Jeremy Hill founded Vinotopia in 2011 its first home was in a modified barn in the Gloucestershire village of Long Newnton. “It was a great space, but the location was wrong,” he recalls. “Most of the passing trade had four legs and no pockets to put a credit card, and they weren’t allowed to drink because it would upset the milk.”

Relocation came after just 18 months, to the former Oxford Wine Co branch in nearby Tetbury. Things went well through Vinotopia’s time on the site, but a growing wholesale business started to put a strain on storage.

An old contact from Jeremy’s schooldays runs a successful chain of garden centres and the talk turned to the possibility of doing something at one of its sites in Nailsworth, six miles away from Tetbury.

A new-build barn-style development was the outcome, with the space divided between Vinotopia and the garden centre’s own Local Larder food hall business.

“Next door to a garden centre with 100 parking

spaces and a shop doing food? We thought it wasn’t the worst place to put a wine merchant,” says Jeremy, whose pre-Vinotopia CV includes spells with Nick Baile-era Oddbins, selling Mateus for Hedges & Butler and running a City wine bar company.

Managing director Andy Cole joined a decade ago, after a career in events catering, and says annual turnover has risen from £400,000 to £1.5m in that time.

“We would have been much further ahead if he didn’t have weekends off,” jokes Jeremy.

The Vinotopia bit of the new-build has an outdoor terrace. An indoor lounge area, with wood burner, sofas and the day’s newspapers, is where customers land as they go through the main door.

“We would have been much further ahead if he didn’t take weekends off”

Flags of the world and time-zone clocks for Nailsworth, Napa and Barossa provide a playful wine flavour to the lounge décor, and it’s overlooked by a huge mezzanine-level events space.

The trading style is a Enomatic-assisted hybrid, with a product range that encompasses spirits and local beers in addition to wine.

“It’s the antithesis of a smart wine merchant,”

Jeremy says. “It’s not old-fashioned and stuffy. This is much more like you get in France where you use the available space and put your own stamp on it. People feel more encouraged to come in if they can see the sofas, they can see the wood burner, and they say, let’s sit down and have a glass of wine while we work out what we’re going to do. Your dog can jump on the knackered sofa and it doesn’t matter.”

Andy adds: “We changed the layout of the shop I don’t know how many times, just trying to make it more friendly for the non-discerning wine drinker, so that when they walk in, they’re not walking into a display of Charles Heidsieck Champagne, they’re walking into a no/low display, or a Christmas display or Proseccos and Cavas – to make sure people don’t feel put off by expensive wines.”

While the building was being readied for the summer 2023 opening, there was a short spell in two shipping containers in the garden centre car park.

“We’ve been in a box or a barn for many years,” says Jeremy. “We started off in a barn and have ended up in barn.”

Is the mezzanine space only used for big events and tastings or is it part of the hybrid offer?

Andy: We don’t tend to get enough people yet to open it up, but we hope to do more. We do sip and stitch: on the first Tuesday of the month we get a crafting club in and they have a glass of wine and have a knit and a natter. We then do a brush party, where you come along and paint a picture with

“Wine Club customers pay £30 a month and in return they buy their wine for a better-thantrade price”

a teacher who takes you through the process of layering up the canvas into a final picture. They take the space and it brings new people in we wouldn’t normally see. We’re trying to finalise a book club and we’re talking to galleries to use it for exhibitions.

Lighting seems important in creating a warm feel.

Andy: Everything’s on different switches, so we can change the atmosphere in the evening. We can turn the central lights off and just have the spotlights, or vice versa. If it’s more of a moody event we can just have the central lights, and if it’s a gallery event we can have the spotlights.

Tell us about your own events.

Andy: We do wine pairing dinners once a month and spring and winter portfolio tastings, and then we have two exclusive tastings for Wine Club members. Then we do smaller, pop-up tastings once a fortnight. We try to do a mixture of formal and informal.

We’ve taken the commercial decision not to take the GP a restaurant would on dinners. We did a Burn’s Night game dinner, which was five wines and four courses for £65. Highgrove down the road was doing three courses for £250, with no wine.

Jeremy: I approve of the king, but ….

Andy: We think getting more people in, enjoying the space and talking about it and saying it’s amazing, is much better than getting fewer people, paying less, but with less atmosphere, and going away saying it was quite good.

How does the Wine Club work?

Andy: It’s about making the most of customer loyalty. Customers pay £30 a month and in return they buy their wine for a better-than-trade price. The £30 doesn’t go to building up a pot of money. It’s a subscription, so if you don’t use it, you lose it. The idea is to help people to buy better quality wine for less. We link into that free tickets to the annual tastings, discounts at local restaurants, and first dibs on rare parcels we bring in or any other special offers we might have running.

Did you manage to retain your customer base from Tetbury?

Andy: It’s unbelievable … I don’t know what it is, but they’re happy to drive to the supermarket and

Jeremy Hill (left) with Andy Cole

The new premises opened in the summer of 2023

do their weekly shopping, but to drive a few miles down the road to buy wine wouldn’t happen. So, we have had to remarket ourselves to this area. We’re trying to encourage click and collect and deliveries to Tetbury, but, yeah, we lost a lot of people.

Has the new business from local people in Nailsworth compensated for what you lost from Tetbury?

Andy: We are easily ahead on retail sales, probably 50% up. We’ve also focused on corporate business, as opposed to conventional on-trade wholesale, although we still do that. When you’re dealing with restaurants and pubs, you’re competing with everyone else dealing with restaurants and pubs. The margins and the wines available are very limited. When you start dealing with solicitors, estate agents and accountants there are fewer people in the pond fishing for the same business. We’ve got our own printing, so we can do bespoke labels. If someone buys a house, they get a bottle of wine with the estate agent’s label on. It’s been worth spending the money because it brings an awful lot of business in.

“We’ve

got our own printing, so we can do bespoke labels. It brings an awful lot of business in”

How do the sales break down across the business?

Andy: Internet is a very small part. We keep on pushing it. It goes up and down in spikes, but it’s probably only about 5% of the business. The corporate side of things is growing and probably about 15%. The on-trade [wholesale] is about 40% and the other 40% is retail.

Who does the buying?

Jeremy: We have discussions across the team. We’ll get in all sorts of samples of, say, Chablis – I’ve got some sitting on my desk right now – and we’ll taste them. Personally, I don’t like Chablis, because I think it’s too expensive for what it is, but I’m prepared to be out-voted.

Andy: We don’t buy any wine without tasting it first, and that’s generally a process of at least three of us, if not four, tasting that wine. We think we have a very good collective palate: we’ve got a fine wine palate, a medium wine palate and the Joe-on-thestreet palate as well. If we’ve got customers in, we’ll ask them what they think of the wine as well. There’s no point in buying a wine if no one’s

going to buy it. It’s trying to remember we’re buying wine for customers and not for us.

Is there a blueprint for a Vinotopia wine then?

Andy: We like to buy the wines that are next door to the big brother: having a declassified white Burgundy rather than stocking a PulignyMontrachet. We’ve got Malintoppo from the northfacing slopes of the Orcia valley [in Tuscany]. It’s still looked after as well as a wine from south-facing slopes but takes longer to mature and develop. Jeremy: We refer to is to as the baby Brunello because it’s half the price but tastes very similar. Also, for 10 years now we’ve been importing a rosé called Figuière from Provence. We work very closely with the Combard family who are just outside St Tropez and we have that at different quality levels.

Andy: We have a grower Champagne, which we’ve had for just as long. I’d rather sell that than a cheaper Grande Marque. We don’t steer away from Grandes Marques, but we only deal with ones we feel we can put our name next to, such as Charles Heidsieck, Pol Roger and Bollinger. That’s about it.

Are those smaller producers all shipped direct?

Andy: The rosé and the Champagne are. We’ve got a négociant down in the south west, who we deal with for Pays d’Oc wines, we’ve got two négociants in Bordeaux, one in Rhône, we’ve done some dealing in Loire, and we’ve got one in Burgundy. We used to deal with Spain, but it’s hard work –shipping’s difficult.

Between £8 and £15 is the best place for us. If you’d have asked me two years ago I’d easily have said 20 quid but in the last 12 months the price has come right down. We sold more wine in 2024 than we did in 2023, but at a lower average price bracket.

When we first set up there were conversations about Prosecco and Pinot Grigio, but you need to make sure you’ve got all levels of the business available, so that people coming in don’t feel overwhelmed by the cost of some of the wines. That is more important to us than having showcase wines that people are just going to have as a library. Most customers tend to buy wine to drink rather than wine to invest. We’re buying wine for people. We’re tending to focus much more on sustainably sourced wines. A lot of people are coming to us and saying ‘OK, it’s wine, but how’s it made, how does

The store’s atmosphere is “the antithesis of a smart wine merchant”, says Jeremy

it affect the climate, what are they doing to give something back?’ We do a lot with Vintage Roots. Organic was once seen as a high-priced option, but it seems now a lot of people now are thinking they should be buying it, anyway.

Is sustainability a point of interest in your own operation?

Andy: When they built this, we put some ideas to them. We said it had to made from sustainablysourced timber, and had to be looking at insulation. This is insulated on the roof, the sides and underneath as well. We’ve got solar panels going in this year. There was going to be rainwater harvesting but I think they felt there was probably enough water around these parts as it was, from all the floods. The vehicles we’re sourcing have to be either hybrid or electric. We’re doing our journey for carbon net zero with the local council and their Growth Hub.

The shop’s very much a drinks all-rounder rather than just dedicated to wine. Why did you take that route?

Andy: There’s no point opening a shop with only one thing to buy. You’ve got to offer people the opportunity to buy wine, but they might be having a drinks party and need some beer or a bottle of gin, and tonic to go with it. When we started

we had three gins, and we’ve been up to 30 at one point. We’ve always kept a good selection of Cognac and Armagnac, and a couple of Calvados, and then we make sure there’s some sort of marc available, then sherry and Madeira. Sherry is having a resurgence, so we’ve been playing a lot with González Byass and have run some tastings. Doing pop-up tastings means you’ve got the chance to have a play with customers and see what works.

You have a big selection of no/low for an indie.

Andy: We always make a big thing of Dry January: you know, we’ve got dry gin, dry sherry, dry vermouth, but we’ve also got the zeroes. We do two or three tastings in January that are zero only and the sales are going up and up and up.

We’ve got two Spanish sparkling wines that we can’t call Cava because they’ve got no alcohol in them, and we’ve got a couple of sparkling wines from the south of France, a sparkling tea, a rosé from the south of France, a Sauvignon and Monastrell from Spain that are alcohol-free. We’ve done fantastically with [alcohol-fee aperitif]

Mother Root. It’s been a life changer for all of us. Most of us in the team drink it now. Lucky Saint has been brilliant. We just keep on adding to the range.

Is it just a seasonal January thing?

Jeremy: I think it’s spreading out. My first drink of the evening is either Lucky Saint or a no-alcohol cider, and then I’ll have a glass of wine with supper later. But I want to let the dust settle first with something that has no alcohol.

Andy: The 20-somethings aren’t drinking. If we’re going to attract a younger market we need to make sure we’ve got something there for them to drink.

Nailsworth’s also home to Raffles Fine Wines. Was there a concern about coming into a town that already had an independent?

Andy: We’re doing very different things. Their focus is on cases. We’ve also got Nailsworth Wines & Spirits, which is more of an off-licence, and then, recently, Athila Roos has opened Holy Spirits. He’s more of whisky shop but does fine wine investment as well. We’ve reached out more to him than anyone else in the town and we do collab events. We don’t sell whisky to the level he does, so we’ll send him people who are looking for something specific that we don’t have, and if people are looking for a £15 bottle of Chardonnay he’ll say

“There’s no point opening a shop with only one thing to buy. Sherry is having a resurgence ... doing pop-up tastings means you’ve got the chance to see what works”

it’s not his thing and go and see Andy at Vinotopia. We work together and we try to involve the rest of the town in that as well. We work with Hobbs House bakery, who provide bread for tastings. We’ve got a local cheese place that comes in and we’ve got a high-end savoury baker. We try to bring people in the community together, so we can work in partnership.

Having got this up and running, what are the future plans?

Jeremy: It depends on our neighbours. They’ve got 45 garden centres and a dozen or 15 have a farm shop. If we can prove we can add value to a farm shop maybe we can have a discussion about some of the other branches that aren’t too far away and enhance their value as well.

Andy: They buy from Laithwaites at the moment because they are able to buy two of this, three of that, four of this, six of that, and the shipping charges are very reasonable. But we are talking to them about how we can do the same, with a section that we can create with them and have in their farm shops under our management.

The other thing we are going to do this year is food trucks. We’ve contacted 10 this year and ended up with six and we’ve got them coming every other month, doing Sri Lankan food, pizzas, burgers, loaded fries, chicken wings, and there’s a Greek one coming as well. We’re bringing their customer base to us – they can follow the truck. Next door shuts at 5pm, and we will start at 6.30pm. We’ll put a bit of music on, and it will add another dimension.

Jeremy: It’s part of making it somewhere for people to come for an evening for a bit of fun, and next week, when they’ve got Fred and Mary coming to dinner, they might think we won’t go to Morrisons, we’ll come here.

Andy: It’s thinking outside the box. Because if you stay in the box no one will come to you.

The Vinotopia team has “a very good collective palate”

CAT BRANDWOOD

The Long Run

Blame me and my wine matches for the local shortage of dried fruit and couscous

What can you pair with goldfish fillets?

There are few things better in life than the experience of a perfect food and wine pairing. This is the hill I am willing to die on, which may seem odd given that I will often grab the end of a tasting bottle to have with my dinner, with zero thought as to whether I’m about to butcher my tastebuds with whatever I’ve got in the house to eat.

Last week I discovered the dregs of a bottle of Chianti I’d left open for a few days which paired terribly with Marmite and peanut butter noodles. In my defence it is rare that a match is as bad as this one was. In fact, I’ve accidentally discovered some combinations over the years that have broadened my understanding of flavour.

A few weeks ago, for instance, I discovered that a Moroccan style spicy stew I love was great with Valpolicella

(admittedly it was a more western-end, softer and fuller Valpol). Of course, every customer has been getting this nugget of information from me ever since, so I assume that Winchester now has a shortage of dried fruit and couscous. It certainly has a shortage of Valpolicella. My crowning glory of food matching was a simple Risotto Milanese prepared by a lovely local restaurant who cooked for my wine club one night. I’d spent weeks agonising over the choice – changing my mind several times, mainly because I had the time to do so. I settled finally on a barrel-aged Soave and it was perfect. This

Sometimes I wonder how well the sommelier knows the chef’s cooking

was the highlight of my career (OK, I am perhaps slightly exaggerating). It exists in my head now as this mythical thing – will I ever experience that same set of flavours again? Was it all the product of that evening, of that snapshot in time? I may never find out: I haven’t cooked Risotto Milanese since this dinner because I don’t think I can make it as well as chef did. When I think about the best meals I’ve had over the years, great wine pairings have been a big part of them. The opposite is also true: the biggest disappointments have often been where a pairing just hasn’t landed.

Recommended pairings are a tricky business, it seems – not least with desserts. I am frequently let down by an imbalance of sugar (one way or the other), and at times I’ve been shocked to find wines completely wiped out by a dessert. Sometimes it makes me wonder how well the sommelier knows the chef’s cooking.

Iexperienced a tasting menu recently where venison was paired with Pinot Noir. Textbook, right? Except, as we all chant when we’re thinking about wine pairings for our customers, it’s not the protein that really matters. It’s everything else on the plate. In this case, an everything else that was so intense and richly flavoured that the Pinot got a bit lost. As the star wine match (read: priciest) of the meal, it was somewhat disappointing.

I’ll end on a positive note though. A bit more than 10 years ago when I turned an important, much younger age, Mr B took me to a lovely restaurant. We chose the tasting menu and the tasting wines, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the sommelier came over to ask what we like and dislike in wine. In the context of a tasting menu, I had never been asked that before, nor indeed since. This really reinforced my own view on food and wine pairing. I always tell my customers that it’s more important that we find a wine they will like rather than the “perfect” match. It’s a mantra that has served me well.

Cat Brandwood is the owner of Toscanaccio in Winchester

Pioneers of the Napa Valley

Spottswoode’s founders took a leap of faith that, half a century on, seems like a visionary decision

“Spottswoode is a stunning historic estate,” says Beth Weber Novak. “Forty-five acres on the western benchland of St Helena in Napa Valley, that my family has stewarded since my mom and dad purchased it in 1972.”

It was “a lifestyle decision”, she explains, “to raise their five children in a more rural environment. They knew nothing of grape growing or winemaking.”

For the family, for the estate and for Napa Valley itself, huge changes were coming.

“While it is my dad whose adventurous spirit got us here, it was my mom’s indomitable spirit that kept us here after his untimely death in 1977, at the age of 44,” says Beth.

“She was left a widow with five children aged 11 to 20. She had to consolidate debt; make things work. She wanted to stay in our community; she had fallen in love with it and made such good friends. And so she worked hard, and through the encouragement of both the Duckhorn and Shafer families she made our first Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon in 1982. She was deeply committed to this special piece of land, and I am fortunate enough to carry her legacy forward.”

The family, like many others who arrived in the area in the early 70s, had taken a leap of faith. “So many that came

here in those years were young, with young families,” says Beth. “The area was undiscovered, and land prices reflected this. It was not easy to start out, yet there were far fewer wineries here then, so it was easier to stand out.

“Over our 42 years of making wine, our style has stayed true to authentically representing both time and place. Our wines are true representations of where they are grown and each unique vintage. We have always stayed true to ourselves, and never chased trends.”

Founding winemaker Tony Soter had a huge impact. “When he took over vineyard management in 1985, he brought organic farming practices to Spottswoode. We were among the first, if not the first, to adopt organics.

“We have never looked back. We are passionate stewards of our natural environment, and of our place, our community, the planet.”

The first Napa Valley winery to become a Certified B Corporation, Spottswoode is committed to socially and environmentally responsible business practices that will have a positive impact for generations to come.

“We continue to aspire to make the best wine we can each year, to continue to be among the most respected winegrowing estates in the world, to leading on the

environment and on corporate care and responsibility,” says Beth.

“We will continue to focus on our three primary wines – the Spottswoode Sauvignon Blanc, Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon and Lyndenhurst Cabernet Sauvignon.

“We have a vineyard we are developing in northern Knights Valley at which we are applying all learning as we move into our hotter, dryer present and future. There’s much to look forward to.”

La tour des vins

French

wine still sets the standards that others aspire to. Here’s a snapshot of some of its key regions

France’s supremacy in the wine world is self-evident. Reinstated as the largest producer of wine by volume in 2023, it’s consistently the number one exporter by value and probably the most influential winemaking country in the history of human civilisation. Not bad. Yet these things don’t guarantee its right to be on the shelves of independent merchants.

That right is earned by France’s constant search for greatness, even in regions where the rules and recipes can seem eternally fixed. True, there can sometimes be frustration at what can, to outsiders, appear like dogmatic complacency. But what keeps France on the lips of every wine professional around the world is the indisputable quality offered by its vignerons.

In fact, the pomp and prestige that seems to snatch the headlines of France’s most hedonistic offerings is largely irrelevant to indies. They want honesty, distinction and value. And even now, despite the intensifying competition from around the world, good old France remains just as interesting, just as worthy and just as obvious a choice for wine lovers.

Domaine Guilliman Colombard Sauvignon Blanc 2024

This typical Gascony blend (80% Colombard, 20% Sauvignon) is a lively, fresh, delicious, aromatic and crisp wine with notes of citrus and exotic fruits. Made with short skin contact and matured on fine lees, the wine emerges at 11.5% abv and is an excellent match for sea bass carpaccio.

Daniel Lambert Wines, RRP £9.50

Louis Jadot Bourgogne Côte d’Or 2021

One of the newest additions to the Louis Jadot portfolio from the newest appellation in Burgundy. Its label has been designed by students from world-renowned arts and design college Central Saint Martins in London. The original piece of artwork, A Tale of Terroir, captures the essence of Louis Jadot Bourgogne Côte d’Or Rouge, with a design highlighting the three elements that make this wine so special: the soils, the landscape and the climats of the Côte d’Or. The wine has a beautiful depth combined with great freshness, and intense fruit.

Hatch Mansfield, RRP £29

Domaine D’Ardhuy Côtes de Nuits Villages 2017

Monopole Clos des Langres 2017 A concentrated, rich wine with a red-ruby colour with purplish highlights. There are aromas of wild berries and chalk. The palate has rather silky tannins with a nice weight. The finish is elegant with spices and oaky flavours. Give it couple years to reach its full potential.

Daniel Lambert Wines, RRP £70

Burgundy: the best, and it knows it

Nobody needs to be reminded how great Burgundy is. Arguably the greatest. And despite Pinot Noir being one of the most prized red varieties on the planet, it refuses to be wrestled into a price bracket: it’s a variety that knows its rightful place. Pinot doesn’t run to catch a train, the train must wait, and if it doesn’t then there will be no Pinot Noir. If Pinot is rushed, manipulated and forced to do something it doesn’t want to do, it simply won’t do it. This reality isn’t exclusive to Burgundy. But it just so happens that the Burgundians are also tempering Pinot’s fearsome ego in one of the most marginal climates in the wine world.

And yet now more than ever, it’s easy to point impassioned fingers at Burgundy, screaming allegations of outrageous pricing. But the truth is that if Burgundy remains steadfast in making the best Pinot Noir in the world, its demand and subsequent scarcity will remain.

Anyway, do we really want Burgundy made by the accountant? Hemmed into a pricing strategy and strangled by the wills of uncompromising consumers? We know that Burgundy on a budget doesn’t work. It can’t work. There are plenty of other varieties and regions that can offer outstanding value in every category. So why don’t we just leave Burgundy to be the best?

Alsace: magic despite the flute

Alsace feels like a rogue in many ways. For most of its history, it was the western German region of Elsass. Now, it sits on the eastern border of France and has done since the end of the first world war. Separated from Germany by the Rhine and from the rest of France by the Vosges mountains, a unique dialect, Alsacien, is widely spoken, unlike either French or German.

One very Germanic influence, however, is the flute bottle, required by law for all still AOC wines. And as superficial as it may sound, it can’t do Alsace any favours commercially. For a region that makes dry Riesling, the flute bottles give British consumers confusing associations with off-dry German wines.

In fact, what makes this French eccentric so widely adored is its aromatic wonder. Wines that boast every colour on an artist’s palette. Whether it’s the exotic fruit, dried roses and oily weight of Gewürztraminer or the petrol-fuelled, citron blossomed attack of Riesling, or the smoky, spicy, honeyed decadence of Pinot Gris, all the wines share a vice for striking fragrance. And that’s without even mentioning the potential for Pinot Noir here ...

Les Chant des Roses Gewürztraminer 2024

Classic lychee and rose petal aromas on the nose lead to a bright, refreshing and minerally palate. The finish is crisp and dry.

Cachet Wine, £12.99

Beaujolais: a region in Crus’ control

By 1988, Beaujolais Nouveau accounted for 60% of the region’s production. Ever since, the figure has been dropping and, in a relatively short space of time, Beaujolais has reinvented itself as a hotspot for high quality, ageworthy wines driven by terroir.

The initial change in philosophy was sparked by The Gang of Four, a group of non-conformist producers led by the legendary Marcel Lapierre. They believed that Beaujolais was more than a cheap commercial commodity. Adopting the idea of letting the fruit speak for itself, their organic approach in the vineyard and low interventionalist ethos in the winery didn’t just prompt a shift for higher quality wine: it was also, in many ways, the inception of the natural wine movement. These were the wines being

Château de la Terrière Brouilly Tradition 2022

Gold Decanter (2022)

From vineyards planted on decomposed pink granite soil mixed with sand and stones comes this mineral and fresh wine, bursting with strawberry and raspberry characters with notes of peonies – a typical Brouilly. Round and delicate.

Hatch Mansfield, RRP £19.50

Château des Jacques Beaujolais Blanc 2023

discovered in left-field Parisian wine bars at the time, showing much more energy and electricity than their conventional counterparts.

And the situation today has proved them right. Beaujolais is now firmly focused on terroir-driven wines, rooted deeply in low-intervention vineyard and cellar practices. Epitomising this, about 10 years ago, precise soil maps were created for the 10 Crus of Beaujolais, helping growers to better understand and express their vineyards.

Morgon and Moulin à Vent seem to have the highest ceilings for quality and ageing, with the best wines competing directly with their Burgundian neighbours without a sweat. But all 10 Crus have their qualities, quirks and devotees.

Bang on trend, a lovely fresh style of Chardonnay made with no oak. An elegant single-estate wine which is delicate but crisp, with soft nectarine fruit and light mineral notes.

Hatch Mansfield, RRP £22

Château des Jacques Les Jacques Syrah 2021

From a 1ha experimental plot on granitic soil, planted in 2015 close to the Moulin-à-Vent Clos de Rochegrès, comes this bright Syrah full of blackcurrant, pepper and violet notes, wrapped by structured yet silky tannins.

Hatch Mansfield, RRP £24

Clément Robinet

Director and winemaker

Domaine Ferret

The wines of Domaine Ferret have always been recognised for their great complexity, their ageing potential and their distinctive salinity. We make wines that improve year after year in the bottle, revealing the originality of each vineyard without losing the freshness and elegance of their youth.

The majority of our vineyards are in the village of Fuissé, with a few in the village of Vergisson, which is higher in altitude and cooler. We cultivate 18 hectares divided into 60 plots spread all over different kinds of soil. 100% of the wines we make come from our own vineyards. We don’t buy or sell any grapes or juice.

Among all the Burgundian appellations, Pouilly-Fuissé is the one with the most complex geology. It is a large appellation, with more than 250 producers spread across 800 hectares. We can find a vast range of styles, mostly due to the diversity of soils, altitudes and exposures, but also the different practices of each producer in the vineyard and the winery. The vintage adds an extra layer of complexity as it can be completely different, sometimes opposite, to the previous one. For example, harvest in 2022 started a month earlier than in 2021.

I like to say that tradition is an experimentation which has worked. It means that tradition has to evolve when it has stopped working. On one hand, the impact of climate change is so visible in the area that all producers have to experiment and question their own practices with the sole purpose of maintaining their yields and the quality of their wines. On the other hand, experimentation is the key to quality improvement, and this is why we experiment every year in many ways. Sometimes the results are inconclusive, but it helps us to have a better understanding and to be better prepared when a new situation arises.

The impact of climate change is clear: we have to deal with frost in spring because of budbreak happening earlier, big storms in summer, and the shortening of our picking window. Our main concern is to avoid overripeness by picking earlier and faster. We use fridge containers to cool down the grapes picked in the afternoon, and have moved to a gentler pressing technique to preserve all the potential of our juices. In some vintages, we can do a partial malolactic fermentation in order to preserve some malic acid. The vineyards with shallow soils are more impacted because they can suffer from drought early in the season. We are working on different ways to keep water in the soils during summer, experimenting with cover crops, canopy management and ploughing.

We have obtained organic certification for all our vineyards and wines from the 2023 vintage, without changing our practices, which were already organic-like. Our land is covered not only with vineyards but also meadows, hedges, woods and stone walls that have a key role in our

Dating back to 1840, Domaine Ferret is located in the most famous climats of the Fuissé amphitheatre. Clément joined in 2023, having previously worked in Meursault and the Mâconnais

Wines imported by Hatch Mansfield

environment and require the same care and attention as our vineyards. We also use rainwater from spring for all our organic spraying, as water management is becoming a bigger issue each summer.

What I like most about my job is its versatility. I can be pruning in the vineyards, racking barrels in the cellar and tasting with clients all on the same day! But if I had to choose one moment of the year, it would be the first pressing on the first day of harvest, when the work of a whole year in the vineyards ends – and I finally get a glimpse of the taste of a new vintage.

Pouilly-Fuissé

RRP £42

A blend of 50 plots. It captures Fuissé’s diversity of terroirs and the Domaine Ferret style. Half of the vineyards are on limestone, giving backbone and minerality. 30% are on deeper soils rich in clay, giving roundness and generosity. 20% are on granite and schist, bringing floral aromas and complexity.

Pouilly-Fuissé Tête de Cru

Clos des Prouges

RRP £65

From 70-year-old vineyards planted on pure marls. The soil can hold or release water like a sponge, which makes this vineyard very consistent, whatever the condition of the vintage. It combines density and tension perfectly, with an incredible salinity.

Pouilly-Fuissé 1er Cru

'Tournant de Pouilly'

RRP £90

This vineyard has a shallow and rocky soil and faces north. One part is among the oldest vineyards of the domaine. It is a powerful and chalky wine, with an incredible elegance and length. It can be shy in its youth, but is the wine with the longest ageing potential.

The

Loire:

wine lovers are spoilt for choice

The Loire is no stranger to commercial success in the UK, from the popularity of Muscadet in the 70s and 80s to its firmly established reputation for Sauvignon Blanc today. The Loire has had a knack for being focused and recognisable over the years.

The reds of the Loire haven’t quite enjoyed this level success in the UK, at least not yet. But in Paris, every wine list seems to be anchored with a Chinon by the glass and it’s easy to see why. When made in a youthful, chillable style, it’s refreshing and drinkable, with bright red berry fruits and a crunchy green lift. A delight.

The Loire is so diverse that it’s easy to forget that some of the world’s best Chenin Blanc hails from here and in many different forms. Loire Chenin is an exhibition of versatility, with still, sparkling, dry, sweet, oaked and unoaked styles all finding an eager audience.

Domaine de la Commandaire Chinon 2021

Old-vine fruit is given a long maceration to bring out tannins and aromas, before a second fermentation and ageing in large casks. This cuvée, with a deep and dark ruby garnet colour, develops a spicy, toasted character, supported by aromas of well-ripened black berries.

Daniel Lambert Wines, RRP £20.50

Calmel & Joseph Villa Blanche Chardonnay 2024

This is one of Calmel & Joseph’s most successful wines, made without malolactic fermentation and limited barrel ageing. Aromas of white flowers and mango, with a clean-cut, fresh and full palate: stone fruit followed by acacia, peppermint, fresh pineapple, grilled almonds, honey and butter, and a long creamy finish.

Daniel Lambert Wines, RRP £13.50

Château Grand Moulin

Bourboulenc Cocobiroux 2024

Fresh nose, with aromas of citrus fruits, white flowers, honey, and a hint of almond. On the palate, it is rich and well-structured, offering a round and elegant mouth feel, balanced by a delightful and refreshing acidity.

Cachet Wine, RRP £12.99

Joseph Mellot Pouilly-Fumé

Domaine des Mariniers

Organic 2023

Named after the boatmen that used to transport the wine to market along the Loire river, this wine is fresh and balanced with a lemony finish, oozing elegance in the glass. Starting from the 2023 vintage, wines from this 15ha vineyard are certified organic.

Hatch Mansfield, RRP £23

Joseph Mellot SaumurChampigny Le Boisclair

Organic 2023

100% Cabernet Franc from a 30-year-old organic vineyard, planted on clay-limestone and silt-clay soils. Enticing aromas of raspberry, blackcurrant and violet follow on to a fruity and fresh palate with elegant tannins and velvety finish.

Hatch Mansfield, RRP £19

Languedoc-Roussillon: turning up the heat

The region that feels most unchained from French laws and regulations, LanguedocRoussillon has the wise, concentrated blood of old vines pumping through the region. It’s this old blood that keeps the heart of the Languedoc-Roussillon beating through punishing droughts – droughts that are becoming more and more intense with every warming year.

A water cultivation method called biochar seems to be the latest and most promising initiative to help curb water stress. A charcoal-like substance acquired from the heating of organic matter like vines and human waste, biochar is applied directly to vine roots and is proven to help with water retention, vine productivity and soil health.

Moutard: a family affair

Champagne, Burgundy and even spirits are all made with the same signature quality and precision

The Moutard family has been making wine since 1642 from its base in Buxeuil on the sunny slopes of the Côte des Bar and started producing Champagne in 1927 when Lucien Moutard took over the family vineyards.

Lucien learned the art of farming the local land from his father, Paul, something he passed on to his children Agnès, Véronique and François, who today run the company.

They have been joined in the business by their sons – Thomas, Edouard, Alexandre, Benoît and Victor – making Moutard a true family business.

Benoît is now Moutard’s chief winemaker, taking over the reins from his

Burgundy: terroir and tradition

father, François.

Back in 2004, François purchased land and vineyards in Burgundy, marking the expansion of the Moutard family’s winemaking expertise beyond their roots in Champagne. This acquisition allowed the family to craft wines that express the unique terroirs of Burgundy while maintaining their tradition of quality and precision.

Champagne Moutard is one of the very few vignerons to produce a Champagne made up of six of the eight permissible Champagne grape varieties. This is the Champagne Moutard Cuvée Six Cépage Brut.

The six grapes used are Chardonnay,

Famille Moutard excels in Burgundy, crafting wines that embody the region’s renowned terroir. The Chardonnay captures the essence of this storied area, offering a harmonious balance of bright citrus, ripe pear and a refined touch of oak. Its counterpart, the Pinot Noir, enchants with vibrant red fruit, earthy nuances and silky tannins, showcasing the finesse and complexity that Burgundy Pinot Noir is celebrated for.

Signature Red Burgundy

For Pinot Noir aficionados, the Gevrey-Chambertin is a true highlight. This wine embodies the power and elegance of Gevrey’s famed vineyards, with layers of black cherry, forest floor and a touch of spice. Its complexity and ageing potential make it a benchmark example of Côte de Nuits excellence.

A Sauvignon Twist

The Saint-Bris Sauvignon adds a unique dimension to Famille Moutard’s portfolio. As Burgundy’s only appellation for Sauvignon Blanc, this wine offers zesty citrus, grassy notes and a vibrant finish, providing a refreshing contrast to the region’s dominant Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Famille Moutard’s wines celebrate Burgundy’s diversity, appealing to both connoisseurs and curious drinkers seeking authentic expressions of this revered region.

Pinot Noir, Meunier, Arbane, Petit Meslier and Pinot Blanc. The latter three are all classed as rare varieties.

In the cellars under the family’s Buxeuil home, Alexandre Moutard is the custodian of Distillerie Moutard, established in 1892. Renowned for his expertise in crafting exceptional spirits, Alex embodies the passion and precision of the Moutard family.

Lanchester Wines has access to Distillerie Moutard’s Ratafia Champenoise Six Cépages – a sophisticated fortified wine crafted from the juice of the same six Champagne grape varieties found in Moutard’s exceptional Champagne Six Cépages.

The Lanchester Wines team pays a visit

Bordeaux: more white noise?

It’s the home of the most collectible, ageworthy wines in the world.

Bordeaux’s blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot is recreated across the globe, and for good reason.

But no one makes Bordeaux blends like Bordeaux. The Bordelais do it in such remarkable quantities, too: the sheer volume of wine that emerges from this oceanic climate, made from just a handful of varieties, is astonishing.

Bordeaux’s whites can go under the radar but they can be as elegant and mineral as Centre Loire Sauvignons. With a kiss of oak and a good whack of Sémillon they can be rich and complex, or they can tick commercial boxes with fresh, fruity styles at the lower price points.

What could help Bordeaux’s whites gain more momentum in the UK? Perhaps more varietal labelling wouldn’t go amiss. Bordeaux isn’t blessed with a snappy marketable subregion name like Chablis or Sancerre, for example. Instead, it’s Entre-deux-Mers with its two too many hyphens.

As for the bigger picture, there are structural issues for the Bordelais to address.

The CIVB currently calculates an annual overproduction of 300,000 hl (40m bottles) as well as 200,000hl sold at unprofitable prices.

It’s also estimated that around 1,300 châteaux are either insolvent or up for sale.

Château Petit Roque 2021

The first vineyard in Blaye since 2004 to be independently audited and certified under the Terra Vitis regime for sustainable viticulture. A blend of 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, with aromas suggesting wild strawberry, raspberry and a touch of liquorice. Ample palate with a silky mouth feel full of softness and polished tannins.

Daniel Lambert Wines, RRP £14

The Rhône: the north-south divide

There are many differences between the northern and southern Rhône but a theme that continues to emerge is the rift in value for money.

Dauvergne & Ranvier

Costières du Nîmes 2023

Mainly made from Syrah and Grenache, vinified at low temperature in stainless steel and concrete. Round and fruity; the nose seduces with its notes of very ripe black and red fruits The palate ends with a fresh and fine finish.

Daniel Lambert Wines, RRP £13

Accounting for only 6% of the Rhône’s total production, the northern Rhône, with its dramatic steep slopes, is esteemed for high-quality Syrah. But the prices are, like other regions in France, getting out of control. For many years, the northern Rhône has had very little competition from the wider wine world because of its unique style: peppery and savoury, with a leaner, fresher profile than what was historically expected from the new world.

Now, however, the picture is changing with South Africa, New Zealand, Chile and even the cooler parts of Australia prioritising Rhône-inspired wine and relabelling from Shiraz to Syrah, a clear indication of style. The wines can offer incredible value for money compared to their French counterparts.

However, the same can’t be said for the southern Rhône. Consumers find respectable consistency in Côtes du Rhône and CDR Villages at the entry level, concentrated beauty in the Grenache-led wines from the lesser-known appellations of Vacqueyras, Gigondas and Rasteau, and intense, serious rosé from Tavel and Lirac. Value is to be had all over, though a critical consumer might observe that Châteaneuf-du-Pape’s wines tend to offer more in alcohol than they do in value.

Provence perfection

Famille Ravoire is best known in the UK for its stunning Provence rosés, which are imported by Sussex-based Les Producteurs et Vignerons de France. The family business, which has long been a champion of sustainability, is celebrating its newly-attained B Corp status.

Sponsored feature. Find out more at vigneronsdefrance.co.uk.

Costeval Coteaux d’Aix en Provence

Rosé

RRP £15.99

The vineyards are exposed to the cold, dry Mistral wind that blows in from the north. Crucially, this limits rainfall, reduces disease pressure and enhances sugar concentration.

The grapes (40% Grenache Noir, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Cinsault and 20% Syrah) are picked in the coolness of the night, then subjected to mild direct pressing and a saignée. The blend is vinified at low temperature to ensure optimal preservation of the flavours.

The wine has a pale cherry-pink colour and a delicate nose, with floral aromas with touches of berry fruits. The mouth feel is straightforward and aromatic with a pleasant freshness, and suppleness, roundness, vivacity and minerality.

Perle de Valensole IGP Alpes de Haute

Provence Rosé

RRP £13.99

Valensole is situated on an 800km2 plateau which is mainly dedicated to lavendergrowing, but there is some viticulture in the area too.

In fact the conditions are ideal for vineyards, with shelter from strong winds and extreme weather. The wines are typically lighter and more aromatic than those grown at a lower altitude to the south.

Perle de Valensole is a blend of 30% Grenache Noir, 30% Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains, 25% Merlot and 15% Syrah. Pale pink in colour, the wine has aromas of red berries, as well as various floral notes. The palate is multi-layered, with a remarkable balance between freshness and minerality on the finish.

Soleil des Alpes IGP Alpes de Haute

Provence Rosé

RRP £13.50

The Alps shelter the vineyards from the strong cold winds, but the mild breeze from the south helps ensure optimal maturation of the grapes year after year.

The terroir is very diverse and the vineyards are naturally well drained. The vines yield fruit with rich flavours and a pleasant complexity.

The grapes (65% Grenache Noir , 20% Syrah, 15% Cinsault) are picked early in the morning and pressed while fresh. This is followed by a low-temperature fermentation to ensure that the full aromatic potential is expressed. There are floral notes and red berry flavours in this pale pink wine, and a mouth feel that is pleasantly complex.

• Wine Enthusiast awarded 91 points to the 2024 vintage.

MICHAEL WALKER

The Narrow Corner

No Oregon Pinot Noir for me, thanks –I’ll have a Washington Merlot every time

that the temperature falls off a cliff in the summer when the sun goes down, helping the grapes to retain acidity. In August, the diurnal variation can be as much as 22˚C. Merlot is, I think, superior to Cabernet Sauvignon in Washington, which can be very tannic and austere, at least when young (the oldest vintage I tried was 2020). A lot more Cabernet is present in the vineyards, though, as the sought-after grapes carry a higher price. I can say that Washington Merlot does age very well, for I had Chateau Ste Michelle’s sublime 2016 Canoe Ridge Merlot, from Horse Heaven Hills AVA, before going south.

My American stepfather is 93 years old. Not surprisingly, he says he has “done a lot” in his lifetime. This includes visiting 46 of the 50 states in the USA, the exceptions being North Dakota (“boring”), Colorado, and the two states in the Pacific Northwest, Oregon and Washington (“no reason to go”).

Needless to say, he’s not a wine drinker. Indeed, before I brought up the topic he had no idea that Oregon and Washington even had vineyards. As someone who avoids Pinot Noir, I share his lack of excitement about Oregon. Washington, though, is another matter, which explains why I travelled several hundred miles to attend a tasting in London.

I warmed up for my journey south by drinking several bottles from this unheralded part of America, which I obtained in the Great Wine Co’s stellar January sale. One was the 2018 Eroica XLC Dry Riesling from Chateau Ste Michelle, Washington’s leading producer.

The lack of familiarity with Washington hit home when a colleague asked if I knew they grew Riesling there before my purchase. (Yes, I did.) Anyway, the wine was off-dry with a lovely honeyed flavour, an endless finish, and the grape’s trademark crazy acidity.

The vineyards in Washington are planted on a huge swathe of parched land in the east of the state. Rainfall is so low that irrigation from the broad Columbia River is essential. It’s very continental: hot (38˚C is

common in July) and exceptionally sunny in the summer, but frigid in the long winters. I was told at the London tasting, for example, that in 2022 there was still a foot of snow on the ground in April.

Unusually, Washington is phylloxera-free, owing to the freezing winters and sandy soil, and disease pressure is very low. Still, vintage variation is a real issue. 2011 was so cold that the Cabernet Sauvignon wasn’t harvested until November at l’Ecole No 41 winery in Walla Walla AVA, which extends across the state line into Oregon.

Two grapes stood out for me at the showcase, Merlot (muh-LOW in American parlance) and Chardonnay. As Ryan Pennington of l’Ecole No 41 Winery put it, Washington is “one of the great places in the world to grow Merlot”. The examples I tried were indeed outstanding, with a heady aroma of blackcurrants, very soft tannins and ample body.

Horse Heaven Hills AVA, a windy area where the heat is moderated by the Columbia River, is “where Merlot kicks ass”, according to a representative of Chateau Ste Michelle. Throughout the state, the Merlot benefits from the fact

Washington is very sunny in the summer, but in 2022 there was still a foot of snow on the ground in April

Chardonnay, the second most prevalent grape after Cabernet Sauvignon, was the other varietal which really made an impression on me in London. The fruit is grown in cooler AVAs like Yakima Valley and Ancient Lakes (the wine regions in Washington have really evocative names). The latter is both further north than most of the state’s best-known vineyard zones, and the soils have a higher calcium content, making it a good spot for Chardonnay. The ones I sampled had a lovely rich mouth feel and a delicious pear flavour.

I only had a few wines from Oregon in London, although many were available to try. In my opinion, the most interesting thing about “the beaver state” is that it’s where D B Cooper hijacked a Northwest Orient Airlines flight in 1971. As for the wines, they are expensive and you have to really love Pinot Noir, which occupies about 60% of the vineyard area.

I imagine that, like my stepfather, I will never set foot in Washington. It’s very far away and I’d be reluctant to subject myself once again to the American airport experience (long ago I spent a night of despair in Newark). There’s something about the place that will probably always appeal, though. It’s not just the excellent wines, it’s also the thought of a daily dose of 16 or 17 hours of warm sunshine in the summer. When you live in Scotland, that’s not to be sniffed at.

Michael Walker is part of the team at Vino in Edinburgh

Reaching for Roussillon

Ten independent merchants were invited to blind taste their way through almost 100 wines from one of France's most exciting regions. See which ones they loved the most over the next four pages

Charlotte Fenwick, VIN, Gateshead

Dawn Mannis, The Sampler, north London

Philip Amps, Amps, Oundle

Bryan Houde, Wine Monkey, Chippenham

Paul Morgan, Fourth & Church, Hove

Simon Taylor, Stone, Vine & Sun, Hampshire

Liam Plowman, Wild + Lees, south London

Virginia Myers, Tenaya Wine, Sheffield

Tolga Koymen, Bacchus N4, London Ilkay Koymen, Bacchus N4, London

Indies make their Roussillon selection

The 10 merchants who took part in the Roussillon tasting were impressed with what they discovered.

“Roussillon plays a very large part in my range, ” says Bryan Houde of Wine Monkey. “The wines deliver so much of what my customers like: intensity, body, strength and a gentle price point.

“The tasting renewed my passion for the Roussillon and the incredibly powerful wines that it can produce. I will

be listing more as and when I can.”

Virginia Myers of Tenaya Wine in Sheffield adds: “I have some wines from Roussillon already and tend to find them to be great value. I was pleasantly surprised by the white wines and rosés – I really liked them. They were so much more varied than I thought they’d be.”

Charlotte Fenwick, of Victor Indigo November in Gateshead, says: “It’s definitely an area we would like to

The top 20 wines – presented in order of

appellation

Domaine of the Bee

Field of the Bee 2023

IGP Côtes Catalanes

A small, artisanal project by British-born MW Justin Howard-Sneyd and his wife Amanda. Justin now works closely with local icon JeanMarc Lafage, making his wines in the corner of Jean-Marc’s cellar as well as trusting his watchful eye to tend Justin’s vines in his absence. This cuvée, made from ancient vines belonging to Jean-Marc, some of which are over 100 years old, is a blend of Grenache Gris, Grenache Blanc and Roussanne.

“Rich in style with lovely texture and brightness. There’s flowers and white peach as well as something a little zesty,” the judges said. “There’s great balance between zip and weight.”

Arcadian Wines, RRP £18

Château Saint-Roch

Tangerina 2022

IGP Côtes Catalanes

Château Saint-Roch is the boutique side project of Jean-Marc Lafage.

This orange cuvée is made up of Grenache Gris, Macabeu and Muscat. The Grenache Gris is fermented in open-top 500-litre barrels, with half kept as whole bunch for carbonic maceration and the other half fermented with destemmed grapes. The Muscat and Macabeu are also barrel fermented and macerated on the skins for a week after fermentation. The wine then ages for six months in barrel.

“Perfectly judged orange showing just enough skin contact without overwhelming the fruit. Spicy and aromatic with orange oil, peach, apricot and a floral lift,” the judges said.

Enotria&Coe, RRP £19.50

include more wines from, and the event confirmed that. On the whole, the quality of the wines was excellent, but I was definitely most surprised by the diversity of the whites available.”

Domaine des Enfants

Tabula Rasa 2022

IGP Côtes Catalanes

This is a story of how owner Marcel Bühler had a childhood dream of working with nature. In 2006, Marcel rekindled those childhood ambitions by ditching his previous job and creating this project in Roussillon.

The Grenache Gris, Grenache Blanc, Carignan Blanc and Macabeu for this cuvée are found scattered within old red wine vineyards, so naturally these grapes need to be specially selected and hand-harvested.

“This is exactly what you would expect from white Roussillon. Bespoke and lush with a rich concentration of juicy stone fruit, caramelised pears and white blossom,” the judges said.

Ex-cellar, €11

Domaine Mas Cremat

Les Tamarius 2023

IGP Côtes Catalanes

Cremat, a word meaning burned in Catalan, is a nod to the unique black schist soils of the Agly valley.

This supple blend of 45% Syrah, 45% Grenache and 10% Marselan is the entry-level red from the domaine. It prioritises freshness and fruit purity with all vinification and ageing taking place in stainless steel.

“It’s classic, value-driven Roussillon. Light and easy-going with lots of fresh ripe fruit and authentic whiffs of garrigue,” the judges said, adding:“There’s great weight on the palate with a soft round mouth feel and some delicate tannins.”

Ex-cellar, €4

Mas Baux

La Vie en Rouge 2023

IGP Côtes Catalanes

Ex-rugby player Serge Baux traded his love for the sport for a life in winemaking when he bought the 1,000-year-old estate in 1998, with the aim of reviving this forgotten piece of land.

Baux holds a deep respect for his environment and the laws of nature. This organic 100% Syrah, grown in a windy, sun-scorched spot just 4km from the Mediterranean, derives from low yields of 35hl/ha and made in the absence of oak.

“This just screams Mediterranean. It’s savoury and lush with layers of ripe dark fruit. Chill this down and it’s a perfect summer red,” the judges said.

Ex-cellar, €5.10

Le Soula Rouge 2021

IGP Côtes Catalanes

Certified organic since 2001 and biodynamic from 2009, Le Soula makes wine in the highaltitude area of the Fenouillèdes. After importing wines from Roussillon into the UK in the 90s, Roy Richards and Mark Walford decided to exploit the region for themselves and established Le Soula at the start of the millennium.

Le Soula Rouge comes from sites up to 650m of altitude on decomposed granite soils. Yields are really low at just 15hl/ha and the wine is aged in old, large-format oak for 18 months.

“Dark and brooding with an intriguing wildness. A clean line of acidity fronts a balanced structure as baking spices and dried flowers whirl on a long finish,” said the judges.

Thorman Hunt, RRP £32

Domaine des Chênes

Les Magdaléniens 2022

AOP Côtes du Roussillon

The Razungles family has owned Domaine des Chênes for over a century. Nestled in the quaint village of Vingrau and surrounded by calcareous cliffs, the domaine spans 30 hectares across the area’s best terroirs. Only garrigue, pines and holm oaks survive the tough conditions.

Les Magdaléniens is an expression of predominantly Roussanne supported by a range of old-vine white varieties including Grenache Gris. The vines are planted on limestone soils that extend around the base of the cliffs. The wine is fermented and aged in barrel.

“A complex, intriguing wine with layers of flavour. Lush with soft stone fruits, fennel, orange custard, green fig and nutmeg,” said the judges.

Ex-cellar, €7.75

Domaine de la Pertuisane Pompier 2023

IGP Côtes Catalanes

The story of of Domaine de la Pertuisane started in 2002 when winemaker Richard Case and his wife Sarah acquired two hectares of ancient Grenache bush vines surrounding the town of Maury. By 2003 the couple had added eight more hectares, smitten with the unforgiving landscape of the Pyrenees.

Pertuisane's vines are up to 100 years old, dry-farmed on austere black schist soils, with yields as low as 10hl/ha as a result.

“Beautiful. Rich, soft and complex with a luscious balance of fruit, spice and earthiness. Everything you would want from Roussillon,” said the judges.

Ex-cellar, €6.50

Mas Llossanes

Pure Syrah 2020

IGP Côtes Catalanes

Mas Llossanes is one of the highest vineyards in France with plantings dating back to the 1940s. Owners Dominique and Solenn Génot managed a Tuscan property, inspiring them to create a project of their own. Mas Llossanes ticked all their boxes.

The Pure Syrah is made from the best plot of vines on the site, located at 650 metres’ elevation on granite soils. The juice from these 75-year-old vines is aged for 24 month in oak.

“Excellent intensity and freshness with a tight structure that ensures a long life ahead,” the judges said. “Very polished with a savoury olive character, with cedar, crushed rocks and blueberry cream.”

Ex-cellar, €22.50

Domaine of the Bee

Bee Pink 2023

AOP Côtes du Roussillon

Another judges’ favourite from Domaine of the Bee. Working again with fruit from his friends at Domaine Lafage, Justin Howard-Sneyd MW has made this Provence-style rosé from Grenache Noir, Grenache Gris and Syrah.

The 2023 vintage was one of severe drought, a threat that Roussillon vignerons understand all too well. Vines struggled to produce a normal crop due to unprecedented levels of hydric stress. This resulted in lower yields of smaller, more concentrated berries.

“This has everything you would want from this style of wine. Fresh and delicate with strawberries, cream and some herbal notes,” the judges said.

Arcadian Wines, RRP £16

Domaine Mas Cremat

L’Envie 2023

AOP Côtes du Roussillon

Another winner from Domaine Mas Cremat, blending 45% Syrah, 45% Grenache Noir and 10% Marselan. The domaine handpicks and vinifies each plot separately to preserve a transparency of terroir. Organic and regenerative practices in the vineyard encourage optimal quality fruit that speaks for itself in the winery. Composting, cover cropping, winter sowing and soil enrichment by sheep are all part of the process.

“Delicious, sweet berry fruit and fresh garrigue jumps out of the glass. It’s delicate, bright and ever so moreish,” the judges said. “Smooth and soft on the palate, with great length for the price.”

Ex-cellar, €5.50

Mas Janeil

Arrels 2021

AOP Côtes du Roussillon Villages

From the François Lurton stable, this 60% Grenache Noir, 20% Carignan Noir, 10% Syrah and 10% Mourvèdre blend was a big hit with our tasters for its combination of intensity and drinkability.

The vineyard is divided into four main sections running along the Corbières Massif.

“Perfect,” said one of our judges. “All the Roussillon in one wine: sunshine, richness, big ripe fruit and balanced oak. Yummy.”

Others picked out sweet raspberry notes as well as more savoury undertones, and appreciated the intense dark colour – and the attractive price.

Ex-cellar, €9.50

Mas Bécha MVD 2020

AOP Côtes du Roussillon Villages

Les Aspres

Mas Bécha has been owned by Charles Perez since 2008, who works hard to preserve the natural attributes of the dry, sun-baked environment in which he farms (aspres is a Catalan word for “arid”). He works organically, with minimum intervention and only stainless steel for ageing to preserve the freshness and vivacity of his grapes – in this case 80% Mourvèdre, with equal components of Grenache Noir and Syrah.

Tasters picked up on “herby, black olive, tobacco and chocolate” notes, and even iron, with one adding: “The tannins are just right – this has the best balance of the flight. I love the dark fruit character.”

Ex-cellar, €33

Château Nadal Hainaut Odyssée 2019

AOP Côtes du Roussillon

Despite the winegrowing history of the Hainaut family dating back to the 12th century, it wasn’t until 1900, and the marriage of Thérèse Hainaut and François Nadal, that the château as it is known today was born. Six generations have since emerged and the Carignan Noir that was planted as a celebration of the union is now more than 100 years old.

Odyssée is an organic blend of 65% Syrah and 35% Grenache Noir, packaged beautifully.

“Lots of black olive tapenade; it’s a chewy, hearty mouthful of a wine that grows in the glass. The sweetness of the fruit tempers its dryness. Gastronomic and amazing value for money,” said the judges.

Vindependents, £19.50

Domaine de Bila-Haut RI 2021

AOP Côtes du Roussillon Villages

Lesquerde

This 80% Syrah, 20% Grenache and Carignan Noirs from M Chapoutier was one of the more expensive wines in the tasting, but judges felt it justified the asking price. It was one of the day’s highest-scoring wines, based not just on quality, but the value it represents.

The fruit comes from an area in the Lesquerde where the grapes are last to ripen, on a gentle, north-facing slope.

“Good fruit and elegance, lovely aromatics … I don’t really want to spit,” said one taster.

Another described it as “rich, spicy and decadent”, while a third judge remarked on the wine’s “really good sweet fruit, with a bit of leather and bacon in the background”.

Hatch Mansfield, RRP £89.20

Domaine La Toupie

Sur 1 Fil Rouge 2022

AOP Maury Sec

This 12-hectare estate, established in 2012, makes Côtes du Roussillon Villages wines as well as Maury, working in a mainly north-facing terroir of schist and galet roulés.

Grenache Noir drives this particular blend, with Mourvèdre and Syrah each contributing 15%.

Our tasters loved the wine for a variety of reasons, with one picking out “dark chocolate, blue plum, flowers, blueberries and orange peel”, while others highlighted the black pepper seasoning and welcome structure provided by the tannins. “A good by-the-glass option,” suggested one merchant.

Ex-cellar, €7.10

Mas de la Devèze 2020

AOP Maury Sec

The Maury Sec appellation is fairly recent – it was created in 2011 – and was intended to give a higher profile to the area’s distinctively powerful red wines. This old domaine, set in a wild landscape and farmed sustainably, exemplifies the style that local vignerons were keen to promote. But it’s worth adding that several judges remarked on the 65% Grenache Noir, 27% Syrah, 8% Mourvèdre blend's easygoing nature rather than just its intensity.

“Juicy ripe fruit, with powerful Grenache flavours – everything a Maury Sec should be, like a dry version of their sweet wines,” said one taster. “It’s more than just fruit-driven, with dried herbs and stewed strawberries and a little residual sugar,” added another.

Ex-cellar, €7.95

Domaine du Vent

Mistral 2021

AOP Muscat de Rivesaltes

The domaine might not have official organic certification but the vineyards are certainly farmed that way by Nathalie and Benjamin Boyer. The estate is named for the strong winds that whip across the hills and forests of the Roussillon landscape.

One taster described the wine, a 50-50 blend of Muscat à Petits Grains and Muscat d'Alexandrie as “a tropical fruit basket”, adding: “There’s lots going on. It’s super-pure and fresh.” Others picked up on flavours of tangerines and lychees as well as notes of ginger and spice. There’s ample acidity to balance the exuberant fruit, and a “very textured mouth feel”, the judges said.

Ex-cellar, €5.60

Highly commended wines

Domaine Laurent Batlle, Equinoxe Blanc de Noirs 2024 (white)

IGP Côtes Catalanes

Ex cellar, €6.50

Mas Baux, Baux Blond 2023 (white)

IGP Côtes Catalanes

Ex cellar, €5.10

Domaine F Jaubert, 100% C 2022 (white)

IGP Côtes Catalanes

Ex cellar, €4.50

Mas Baux, Velours Rouge 2023 (red)

IGP Côtes Catalanes

Ex cellar, €6.50

Les Terres de Fagayra

Le Roc des Anges 2022

AOP Maury Blanc

The grapes (Grenaches Gris and Blanc and Macabeu) are harvested at the same time, with the variation in ripeness adding “liveliness and energy to the wine”, according to the producers.

It’s a policy that our judges didn’t know about when they tasted, but which clearly has the desired effect. “Beautiful,” said one taster. “It’s so balanced and the acidity is delicious. “Wow,” added another. “Such vibrancy – it dances on the tongue, with green tea notes.”

Several tasters also highlighted the balanced sweetness, which they felt had a gentle candied fruit vibe as well as a suggestion of gooseberries.

Les Caves de Pyrene, RRP £41.99

Domaine Vaquer

Solera 33 Ans

AOP Rivesaltes Ambré

The Vaquer family has been involved in this domaine since 1912, and releasing their own estate-bottled wines since 1967. It’s now a 16-hectare estate run by Frederique Vacquer, who achieves impressive results with her majestic old vines.

The blend here is 70% Grenaches Blanc and Gris, with 30% Macabeu.

Several judges remarked on the rich nutty flavours of the wine and enjoyed the slightly oxidised style. “Very good,” added one. “Café crème and apricot.” Another also picked out faint petrol notes and described the wine as “a lovely sweetie, in a lighter style than most”.

Ex-cellar, €16

Terres Fidèles, Cami del Drac 2022 (red)

IGP Côtes Catalanes Alliance Wine, RRP £14.99

Domaine Lafage, Narassa 2022 (red)

IGP Côtes Catalanes

Hallgarten & Novum Wines, RRP £21.99

Torredemer-Mangin, Alba 2022 (red)

IGP Côtes Catalanes

People’s Wine, RRP £12.50

Domaine of the Bee, Carignan 2022 (red)

IGP Côtes Catalanes

Arcadian Wines, RRP £17.50

Domaine La Toupie, Fine Fleur 2023 (white)

AOP Côtes du Roussillon

Ex cellar, €7

Mas Bécha, Hypgnosis 457 2022 (white)

AOP Côtes du Roussillon

Ex cellar, €17

Domaine Trilles, Incantation 2023 (red)

AOP Côtes du Roussillon

Ex cellar, €6.30

Domaine Rouaud, Têt Pourpre 2022 (red)

AOP Côtes du Roussillon Villages

Ex cellar, €8

Domaine Lafage, Les 11 Terrasses 2020 (red)

AOP Côtes du Roussillon Villages Les Aspres

Hallgarten & Novum Wines, POA

SCV Maury, Maury Ambré 2016 (amber)

AOP Maury Ambré

Ex cellar, €11.44

Why we love the London Wine

There are many reasons for indies to spend time at The London Wine Fair, a homegrown event that connects and celebrates the drinks trade.

We spoke to several merchants including one of who has been attending since it began over four decades ago on Kensington High Street, and one who made his inaugural visit to the fair last year. All of them agree that it’s a date every independent wine retailer should keep.

“The London Wine Fair is genuinely very, very important,” says Phil Innes, founder of Loki Wines in Birmingham (below). “I remember back to when I first started and if it hadn’t been for the LWF I don’t think I would have had the award-winning wine range that I ended up creating.

“The amount of time and cost for me to go and source all those suppliers from multiple events in London would have been impossible back then and the fair gave me the opportunity to go and meet 20 or 30 suppliers and try lots of different wines. I do worry for some of the younger people starting off in the industry if that valuable resource was no longer available.

“One of the suppliers who always supports the wine fair is Hatch Mansfield and we’ve massively grown our business with them, and that’s purely from the contacts made there. We got to explore new producers, especially people like Chapoutier, who we hadn’t worked with in the past, but we’re now doing quite large volumes of these wines.”

Duncan McLean, owner of Kirkness & Gorie in Orkney, and Barry Howarth of the Lancaster Wine Company also value the relationships they have

cemented with suppliers, courtesy of the wine fair. McLean visited the fair for the first time last year and says it was worth it for the introduction to Cachet Wine.

“It was a speculative visit, and for me that’s quite a big deal because it takes a long time and it is so expensive to get to London,” says McLean. “The pay-off for me was finding Cachet as a major new supplier. I would urge anyone within an hour or two’s train journey to definitely go, because it’s enjoyable and it’s educational.”

Having seen the presence of suppliers come and go over the years, Howarth was particularly chuffed to see the return of Mentzendorff to Olympia last May. “We

had a good chat with them and I bought some Bollinger and a few bits and bobs for Christmas, so they got me as a new customer,” he says. “It was very good to see them back after a few years of them not being there. I’d like to see Fells and Boutinot back at the fair.

Wine Fair

“I read an article the other day about how London is now the wine capital of the world, taking over from Paris as the destination for serious wine people, so surely there is a market here and the London Wine Fair should be the centre of it.”

The bursaries offered by the London Wine Fair are particularly welcome in the current climate, as Paul Auty at Ake & Humphris in Harrogate explains. “The bursary was extremely useful for us,” he says. “Two of us went down last year with a particular mission to look at striking up conversations with and tasting wines from producers not yet represented in the UK, as

Six independent merchants who will definitely be at this year's show explain why the fair is important to them and the benefits it has brought to their businesses

well as re-connecting with suppliers that we’ve used in the past.

“To have all this under one roof is invaluable. And the website showing who is exhibiting and where is gold, because you can look at the layout in advance and maybe plan your route around.

“The diamond last year was actually The Wine Merchant Top 100 stand. It was massively important for me to gauge what the indie marketplace is like and to taste what other indies are really excited about –that was huge.

“We attended for two days last year to really make the most of the opportunities that were there. And it really is about factfinding, relationship building, tasting and discovering. It's like a finger on the pulse of the UK wine scene, and it’s that awareness that helps to sharpen your focus when you're back at base.”

Norman Gover, owner of The Little Tipple in Long Ashton, near Bristol, agrees that it pays to put in a little planning ahead of time. “It’s a great opportunity to see everything and taste

lots of wines under one roof,” he says, “but it’s important to plan the day rather than walk around aimlessly.

“I’ve been going almost every year for 20 years and I enjoy meeting my main suppliers there and I get a very warm welcome when I tell the people on the stands that I stock their wines. It’s a great opportunity to network and a nice feeling of serendipity when you bump into people that you don’t expect to see.”

Another stalwart and great supporter of the fair is John Chapman at The Oxford Wine Company. “I’m old enough to remember it in its previous guises,” he says. “Yes, it has suffered for lots of different reasons but in the last couple of years it’s been growing back in the right direction under the stewardship of Hannah [Tovey].

“The fact that I still go every year, along with the owner of the company [Ted Sandbach], is because we feel that it’s a key time to get down to where there is the majority of the trade in one place. There are fairs like Wine Paris and ProWein but there are not many indies who can afford to dash off to Paris or Dusseldorf. Getting down to London is manageable.

“As someone in the trade, I'm very keen to protect the London Wine Fair and do more business there. I don’t like travelling halfway around the world if I can get away with it. I’d rather go and have a chat with some of the producers we deal with at the wine fair in London without having to go to Chile for the privilege.

“The community aspect of the independent trade is very strong. The wine trade is about people, and it is about channels of trade. And I think most people who have even an ounce of positivity for the for the wine fair will say that it’s a valuable networking event and a way to see what's going on in the trade as a whole.”

Duncan McLean on his first LWF visit

Olympia in full swing in 2024

The Cynic’s Guide to Wine

In this exclusive Wine Merchant mini-series Sunny Hodge, author of The Cynic’s Guide to Wine, extrapolates a single topic from each chapter of his book in the run-up to its release.

The book lays out the scientific connections in wine, from soil to fruit to glass, and onwards to our own sensory perception. It references the latest in soil science, viticulture, microbiology and neuroscience to present wine professionals and experts with a go-to book, ensuring what we say about wine is technically and scientifically correct.

Chapter 2: Debunking terroir

Many a question posed in wine can be explained away by clever use of the word “terroir”. Why do the same varieties present so differently in different places? Why does Chablis taste so mineral? It’s most often the T-word that solves some of wine’s greatest mysteries.

Use of the T-word is further complicated by the very definition of it having many meanings. Some describe terroir as a sense of place, and others may add microbes, climate or winemaking practice into the mix. At risk of ranting, let’s just focus on the soil for this piece and do a little debunking of our own.

Take Chablis, for example. It’s known that its Kimmeridgian and Portlandian soils are what make its Chardonnays so unique. I’d like to understand just how. Kimmeridgian and Portlandian soils are both limestone-rich. We learnt last month about the process of cation exchange and how vine roots pump hydrogen ions out into the soil water to swap nutrient cations found in the water and stuck to nearby rocks – and that it’s not the rocks the vines

take up, but the random nutrients which adhere to them. With limestone rocks this process would be no different from other rocks.

Limestones do however sway the acidity of soils. The main component of all types of limestone is calcium carbonate, which carries a pH level of 9.9 (further explained in the book), making limestones alkaline rather than acidic. The more limestone we have, the more our soils tend towards

alkalinity. It’s also proven that the pH levels of soil alter the sorts of nutrients that are made more soluble, hence this would influence the available nutrients present for our vines. Yet this would apply to all limestone soils and not exclusively those of Chablis.

Like most other rocks (not including clay) limestones have great water drainage properties, yet this is not a unique property of Chablis. In general, limestone makes a difference, but not in the way we reference in wine literature. Making direct links to minerality and wine character is a huge leap. When you look at the science, it just doesn’t pan out. In The Cynic’s Guide to Wine, we discover each link along the winemaking chain to see what sorts of inputs have a marked difference on wine style, wine acidity, and minerality. And frustratingly, terroir isn’t as linear as most would like it to be.

For the chance to win a signed copy, my question to you for next month’s edition is: “Why are people worried about the use of copper in farming?” Answers via Instagram to @sunnyhodgewine.

The Cynic’s Guide to Wine is available online at Waterstones, Amazon, Academie du Vin Library and all good book retailers.

Condor Wines

Virtual Malbec Tasting

The South American specialist has invited Amanda Barnes MW, author of The South America Wine Guide, to host a virtual tasting involving three winemakers.

They are Franco Michel of Bodega Estancia Mendoza, Karim Mussi of Karim Mussi Wines and Agustin Alcoleas of Casarena Bodega.

Places are allocated on a first-come, first served basis and sample packs will be sent to attendees.

Email events@condorwines.co.uk before April 18.

Thursday, May 1

Tasting via Zoom

Wine Victoria Virtual Masterclass

Join wine expert and Australian wine enthusiast Joe Wadsack to explore two of Victoria’s flagship wine varietals –Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

During this masterclass you will taste six stand-out wines and learn about how Victoria’s terroir, altitude, climate and winemaking expertise come together to produce wines said to rival old world classics.

Mornington Peninsula, Yarra Valley, Geelong, Gippsland, Macedon Ranges, Beechworth and Strathbogie ranges will be explored.

To request a place at this Zoom tasting email sabrina@cubecom.co.uk.

Friday, May 2

Tasting via Zoom

The Best of South Africa Tasting

Tim Atkin MW’s annual South Africa report highlights the best producers and wines to explore at this tasting.

The event will showcase wines Atkin has selected to appear in his list of First and Second Growths as well as producers he has named as rising stars.

Contact clare@island-media.co.uk.

Monday, May 12

One Great George Street

London SW1P 3AA

Taste Canada UK Trade Tasting

London will be welcoming producers from Ontario, British Columbia and Nova Scotia and hosting two trade masterclasses.

Details from anny@westburycom.co.uk.

Monday, May 12

Canada House

Trafalgar Square

London SW1Y 5BJ

Top Selection

25th Anniversary

Portfolio Tasting

The London-based importer will be showing more than 250 wines to taste at 30 winemakers’ tables.

There will be Calera, Botrytis and Sangiovese masterclasses on the day featuring some “unicorn” wines and library vintages.

Contact matt@topselection.co.uk for registration details.

Monday, May 12

IET London

2 Savoy Place

London WC2R 0BL

Celebrating 50 Years with Meerlust

Celebrate with the Meerlust team as they mark the 50th anniversary of their first estate wines.

The tasting includes a special vertical tasting of Meerlust Estate Cabernet going back to 1975 and Rubicon dating back to 1980.

Tuesday, May 13

The Sussex Cellar Berry Bros & Rudd London SW1Y 5HZ

Neusiedlersee Tasting

Dirceu Vianna Junior MW and some of the Austrian region’s most celebrated wine growers will explore the influence the Neusiedlersee Lake has on the flavours of local wines.

Registration can be requested by emailing gemma@spritzmarketing.co.uk.

Wednesday, May 14

Wild Flor

42 Church Road

Hove BN3 2FN

Thursday, May 15

King Street Townhouse Hotel

10 Booth Street

Manchester M2 4AW

roberson wine

21-27 Seagrave Road London SW6 1RP

020 7381 7870

enrico.marcolungo@robersonwine.com

robersonwinetrade

AWIN BARRATT SIEGEL

WINE

AGENCIES

28 Recreation Ground Road

Stamford Lincolnshire PE9 1EW 01780 755810

orders@abs.wine www.abs.wine

@ABSWines

VISIT THE ABS STAND RETURNING TO We look forward to seeing you on the ABS Stand, E59 at LWF 2025, where we will be showcasing wines from across our portfolio

Deep Down Under is back for a 5th edition, visit the ABS stand to taste wines from Campbells Wines, Corryton Burge, Gundog Estate, Payten & Jones, Philip Shaw, Redman Wines, Sons of Eden and The Hedonist.

Wednesday 30th April • 10am - 6pm Crypt on the Green, Clerkenwell Close, London, EC1R 0EA

hatch mansfield

New Bank House

1 Brockenhurst Road

Ascot

Berkshire SL5 9DL

01344 871800

info@hatch.co.uk

www.hatchmansfield.com

@hatchmansfield

Liberty Wines Piemonte Tasting in London – 10th June 2025

020 7720 5350

order@libertywines.co.uk www.libertywines.co.uk

@liberty_wines

Join us on Tuesday 10th June to meet the producers and taste a wide selection of wines from our Piemonte portfolio, featuring Proprietà Sperino, La Prevostura, Luigi Baudana, G.D. Vajra, Monterustico, Corino Giovanni di Corino Giuliano, Poderi Aldo Conterno, Massolino, Domenico Clerico, Bruno Rocca, Mura Mura, Giovanni Almondo, Vigne Marina Coppi, Contero and La Giustiniana.

Please get in touch with our Events team at events@libertywines.co.uk for more details and to register your attendance. We hope to see you there! liberty wines

mentzendorff

The Woolyard 52 Bermondsey Street London SE1 3UD

020 7840 3600

info@mentzendorff.co.uk www.mentzendorff.co.uk

MENTZENDORFF AT THE LONDON WINE FAIR

We invite you to join us at Stand E38 for an exciting opportunity to meet our talented producers in person. Take this chance to learn more about their craft, passion, and the story behind our products. While you're there, you'll have the chance to sample a thoughtfully curated selection from our range, showcasing the very best of what we offer. Don't miss out on this unique experience!

OLYMPIA, LONDON, 19- 21 MAY

richmond wine agencies

The Links, Popham Close Hanworth TW13 6JE 020 8744 5550

Mark Isham, south & London: mark@richmondwineagencies.com

Julia Langshaw, north of the UK: julia@richmondwineagencies.com

Tim Hawtin, south west & London: tim@richmondwineagencies.com

buckingham schenk

Unit 5, The E Centre

Easthampstead Road

Bracknell RG12 1NF

01753 521336

info@buckingham-schenk.co.uk www.buckingham-schenk.co.uk

@BuckSchenk

@buckinghamschenk

walker & Wodehouse

109a Regents Park Road

London NW1 8UR

0207 449 1665

orders@walkerwodehousewines.com www.walkerwodehousewines.com

@WalkerWodehouse

Las Falleras is a range of wines produced in the Spanish region of Valencia. With Las Falleras, we bring to you a range of wines that embodies the spirit, passion, and celebration of Spain, specifically the vibrant region of Valencia.

Las Falleras, takes inspiration from one of Spain’s iconic most festivals, Las Fallas of Valencia. A feast for the senses, colourful, bold, and bursting with joy, Las Falleras celebrates the women who play a central role in the Fallas festival.

Welcome to Château Roubine

We are delighted to welcome Château Roubine to the Walker & Wodehouse portfolio. Three of Château Roubine’s wines – Château Roubine Hippy Rosé, IGP Méditerranée, Château Roubine La Rose, Côtes de Provence and Château Roubine Lion and Dragon, Côtes de Provence Cru Classé –will be available to independent merchants via Walker & Wodehouse.

One of the oldest wineries in France, dating back to the 14th century, Château Roubine is 100% organic certified with biodynamic principles also being used. Granted Cru Classé status in 1955, it has 72 hectares of vines across a 130ha estate and is perfectly positioned between Verdon and the Mediterranean. Crafting delicious rosés that reflect the terroir, it is one of only a few producers in the region using the little-known grape variety Tibouren in their top blends.

Family-owned and run, Valerie Rouselle has been at the helm for over 30 years. She was previously the President of the Women in Wine Association in France and was recognised by the French government for her work promoting women in business.

For more information, please contact your account manager.

NEW

Fells

Fells House, Station Road

Kings Langley WD4 8LH

01442 870 900

For more details about these wines and other wines from our awardwinning portfolio from some of the world’s leading wine producing families contact:

info@fells.co.uk www.fells.co.uk

@FellsWine

je_fells

LOUIS LATOUR AGENCIES

12-14 Denman Street

London W1D 7HJ

0207 409 7276

enquiries@louislatour.co.uk www.louislatour.co.uk

@louislatouruk

‘5 centuries of expertise in the heart of Southern Burgundy’

The Burrier family’s association with southern Burgundy, which extends over a period of 5 centuries and 7 generations, has established them as one of the region’s most distinguished producers. As experts in Southern Burgundy, they offer a wealth of delicious wines ranging from Beaujolais-Villages to Organic Pouilly-Fuissé. For further details info@fells.co.uk

Vidal-Fleury

Vidal-Fleury is one of the oldest wineries in the Rhône Valley, France, with a rich history dating back to 1781. Located in the northern Rhône, it specialises in the production of high-quality wines, particularly from the prestigious Côte-Rôtie, Condrieu, and Saint-Joseph appellations.

Vidal-Fleury is renowned for its exceptional red and white wines, crafted with a focus on elegance, balance, and expression of the terroir. The winery combines traditional winemaking techniques with modern practices, producing wines that reflect the unique characteristics of the Rhône Valley’s diverse landscape and microclimates. It remains a symbol of excellence in the region.

For more information, please contact sales@louislatour.co.uk or scan the QR code.

delibo wine agencies

The Old Pigsty, Rose Cottage Church Hanborough OX29 8AA 01993 886644

orders@delibo.co.uk www.delibo.co.uk

vintner systems

The computer system for drinks trade wholesalers and importers 16 Station Road Chesham HP5 1DH

sales@vintner.co.uk www.vintner.co.uk

Vial, pioneers of Provence

The Vial family has produced wine in their bastide outside Brignoles, in the heart of the AOP Côteaux Varois en Provence, since 1876. They are pioneers, with their 77 hectares of vineyards certified organic since 1998.

The 2024s have just arrived: the Château La Lieue with the contemporary ‘La Lieue’ label and the Cuvée Tradition

Celebrate the freshness and elegance of these wines, made with five generations of savoir-faire!

For more information about Château La Lieue, please contact your account manager or orders@delibo.co.uk.

hallgarten wines

Mulberry House Parkland Square

750 Capability Green

Luton LU1 3LU 01582 722 538

sales@hnwines.co.uk www.hnwines.co.uk

@hnwines

top selection

23 Cellini Street London SW8 2LF

www.topselection.co.uk info@topselection.co.uk

Contact: Alastair Moss Telephone: 020 3958 0744

@topselectionwines

@topselection

“My father and I have a lot of laughs at each other’s expense”

Matthew Hennings

Hennings Wine Merchants, Sussex

Matt joined the family business, which was founded in 1960 by his grandfather Charles Hennings, in 1994 and is now its MD. Today the business is principally a wholesaler but retains two busy shops, in Petworth and Pulborough.

What’s the first wine you remember drinking?

In the mid 1980s I went on a trip to Moët with my parents. As a 16-year-old it was incredible. After the cellar tour and tasting we sat down for what was a three-hour lunch on a massive long table with just four of us eating, being served by waiters in tails and white gloves, and making our way through the whole Moët portfolio over lunch, finishing with Marc de Champagne. I had never experienced anything like it.

What job would you be doing if you weren’t in the wine trade?

I would probably still be in hospitality. I worked in a Michelin-star restaurant whilst studying hotel management and catering. Not in the UK though. I’d hope to have my own beachside bistro, ideally in Corsica.

How do you relax?

I used to enjoy running but managed to rupture my Achilles playing cricket a few years ago so now I am quite fanatical with my peloton and all the different strength and conditioning classes that come with it. I still play and coach under-15s cricket, which I really enjoy, and as soon as the sun comes out, I love spending time with my son down at our nets with a sidearm. For clarity, this is a bowling delivery aid, not a revolver. I’m not that pushy.

What’s the best book you’ve recently read?

Not recently but Penguins Stopped Play

by Harry Thompson. A great book by one of the original writers of Have I Got News For You. Incredibly funny and heartwrenchingly sad.

Give us a Netflix recommendation.

I’ll give you two – Mr Inbetween on Disney and The Offer on Sky, I think. Mr Inbetween must be one of the best under-the-radar series on TV. Dark humour, which I am rather partial to.

Do you have any sporting loyalties?

The same as you, Ed, the best-run football club in the land: season ticket holder at Brighton & Hove Albion FC. UTA! And of course, the national teams.

Who’s your favourite music artist?

That’s a bit like asking for your favourite wine. Very mood and circumstancedependent. I used to spend hours trawling charity shops for rare LPs as a teenager so it’s a fairly eclectic choice of anything from

the Faces to Toots and lots in between. I’m currently enjoying the Teskey Brothers who I saw recently. Fantastic live!

What’s your most treasured possession?

My family, then my cricket bat. My wife thinks it’s a car, but it is the above. When my cricket bat breaks it will probably be time to give up cricket altogether.

What’s your proudest moment?

Personally, watching our son grow into the best version of himself. We are both so proud of him and regularly say that he is much nicer than either of us! Professionally, I am so proud of what the Hennings team have achieved and continue to. We celebrate our 65th anniversary this year, which is no mean feat in our sector. My father and grandfather would both agree that we have all been very lucky to be surrounded by such great people over the years.

What’s your biggest regret?

I don’t really have many but not taking enough time when our son was born. I was in the middle of opening a new shop and took what equated to a day or two off. If I had that time again, I would have taken more time away from the business. I should have given more to others to do.

Who’s your hero?

My father, a great mentor. Importantly in a family business, he gave me enough space and responsibility at an early stage to pave my own way and make my own mistakes, and learn from them. We have a great relationship and a lot of laughs at each other’s expense. If I can continue to have a similar personal relationship with my son, then I’ll be a lucky fella.

Any hidden talents?

I’m pretty decent at table tennis, even after a few drinks, it turns out.

What’s your favourite place in the UK?

Walking five minutes out of our garden and getting on the South Downs early in the morning with our dog – often you won’t see a soul. There are so many people everywhere now, so you must cherish that peace, wherever you are.

If we could grant you one wish, what would it be?

Definitely the most obvious and important answer is world peace and health.