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London / UK wine merchant


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Could someone recommend a terrific wine merchant (with an on-line list) from whom I could order a mixed case of wine to be sent to some friends in London? I'm looking for carefully chosen, interesting wines, probably most of them not French; I think these people are more interested in Italian wines. Price not a big issue, though I'm not looking for fancy wines by any means. (I live in New York, which is why I can't answer my own question.) Thanks, all.

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Berry Bros and Justerini and Brooks have excellent selections and service, and the former has a great website, though not the best prices. a lot of the best sources don't do mixed cases, but some that do are Stone, Vine and Sun, Uncorked and Lea and Sandeman. Falcon Vintners have a great selection of Piedmontese wines.

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I'd also support Berry Bros, one of the UK's oldest wine merchants, but a really serious one, and one of the first wine nerchants to have a decent web site.

http://www.bbr.com/

Thay are the agents for Zind Humbrecht among many others.

Their "Good Ordinary Claret" is very good indeed, as are all their own label wines. Service and knowledge excellent.

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I would recommend http://www.finewinegifts.co.uk/ as a top supplier that I have used many times. This vintners offers a wide array of wines, can get anything that they don;t have that you may like for you, and are better priced than many. They also have a sister site - www.harrisonvintners.co.uk which you can order from too!

Best of luck!

If a man makes a statement and a woman is not around to witness it, is he still wrong?

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I'm looking for carefully chosen, interesting wines, probably most of them not French; I think these people are more interested in Italian wines. Price not a big issue, though I'm not looking for fancy wines by any means.  (I live in New York, which is why I can't answer my own question.)

IMHO the best wine merchants in London for Italian wine are Liberty and Enotria, but unfortunately neither of them has retail premises.

You might try The Winery (www.thewineryuk.com/00 44 20 7286 6475), which has a really interesting selection and where the staff would certainly rise magnificently to the challenge. I checked this afternoon and their Italian selection is small, but they do have some Californian wines made from Italian varietals (e.g. Rabbit Ridge Barbera, and of course Zinfandel more or less equals Primitivo), which could be a fun variation, especially if it's a gift from the US. They're about to get in some Wild Hog, a Californian "garage wine", too. Germany is their main strength.

Prices reflect the quality and limited supply of most of the wines, but I would have thought that if you wanted to spend an average of, say, £15 a bottle, they would deliver the goods.

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Liberty Wines are the best suppliers of Italian Wine in London - period. While they don't supply retail they do have strong affilliations with retailers. Give them a call and they will point you in the right direction - 00 44 207 7205350 or email them at enquiries@libertywine.co.uk.

They have been voted Italian Wine Merchant of The Year for the past 8 years (Allegrinni Amarone, Franz Haas Pinot Bianco & Lagrien & Moscato Rosa, Fontodi, Bruno Rocca Barbera, Mollino Barolo, Cessoni, Pieropan Soave, Felluga Pinot Grigio, Ca dei Fratti Rose), and they have a stong portfolio of Australian maverik producers like Cullen, Duval, Mount Horracks, Charlie Melton, French - Boisset, Richaud, La Lagune and American - Seghesio, Leyth, Frog's Leap as well as Austrain, Canadian Ice Wine (Yum but $$$$$$).

Fields Morris & Verdin which are the wholesale arm of Berry Brothers are also excellent - Marcel Rion Bons Batons, Wild Boy Chardonnay Au bon Climat, Juracon, Oliver Merlin Macon, Cigulti Dolchetto, Lis Neris Pinot Girgio, Quinta de la Rosa,)

bakerestates

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I would recommend http://www.finewinegifts.co.uk/ as a top supplier that I have used many times.  This vintners offers a wide array of wines, can get anything that they don;t have that you may like for you, and are better priced than many.  They also have a sister site - www.harrisonvintners.co.uk which you can order from too!

Best of luck!

erm, are you sure about that?

they seemed to be selling over-priced rubbish, under the guise of birth year vintages last I checked?

A meal without wine is... well, erm, what is that like?

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Absolutely positive Scott - they supply a number of the UK and London's top restaurants and hotels, and have a huge array of wines - and in addition can get pretty much anything that you could ask for. They do also do the year of your birth wines (great for those born in good vintages, but not alas for me!) as a novel gift for those that want it, but through the harrisonvintners.co.uk they cater to a more refined palette.

If a man makes a statement and a woman is not around to witness it, is he still wrong?

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Absolutely positive Scott - they supply a number of the UK and London's top restaurants and hotels, and have a huge array of wines - and in addition can get pretty much anything that you could ask for. They do also do the year of your birth wines (great for those born in good vintages, but not alas for me!) as a novel gift for those that want it, but through the harrisonvintners.co.uk they cater to a more refined palette.

If a man makes a statement and a woman is not around to witness it, is he still wrong?

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I would recommend http://www.finewinegifts.co.uk/ as a top supplier that I have used many times.  This vintners offers a wide array of wines, can get anything that they don;t have that you may like for you, and are better priced than many.  They also have a sister site - www.harrisonvintners.co.uk which you can order from too!

Best of luck!

erm, are you sure about that?

they seemed to be selling over-priced rubbish, under the guise of birth year vintages last I checked?

Then you should look again Scott. they supply some of the best restaurants and hotels in London and around the UK, have a huge catalogue, and can get almost anything that they don't have in their catalogue for you at very reasonable prices. Indeed they do do wine gifts like the "year of your birth" bottles, but if you go to the harrisonvintners.co.uk site you will see they are far more than a novelty vintner

If a man makes a statement and a woman is not around to witness it, is he still wrong?

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I would recommend http://www.finewinegifts.co.uk/ as a top supplier that I have used many times.  This vintners offers a wide array of wines, can get anything that they don;t have that you may like for you, and are better priced than many.  They also have a sister site - www.harrisonvintners.co.uk which you can order from too!

Best of luck!

erm, are you sure about that?

they seemed to be selling over-priced rubbish, under the guise of birth year vintages last I checked?

Then you should look again Scott. they supply some of the best restaurants and hotels in London and around the UK, have a huge catalogue, and can get almost anything that they don't have in their catalogue for you at very reasonable prices. Indeed they do do wine gifts like the "year of your birth" bottles, but if you go to the harrisonvintners.co.uk site you will see they are far more than a novelty vintner

ok 3rd time lucky. :laugh:

just having a look harrison vintners looks like a bog standard ontrade wholesaler, and the gift site doesn't have too much I would call "fine". As an example the burgundy section seems to have some ordinary negociant offerings for, erm, 'confident' prices. I am sure they're probably nice people, running a smart operation, but it does appear that they are more heavily laden with obscure brands (rebranded even?), for volume trade customers, than anything to do with the higher end quality side of the market.

May I ask if you have any relationship with this business?

A meal without wine is... well, erm, what is that like?

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I would recommend http://www.finewinegifts.co.uk/ as a top supplier that I have used many times.  This vintners offers a wide array of wines, can get anything that they don;t have that you may like for you, and are better priced than many.  They also have a sister site - www.harrisonvintners.co.uk which you can order from too!

Best of luck!

erm, are you sure about that?

they seemed to be selling over-priced rubbish, under the guise of birth year vintages last I checked?

Then you should look again Scott. they supply some of the best restaurants and hotels in London and around the UK, have a huge catalogue, and can get almost anything that they don't have in their catalogue for you at very reasonable prices. Indeed they do do wine gifts like the "year of your birth" bottles, but if you go to the harrisonvintners.co.uk site you will see they are far more than a novelty vintner

ok 3rd time lucky. :laugh:

just having a look harrison vintners looks like a bog standard ontrade wholesaler, and the gift site doesn't have too much I would call "fine". As an example the burgundy section seems to have some ordinary negociant offerings for, erm, 'confident' prices. I am sure they're probably nice people, running a smart operation, but it does appear that they are more heavily laden with obscure brands (rebranded even?), for volume trade customers, than anything to do with the higher end quality side of the market.

May I ask if you have any relationship with this business?

No, no relationship other than being a client. I guess my experience may be different to yours as I like to try some unusual wines, as well as fine wines, and tend to contact them directly rather than via the website as they they only have a fraction of the wines available listed. On prices, I generally find that they are far more competitive than many other vintners. As I said, I predominantly use this vintner, and sporadically Tanners, Uncorked, Fine and rare wines, Wine & co (who often have some really good bargains - 12 bottles Lafite Rothschild 2004 bought last month for £1,020 vs Berry Bros £1,850) and Oxford Wine Merchants.

If a man makes a statement and a woman is not around to witness it, is he still wrong?

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Liberty Wines are the best suppliers of Italian Wine in London - period. While they don't supply retail they do have strong affilliations with retailers. Give them a call and they will point you in the right direction - 00 44 207 7205350 or email them at enquiries@libertywine.co.uk.

Liberty Wine will sell retail as I have bought from them before - but their website is not very retail oriented. Best to email them for a copy of their list and then choose what you want.

Gav

"A man tired of London..should move to Essex!"

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Again, thanks, all, for your information and for the interesting exchange of views. I settled on Handford wines; their list contained exactly the sorts of things I was looking for (Italian and one California Italianate).

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Again, thanks, all, for your information and for the interesting exchange of views. I settled on Handford wines; their list contained exactly the sorts of things I was looking for (Italian and one California Italianate).

I know Handford very well, they will look after you properly.

A meal without wine is... well, erm, what is that like?

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Liberty Wine will sell retail as I have bought from them before - but their website is not very retail oriented. Best to email them for a copy of their list and then choose what you want.

Gav

"A man tired of London..should move to Essex!"

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Liberty Wine will sell retail as I have bought from them before - but their website is not very retail oriented. Best to email them for a copy of their list and then choose what you want.

Problem is that generally their minimum order is 6 or 12 bottles of any given wine (depending on case size), so not much use if you want a mixed case of 12.

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