The theory behind this venture is perhaps best explained by a quote from a friend who once said "I don't usually like wine, but whenever I come to dinner at Andrew & Clare's house, I drink every drop!"

So we felt that we should use the expertise Andrew has built-up over nearly 25 years in the wine trade and our 'insider' position within the business to bring the wines we loved to a broader audience.

This idea seems to have caught-on, because our friends introduced their friends and so on until from a handful of customers the 'word of mouth' recommendations have generated us literally hundreds of people who enjoy our recommendations.

We select the wines that we put onto our list on the basis of "Rapport Qualité/Prix" (the relationship between quality and price) and taste (and usually drink) every wine before we include it on one of our offers.

We believe good wine should work well with good food and that you must enjoy the last glass from a bottle at least as much as the first, because there are a lot of wines available that flatter you with the first glass then fade away! Equally there are wines that are blended to win tasting competitions these are fine, often remarkable for the first glass but so big and 'blousey' that it becomes a struggle to drink much more than one glass!

We aim to visit every one of our producers and they must be 'proud' of the wines that they produce and we must be happy with the methods they employ to produce them. In many cases, we know and have become friends with the producers we work with.

Our tastes mostly favour France, yet increasingly Italy is featuring in our offers and a scattering of New World wines make the grade from time to time.

As you will see 'fine wine' does not necessarily mean 'expensive wine' with our selections starting from as little as £5 per bottle.

Most of all we want you to enjoy every drop of every wine we recommend to you, so if you are anything less than delighted with any wine we supply simply let us know and we'll replace it.

'The Team' Our Background

Andrew Wilson
I started the business back in 1998 after spending the previous 6 years as Commercial Manager of the Grand Cru Classé Bordeaux chateau of Chateau Lascombes in Margaux (yeah! Well someone had to do it) During this time I gained a great deal of knowledge not only of the market for fine wine but also the running of a vineyard. I think it also changed my palate for good and I often describe myself as 'having a Margaux palate'. Which is to say that I tend to judge every red wine against those of Margaux. (Not a bad benchmark!)

During the 1980's I was first a retail manager for the then famous Wine Merchants 'Augustus Barnett' and latterly was Product Group Manager for Table, Sparkling and Fortified wines for the by then 600 strong chain of stores. I think this taught me a lot about what the public are looking for in their wines and also gave me the introductions to suppliers, some of who I am still in contact with.

Clare Wilson
Until 1996 when we married, Clare had worked for many years in the educational toys industry, supplying schools and workplace day nursery's with equipment. She has since been developing her palate for wines through the many tastings and visits overseas. Though she would admit that her knowledge of 'wine' as a subject is limited she has a very good palate, especially for Burgundy, and tends to ask the same questions of producers that a consumer would do. This can be very useful indeed!