wine shops and wine merchants
Majestic Wine
The largest mixed case wine and Champagne merchant in the UK with a strong focus on quality wines, expert knowledgeable staff and a high level of customer service. Operates online and through a network of wine shops
- Wine Chain of The Year - Decanter World Wine Awards 2009 and Best Large Wine Merchant - Decanter Readers' Awards 2008, 2009 and 2010
- Best national wine merchant - Readers' award - Decanter Worldwide Wine Awards 2011 - DWWA 2011
- Multiple Wine Retailer of the Year - Drinks Retailing Awards 2012
- Majestic Wine Warehouses (Wine Walks) has been shortlisted for the The Customer Service Initiative of the Year at the RetailWeek Awards 2012
- Engaging the Consumer Award - Harpers Awards 2012 organised by the Harpers Wine & Spirit Trades Review in conjunction with the London International Wine Fair 2012
- More awards can be found on Majestic Wines Customer Service Plus page >>
- Majestic wine has won the The Serco Customer Service Initiative of the Year Award for Individual Store Social Media at the Oracle RetailWeek Awards 2013.
Waitrose Wine
Online wine shop of Waitrose, offering 1200 wines, champagne, whisky and gifts. Free UK Standard delivery within 5 working days.
- Drinks Buying Team of the Year, Multiple Beer Retailer of the Year and Champagne Retailer of the Year - Drinks Retailing Awards 2012
- European Wine Buyer of the Year - The International Wine and Spirit Competition (IWSC) 2009 and Champagne & Sparkling Specialist of the Year - International Wine Challenge 2010
- Specialist Merchant of the Year for England - International Wine Challenge Awards 2009
- Waitrose - Grand Prix Winner - The Marketing Society Awards for Excellence 2010
- European Wine and Spirit Retailer of the Year 2011 - International Wine and Spirit Competition (IWSC)
- Multiple Wine Retailer of the Year at the Drinks Retailing Awards 2010
- Waitrose have been included in The Which? Awards short list for Best Customer Care 2013.
Jascots Wine Merchants
Leading London Wine Merchants offering a wide selection of award-winning wines, Fine Wines and Wine Gifts as well as a range of services such as En Primeur buying, corporate wine events and wine tastings
- Customer Care Award Winners 2010 - Park Royal Business Awards
- Short listed for The Drinks Business Green Awards 2012 (Environmental award)
- Visit the Jascots customer service page >>
- Jascots Wine Merchants is short listed for the On-trade supplier of the year in The Drinks Business Awards 2013
Laithwaites wines
Wine Merchant dedicated to the best possible customer service. Laithwaites delivers wines and Champagne that come direct from the vineyard of top-quality, small production winemakers in every corner of the world.
- Independent Wine Merchant of the Year 2007 - Decanter world wine awards
- Laithwaites has won ten major service awards in the last few years, including Best Food & Drink Company at the ECMOD
- Ranked #4 in the Top 10 UK call centres for customer service 2010
- Direct Merchant of the Year - International Wine Challenge 2011 Merchant Awards
- Winner of a Business to Consumer ECMOD Direct Commerce Award 2011
- Special Commendation - Independent Retailer of the Year (in association with Provence Wines) - Drinks Business Awards 2011
- Laithwaites were named Specialist Merchants of the Year - Eastern Europe - IWC Merchant Awards 2010
- Laithwaites wines was named Best Online Wine Shop in the Independent feature about the 10 best online wine shops - June 2012
- Ranked #3 in a report for Vinexpo 2011 in Bordeaux for its web services
- Laithwaites was ranked first on the Independent list of The 10 Best online wine shops - June 2012
- Laithwaites Wine is included in the short list for Independent Retailer of the Year and Drinks Company of the Year at the 2013 Drinks Business Awards.
Naked Wines
Naked Wines is a group of 20,000 normal wine drinkers who sponsor 25 winemakers to make delicious wines. Customers get wine at an affordable price whilst wine producers can focus on making the wine
- Innovator of the Year - The International Wine Challenge 2010 and 2011 - Merchants awards
- Winner - Innovation of the Year award and Online / Direct Mail Retailer of the Year award - Drinks Retailing Awards 2011
- shortlisted for Wine Club of the Year -IWC Merchant Awards 2011
- More Naked wines awards can be seen on their customer service plus page >>
Adnams Cellar & Kitchen
Well known for its beer, Adnams also offers a range of nearly 500 wines, many of which are exclusive. Operates a wine shop online and through a network of shops in Norfolk, Suffolk, Lincolnshire, Essex and Surrey.
- Winner - Independent Wine Merchant of the Year (over 12 staff) - Decanter World Wine Awards 2008.
- Finalist Innovation of the Year and Best Customer Magazine / Website of the Year - Off-Licence News Drinks Retailing Awards 2008.
- Winner of the Environment & Sustainability category at EDP Business Awards 2010 organised by the Eastern Daily Press.
- Award for Corporate Social Responsibility - The Publican Awards 2011 Winners.
- Listed in The Independent 10 Best online wine shops - June 2012.
Barrels & Bottles
Wine merchants offering through their online wine shop: wines, champagne, personalised labels, accessories and wine gifts such as fine wine, cigars, chocolates and decanters
- Drink Retail Awards - Innovation Winner 2008 & 2009
- Finalists - Environment category for their Bottle Scrappage scheme - Derbyshire Times Business Awards 2009
Riedel
Suppliers of the world's finest wine glasses, decanters and other wine specific stemware and accessories to consumers and the trade throughout the British Isles.
- Riedel's Vitis Collection wins Gold from The White Star 2009 Awards as voted by more than 15,000 readers of the German magazines Sch�ner Wohen, Essen & Trinken and Living at Home.
- Riedel Crystal’s Swan Decanter named as the 2009 Red Dot Design Award Winner - Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen in Essen
Berry Bros. & Rudd
Berry Bros. & Rudd is Britain's oldest wine and spirit merchant, with its first shop opened over 300 years ago. In 1994 it launched one of the first online wine shopping websites, bbr.com, which is now regarded as one of Britain's best
- Winner - Online/Direct Mail Retailer of the Year Award - Off Licence News Awards 2010
- Wine Merchant of the Year - Direct Wine Merchant of the Year - En Primeur Merchant of the Year and Rhone Specialist Wine Merchant of the Year - International Wine Challenge 2009
- Online Merchant of the Year (2009), Best Online Retailer (2008), Innovation of the Year (2010) - Decanter World wine Awards
- Bordeaux - Specialist Merchant of the Year Winners - International Wine Merchant Awards 2011
- Shortlist - National Wine Merchant of the Year - Retailer Awards - Decanter Worldwide Awards 2011
- Named Wine Educator of the Year IWC 2012
Bordeaux Index
International and domestic fine wine merchants and trader specialising in selling, purchasing and investing in fine wine and champagne
- Bordeaux Specialist Merchant of the Year 2008 and 2010 - International Wine Challenge Awards
- Merchant of the Year Award "Innovator of the Year" - 2009 International Wine Challenge
- Highly commended for: Regional Merchant of the Year, Wine Educator of the Year, En Primeur specialist and Bordeaux specialist - 2009 International Wine Challenge
- Finalist for the 'International Business of the Year' award in the Fast Growth Business Awards 2010
- Shortlisted for 'Wholesaler of the Year' - Drinks Retailing Awards 2010
- Shortlisted for 'Bordeaux Specialist of the Year' - Decanter Retailer of the Year Awards 2010
- Specialist Merchant of the Year Bordeaux 2012 - International Wine Challenge
Corks Out
Wine merchants Corks Out was established in 2003 by Ruth Yates offering superb wines and spirits, great service and a selection of award-winning wines. One area of expertise is menu matching. This was featured on C4 programme: Come Dine with me
- Neighbourhood Off-Licence of the year - Drinks Retailing Awards 2010
- Best Retail Business of the Year Award 2009 - Visit Chester & Cheshire awards and Retailer of the Year - Warrington Business Awards - July 2009
- Independent Wine Retailer of the Year - Drinks Retailing Awards 2011
- National Off Licence - Retail Industry Awards 2009
- Large Independent Merchant of the Year - 2011 IWC Merchant Awards
- Top Merchants Award for Best Retailer in the UK with three or more shops - 2001 - also runner up for Excellent Customer Care, Innovation and Employer of the year
- Independent Spirit Retailer 2012, Drinks Retailing Awards
- Named National Independent Retailer of the Year at the Drinks Business Awards ceremony at the London Wine Fair - May 2010
- Winner - Excellence in Customer Service Award - Chester Retail Awards 2012
Customer service for wine merchants
What are the key attributes of good customer service for a wine merchant. Here are a few of our suggestions but please do not hesitate to contact us to suggest others
- Full and high quality wine tasting notes allowing customers to get a good feel for a wine and discover new cepages and new wine growing regions
- Wine tasting evenings which are great opportunities to socialise while tasting new wines
- Good quality cellars for long term wine keeping and efficient customer service for delivery from the cellar
- Wine broking facilities for medium and high quality vintages
- Wine saving plans offered by the merchant to allow customers to build a cellar over time
Wine merchants and customer service
We have brought together a list of additional sources of information which may be useful in determining how good the level of service provided by a wine merchant may be.
- This is a list of the Top 10 UK Wine Blogs as at November 2012. Bloggers are very knowledgeable about a particular industry and can prove to be a very valuable source of information about the UK Wine sector. >>
- Once you have decided which wine shop to use, you can use their wine recommendation service or consult wine industry publications to help you chose the right wine. Our suggestion would be to take a look at The Wine Spectator Top 100 Wines of 2012 >
- Should budget not be an issue, one could take a look at this list of The World's Top 50 Most Expensive Wines which was updated in April 2013 >>