The Buyer | Fine Wines Direct UK’s big Welsh welcome at its buzzing tasting

“It’s such a great tasting in there. It’s like everyone knows each other.” That’s how I was greeted by one of Fine Wines Direct UK smiling customers on my way into what turned out to be a packed, busy, and buzzing function room in the heart of Cardiff’s Principality Stadium - the home of Welsh rugby. In the President’s Lounge no less.

In fact you would not have been surprised to find out there was a major rugby international going on such was the level of noise and excitement that hit you as you walked through the door. An atmosphere that only intensified as the afternoon went on.

For those used to the rather more sedate tastings of the London wine scene this was a true breath of fresh air.

It was also a mark of how embedded Fine Wines Direct UK is in the Welsh hospitality sector with restaurants and bar teams from all over the country who had made the trip to Cardiff to take part.

There they were joined by close to 50 of Fine Wine Direct UK’s wine, beer and spirits producer partners from around the world - and the UK. With the likes of Les Vignobles Foncalieu, Les Grands Chais de France, Marqués de Cáceres, Bodegas Manzanos, DGB Wines and Vranken Pommery Monople and many others all present.

As this was very much a Welsh affair there was also a strong number of local BWS producers present including Cygnet Gin, Penderyn Welsh whisky, Llanerch Vineyard, White Castle Vineyard, Ty Nant Water, Felinfoel Brewery, Drop Bear Beer Company and Hensol Castle Distillery.

The biggest local draws, though, were without doubt members of Welsh rugby royalty. With the recently retired Alun Wyn Jones and Richard Hibbard happily manning their own stands for their respective rum brands, Mimosa from Patagonia (Wyn Jones) and Mortal Bunny (Hibbard) just yards from the pitch where their previous day jobs were. More of them in the favourites section below.

But the fact they just blended in with everyone else, very much summed up the community spirit of the day.

Bouncing back

This was also the first major portfolio tasting that Fine Wines Direct UK has been able to do since Covid. An important opportunity for its management, buying and sales teams to bring the “Fine Wines Direct UK family” back together again.

Greg Williams, director, said it was heart warming to see so many of its customers, most of whom have become long standing friends for many years, back in the same room together.

But he was also hugely thankful, and respectful, for the great efforts so many of its producers had made to be there as he sits down with The Buyer to reflect on the event.

This was your first portfolio tasting since Covid - what were your thoughts before the event in terms of what you wanted to achieve?

It was wonderful getting everyone together for the first-time post-pandemic, and for our suppliers and customers to engage again in a relaxed environment that showcases what we do. The appetite and vigour shown by suppliers and customers alike, was great to see and energises the business. And hosting it at such an iconic venue like The Principality Stadium certainly had the ‘wow’ factor.

How do you look back on the tasting now - in terms of the numbers and the response?

It was a fantastic turnout with around 300 on-trade account guests and a great response from our loyal customer base, alongside potentially new clients which added a freshness to the event. And we just love making new friends over a glass of wine.

How many producers and importers did you have at the show who came over and how does that compare to previous times?

It was extremely well supported by nearly 50 producers attending the event - a record number - including a couple of Welsh rugby legends Alun Wyn Jones and Richard Hibbard. It just goes to show the amazing appetite shown by our suppliers to present their wines at a regional show outside of the London bubble and without their support, the event would not have been such a success.

What were you particularly keen to show and happy with the response to?

We were very keen to expose our customer base to our comprehensive range of exclusive agencies with some new suppliers tasting for the first time, such as Stone Castle from Kosovo. Having Sam Clarke, from Thorn-Clark Wines in the Barossa Valley, coming up for his first visit to Cardiff was also a great boost for the event.

We also had three masterclasses at the tasting, featuring Escorihuela-Gascon from Argentina, Marqués de Cáceres from Spain, and Thorn-Clarke from Australia, which were enthusiastically attended.

How is the overall business going in terms of strengths and where you are making the biggest strides?

We are continuing to grow our business with premium on-trade accounts in a tough marketplace. We work hard to establish long-term relationships which is bearing fruit, as we grow year-on-year. As word gets around, we are growing our customer base at quality independent restaurants and hotels, which we support using them for hospitality events creating a symbiotic relationship, which benefits us all.

What is the most challenging and what are you doing to overcome it?

Increasing operating costs, as is prevalent in all areas of the business, and aggressive challenges from national competitors.

We are offsetting this by offering a tailor-made service with flexibility in delivery and sales and support hosting wine events and staff training development.

We also have the largest bonded warehouse in Wales, so have instant access to all our stock on site and utilising our own delivery team of experienced delivery drivers providing a first class service.

We hear a lot about the difficulties on-trade venues and businesses are having - what have you heard from your customers are the biggest issues?

It is a difficult marketplace for local businesses with their customers struggling to find the means to regularly support their local establishments. However, the quality businesses always seem to find a way, despite rising food and duty costs. Staff issues are also a huge concern post-Brexit, with experienced hospitality professionals either leaving the country or leaving the business.

What are you able to do to support and help them?

By having a wide and exclusive range of on-trade wines, we are able to offer competitive pricing, regular and flexible delivery and staff training, including WSET courses with our in-house wine school. We also specialise in hosting tailor-made wine evenings at venues which have proved very popular and successful.

Any other thoughts?

At Fine Wines Direct UK we continue to strive to create a ‘best in class’ wine portfolio representing our fantastic wine partners working in tandem to support our customer base with regular dinners, tastings and events.

As our core customer base ages, we are keen to develop a strategy to encourage the younger generation to take an interest in wine through knowledge passed on via wine tastings and staff training. And with that in mind, we are working with partners in sustainable practices with a view to continue to develop our green credentials, one of the key areas especially of interest to the younger generation.

Working with preservation pouring systems to enable our customers to offer premium wines by the glass thus democratising the approach to ‘posh’ wines.

Richard Siddle’s Highlights

Here are some of the wines and sprits that caught my eye during the tasting.

Situated in the heart of Provence Vignobles Austruy specialises in identifying neglected old wineries and turning them around as modern organically run operations which it has now done not just in the south of France, but also in Bordeaux, the Douro Valley and Tuscany. It now means it has an impressive range of premium, modern fresh, fruity, rounded styles of wines ideal for the on-trade. With brands including: Château Peyrassol in Provence of which its manager Alban Caceret described its gastronomic-style rosés as “not just a colour, it’s a wine”’; Château Malescasse in the Haut-Médoc in Bordeaux; Quinta da Côrte in the Douro where it make white, red wines and tawny and vintage ports; and Tenuta Casenuove in Chianti, Tuscany and a range of red and rosé wines.

Finca La Capilla from Ribera del Duero DO is a good example of the single vineyard premium wines that are now a key part of the Marqués de Cáceres stable of Spanish wines. Producersthat are able to pick out the best plots to make good quality, but affordable restaurant wines. Wines that show good quality at Crianza level but also for its La Capilla Vendimia Seleccionada winemaker selection wines.

It was a good day for Spirits of Virtue to be at the tasting as it was named as Non-alcohol Product of the Year at the London Spirits Competition for its Asda Extra Special non-alcoholic Rhubarb & Ginger one of a fast growing and multi-awarded new non alcoholic spirits range across all the major spirits categories, that has been produced by Spirits of Virtue and blended by vastly experienced supermarket wine buyer, Angela Mount.

She was on hand at the tasting to take customers through its range that stand out for the fact they are as close by nose and on the palate to a real spirit as you can get. The whiskies in particularly perform well with clear distinction between the Highland blended style and peaty island whiskies.

Mount says she quickly realised that her blending skills as a winemaker could easily be transferred over to non alcoholic spirits. “I try and replicate as much as I can to the original spirit,” she says. To do that she will extensively taste through an alcohol spirits range and pick out the key flavour components and then work with Spirits of Virtue flavour team to get the right ingredients for its non alcoholic version. It’s then a question of getting the aromas, the acidity, the structure, balance and texture right.

Llanerch, in the vale of Glamorgan, were one of a handful of Welsh producers at the tasting there to show its range of award-winning wines that come from its winery, but also small hotel and 2 rosette restaurant. A full hospitality experience is how its owner, Ryan Davies, who took the property out of receivership 10 years ago, describes it. Up to now it has used most of its wines for its own restaurant and events and weddings but has signed up with Fine Wines Direct to go out to the trade for the first time.

It has just over 2 hectares of vines and sends its grass to Three Choirs to produce a range of both sparkling and still wines. Davies says he is particularly pleased with how the winemaking team at Three Choirs have really “nurtured our wines” to make the most of them.

The pick has to be its Cariad [love in Welsh] label, particularly the 2013 sparkling white that has spent an impressive 10 years on lees and made from Seyval Blanc. Its 100% Cariad dry still white wine made from 100% Solaris was also a real stand out treat.The Limited Edition Pinot Noir is a beautiful balanced, elegant, rich fruit Pinot Noir with lovely acidity and be great with food.

Further afield was the team from Stone Castle who had flown in from Kosovo to take part. A winery that started life as part of the former Yugoslavia and has grown to become one of Kosovo’s biggest producers with some 700 hectares of vine working with 35 different varieties. A producer capable of working at all price points and in all channels and is now exporting 70% of what it produces. It is looking to promote native varietals when appropriate whilst also being able to supply the big international varieties too.

With a tasting taking place in the Principality Stadium it is only we right we finish with a couple of Welsh legends.

Step forward Alun Wyn Jones who in 2023 launched a rum liqueur brand,Mimosa based on Patagonian rum as a tribute to the early settlers who travelled in 1865 from Wales to set home in Patagonia at the southern base of Argentina. Patagonia was not only where Wyn Jones was awarded his first cap for Wales, but his last cap was his 158th marking exactly the length of time ago when the Welsh first travelled there. It’s almost as if he had planned it along.

Designed to be a multi-use rum, Mimosa can either be enjoyed with ice as a sipping rum, as an ingredient in cocktails or even for chefs and home cooking in recipes. The rum can also claim to be Welsh, says Wyn Jones, as it is brought from Patagonia to be blended in a distillery in Wales.

He is now looking to introduce a vanilla flavoured rum to mark his last club playing days for Toulon in the south of France.

His long standing team-mate and fellow forward, Richard Hibbert, was also at the tasting with his own very different and distinctive triple distilled Caribbean spiced rum, Mortal Bunny, that gets its fourth distillation at a distillery in Wales using water from the Brecon Beacons. With listings already in a few of the major multiples Hibbert has already made his mark in the off-trade and now hopes to crack the on-trade with First Wines Direct.

Mortal Bunny is inspired by the ‘Day of the Dead’ celebrations in Mexico and hopes to tap into the party, celebration and social aspect of drinking rum. Truly refreshing with ginger ale, Coca-Cola. Its enthused with all spiced berries, cinnamon sticks, black pepper, nutmeg, sweet orange peel, Persian lime and vanilla pods. He also makes a Mortal Bunny Spiced Black Cherry Rum and Sand Rabbit Welsh Gin.

* To find out more about Fine Wines Direct UK and its range go to its website here.