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merchant profile
Merchant Profile: Field & Fawcett, York
Setting out their stall in the old dairy
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Peter and Cathryn Fawcett could see that some disused agricultural buildings would be an ideal setting for their wine business, but local planners weren’t necessarily so convinced.
Sixteen years on, Field & Fawcett is one of the north of England’s most successful independents, with a spirits range that offers almost as much depth as its wine list.
By Nigel Huddleston
There may not be another wine merchant with a location quite like Field & Fawcett. The business occupies a network of former milking stalls just off what is now a large and busy roundabout on the eastern side of the York ring road.
The dairy farm was owned and run by the parents of Cathryn Fawcett, whose maiden name Field now provides one half of the shop’s branding. The family still owns the land that F&F occupies.
Husband Peter Fawcett is the other half. His journey to starting his own independent wine merchant – with Cathryn alongside him – started in 1986 when he joined Milroy’s whisky shop in London. Working vintages in Australia and New Zealand followed – he’s half Kiwi –before he returned to London to join Wizard Wine, the warehouse-style retailer, around the time it was taking over Majestic in the early 1990s.
When the deal was done, Fawcett jumped ship back to Yorkshire, where he’d been brought up, working for Great Northern Wine Co in Leeds, eventually becoming Enotria’s man in the north, as a rep covering a patch from the M62 to the Scottish border.
“It was a steep learning curve and possibly the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” he says. “But it was a really good company to work for. They were never on my case saying ‘you need to get X number of accounts’.”
Which takes us up to 2006 and the decision to go it alone and open Field & Fawcett.
“When I was at Great Northern, they toyed with the idea of getting this site and using it as an outpost but it got knocked back because it was green belt.
“Foot-and-mouth [in 2001] was a game changer because the government were very keen for redundant agricultural buildings to be put into some sort of effective use and start generating income.
“When we decided to open our own place in 2006, we got very good planning lawyers to work on it.”
Initially, the local authority granted retail permission for a small part of the property, which has housed the main entrance, wine and a deli counter since the start. Over time, Field & Fawcett has managed to push back bit by bit, so it now
occupies a further two rooms, one housing a mix of spirits and Iberian and new world wine – with France and Italy still in the original front section.
“The planners were originally worried about a load of traffic piling in,” says Peter. “Five years in, there had been no major incidents and they let us extend retail to the rest of the building.”
A third room to the rear operated as a café for a while before Covid brought a change of use to what might be the UK’s only dedicated magnums, local beer and liqueurs space.
You’ve seen some changes in 16 years. What was
the original concept?
We were very much wine-driven initially. We were 90% wholesale for the first two years. When I left Enotria nearly all of my customers came with me and supported the new business. We lost a few along the way, as you do in the ebbs and flows of business, but that enabled us to establish ourselves pretty quickly and buy a decent amount of volume to expand the range and make it more interesting.
But we also had a deli and wine shop from day one and we were trying to think of a name that combined wine and food. Then a friend of ours said, “why don’t you just call it Field & Fawcett? It’s
got good alliteration, and it sounds established even if it isn’t”. So that’s what we did.
How has the mix changed since?
We’ve always just grown the business organically. There are no investors, it’s just us, and everything we make we just plough back into the business. We turned over £2.7m last year. We don’t engage any salespeople; I do that. Wholesale is about 60% now, 33% is physically through the door of the shop, but that varies, with about 7%-10% online.
You also had the café for a while.
We used it as a way of building footfall. There was a shed where the car park is now and the front was literally a farmyard with great puddles everywhere. We got rid of the shed, which gave better visibility from the road, but we thought people wouldn’t necessarily associate the building with being a deli and wine merchant, or if they did they would think it was expensive or a trade thing.
Once we got people coming through the building to the café, they realised we had wine on offer at £5-£5.50. But it wasn’t quite big enough to make a long-term living out of it and the wage costs were quite high. The chef’s still with us and makes our ready meals, bread and cakes for the deli. The café had served its purpose in getting us an audience and during Covid it just wasn’t practical.
How else did you change during Covid?
We traded all the way through, but the doors were shut. It was click and collect and free delivery with no minimum order anywhere in the YO postcode area, which is a huge area … and it went mental. It opened us up to a much wider audience of people who’d never heard of us. We already had quite a decent website, which helped.
And since then?
Once we reopened the doors, we moved the till to the end of the café and had a one-way system from the front to back. People just flowed through the building, out the back door and round the side of the building back to the car park. That worked really well. It gave us the opportunity to get the beer and liqueurs properly displayed. The majority of the quirky liqueurs were for the bar trade really, but they were shut, so we thought we needed to do something with them. It’s amazing what people pick up. We had 12 bottles of Cynar, the artichoke liqueur, and we sold the lot that first Christmas.
We’ve got magnums much better displayed now and people can touch them. It’s opened my eyes about the way things are displayed. I can see why supermarkets spend so much money doing market research on how they position certain things to encourage impulse buys, especially around Christmas. People aren’t coming in for advocaat but they see a smart-looking bottle of it and think, “ooh, I’ll have a bottle of that”.
The wine range is sourced from “a lot of the usual suspects” but Fawcett also looks for wines that give the business a point of difference
That works in a supermarket because they’re charging £10 or £15 for a litre of Warninks, but how do you get people to send upwards of £20 on things like that?
Our reputation for the quality of what we do on wine and whisky subliminally filters through to people buying other products. We use a company called Sloemotion for sloe and bramble gins. Their packaging’s very good and we get the shooting fraternity north of York who will go for that sort of thing. With more coffee and cream type liqueurs we’ve got an accessible range at £10.95 called Carthy & Black, which is made by the people who do Slingsby gin.
What about your wine supplier base?
We ship quite a lot out of Europe ourselves. In the UK we use a lot of the usual suspects. Boutinot have always been phenomenally supportive. We’ve moved slightly away from them for retail wines, but a huge amount of our wholesale wine comes through them and the quality to price ratio is really good.
We’re also part of Rolleston Wine Group. We also use Justerini & Brooks, ABS, a bit with Fells … a bit with most people, to be honest. We work very closely with Astrum for Italy. There are some particular agencies that work really well for us. Cantina Terlano from Alto Adige is probably my favourite white wine producer from anywhere on the planet.
Has Brexit and everything that’s gone on since lessened your appetite for shipping directly?
I’ve gone slightly counter-intuitive. I ship slightly more than perhaps I should. It makes us different from other merchants – and Yorkshire’s got some really good independent wine merchants.
We were introduced to a company called Premium Wine Solutions in Verona; I can buy from Chianti, southern Italy, Prosecco, Gavi, and ship it all together. We also ship from Rioja, Majorca, and Cava from Barcelona.
The Brexit thing’s been a nightmare, no two ways about it. What used to take three weeks now takes anywhere between six and 10. We’re currently bringing in seven pallets from Italy, and even shipping at that quantity it’s costing me £8 per dozen. Pre-Brexit that would have been £3.50.
We’re very lucky in that we’ve got a barn at the back and we turned three bays into storage as soon as Brexit happened. We decided to get everything shipped here, rather than go into bond. We invested quite a lot of money in it, but it’s saved on storage costs. I’m trying to find products that we know can get out into wholesale and get a bit of volume. Instead of shipping one pallet at a time, which we would have done pre-Brexit, we’ll ship three. It ties up a big lump of cash but in the long-term it gives us a different slant.
The premises were originally part of a dairy farm owned by Cathryn Fawcett’s parents
And a better margin by cutting out a layer of the supply chain?
I keep margins quite tight anyway [on wholesale]. Our Prosecco is a better one than we might get from Boutinot under the group label, but I feel if
Fawcett has managed to allay the concerns of local planners, who were initially worried about the loss of an agricultural building, and increased traffic
I’m giving my customers a really good price then everyone’s happy down the chain. We’ve done really well with two wedding venues and a caterer that has weddings coming out of its ears. It’s Prosecco, New Zealand Sauvignon and Malbec, and lots of it. They’re also dream payers.
It’s not the most exciting thing in the world in terms of the wine, but it gives us the ability to buy in volume and means we can tack more interesting things on to the back of those shipments.
What about retail? What’s really worked for you recently?
We have American, Chile, Argentina down the middle [of the main wine room]. We had it just lying in boxes previously but as soon as we put in smarter shelves and a bigger range sales went up significantly, particularly California. It’s a region we’ve been pleasantly surprised by. We’ve got quite a following now and people will spend all across the £15-£50 bracket. You’re not going to sell a lot of Grgich Chardonnay at £52.50 but when you look on Saturday afternoon there’s usually a gap where one’s gone.
The shelving was a game-changer in selling South America. I’d say we sell half a dozen bottles at £20£30 every Saturday and the display has got a lot to do with that.
We always wanted to be a really good retail shop. It’s where my heart is because it’s easier to engage with people. When they come through the door it’s because they want to be here. With restaurants, a lot of the time, it’s about the price. Ninety per cent of our sales of Malbec in wholesale will be under £6 ex-VAT; 90% of our Malbec sales in retail are north of £12.95.
How do you keep people coming back?
The Purple Card is one of the best things we’ve done, without a shadow of a doubt. It’s a one-off membership for £25, but maybe we should have made it annual. We always used to do 5% discount on six mixed bottles and 10% on 12. We had an awful lot of people coming in once a year at
Spririts are an important part of the business, due in part to Fawcett’s time at Milroy’s, though margins are lower
Christmas. We were giving the discount away and wouldn’t see them until next year.
With the card you get 10% off all wine regardless. The idea is to get people in regularly, coming here rather than Sainsbury’s when they want a bottle when they’re driving home on a Wednesday night.
There are also certain offers just for Purple Card holders. It doesn’t have to be cheap either. We had some fantastic Carménère off Hatch which would normally be over £50 and we did it for under £30 and sold the lot.
Round the shop there are certain wines that have a purple price which will be anything from 20% to 30% off. It might be that the price has gone up from the supplier and we don’t want to buy more, so we want to push the stock through, or that the vintage is changing. We thought we might sell 150 cards, but we’ve actually got 700 members.
We don’t offer a discount on spirits because the margins are already smaller.
Spirits are obviously an important part of the business.
I always wanted to have a decent whisky section because I’d been at Milroy’s and whisky had brought me into the trade in the first place.
But the gin thing took off before we really “We always wanted to be a really good retail shop It’s easier to engage with people. With restaurants, a lot of the time, it’s about the price”
Around 700 customers are Purple Card holders, entitling them to a 10% discount on all wines for a one-off fee of £25
developed the whisky side of the business. We went from 10 gins to something like 400 at one stage. It began to slow down after three or four years as the supermarkets started to muscle in.
Rum hasn’t exploded in the way gin did but it has grown quite a lot. But the surprise this year is definitely tequila. It’s all these American celebrities like George Clooney and The Rock getting involved. We sell a lot of reposados for sipping and customers aren’t afraid to spend a bit of money. It used to be slammers but people are treating it as a serious spirit category in its own right.
And how is whisky doing?
We do really well with a brand called Filey Bay, from The Spirit of Yorkshire. It’s a good story: it’s their own farm, their own barley and their own brewery, Wold Top. The glass comes from a factory in Leeds, the labels are done in Scarborough; everything is done within about a 30-mile radius, apart from the capsule. It’s got great local provenance.
And beer?
It’s mainly local beers. It’s pretty rare that people come in to buy beer specifically. It will be an add-on purchase, but it goes really well and that’s purely down to having it much better displayed than it was before. We’re constantly having to refill the shelves on a Friday or Saturday. It all helps to boost the basket.
Bottle Shock The tech sheet that yields only the facts tells us nothing about the wine
Most of our customers want us to send them technical notes (known as fiche techniques) for the wines that we sell them. In its starkest form, an FT is a spec/data sheet, the kind used in manufacturing to be read by computers. A colourless numbers game. Yet, wine, being a product from a place and a person, requires much more detail so that one may mark this bottle from that, and tell the real story behind the rigid, frigid facts.
Yes, to some, wine may be no more than the functional sum of its physical and chemical interventions. And measurements. The product with the pure commercial purpose. Yet, the tech sheet that yields only the facts tells us nothing.
Personally, I want the inside track because I like to follow a wine’s journey from the final flavour in my mouth back to the very origin of the vine. Learning about wine truly involves deepening and broadening one’s education and delving into geography, geology, climatology, farming, microbiology, local history and regional culture and gastronomy as well as the influences on, and personality of, the grower in question. All these elements and -ologies are contributory factors to the terroir and origin of the wine. Wine, after all, has this remarkable potential to channel time and place.
And, as a grower, one should surely be proud to talk about farming and the unique relationship between the vineyard, the vine, the land and the person.
For all that accurate relevant information is incredibly difficult to acquire/extract, even when one appeals directly to a vigneron.
Its effect upon young Barnacle was to make him repeat in a defenceless way, ‘Look here! Upon my SOUL you mustn’t come into the place saying you want to know, you know!’ – Little Dorrit
One purist reason for playing coy, advanced by some vignerons, is that a wine is neither the sum of glorified winemaking approaches nor simply the processing of materials into a commercial product. Such partial truths, it is averred, do a disservice to the real truth, a fascinating tale of blood, sweat and growers’ tears and natural happenstance. Although it can be put into a bottle, it can’t be put into box. Thus, though the wine may be touched by the winemaker, it comes from nature and the vineyard and is therefore so much more than is dreamt of in our meagre FT philosophy.
Other producers don’t buy into the magical mysteries of terroir. For them, wine is little more than a juice that gives pleasure; they don’t want it mystified nor made pretentious, so they also surrender as little information as possible. If you are able to elicit the grape variety or a blend from them, then you may retire wreathed in garlands of victory.
Neither of these positions is quite satisfactory from the point of view of the importer, nor the retailers to whom they sell, as the more information one may acquire from the grower, the more one is able to tell the story that in turn helps to sell the wine.
I am also somewhat of a wine-romantic, and thirsty for stories. I want to know which way the wind blows in the vineyard and when. I want to know how the vignerons tend their vines. When you visit a vineyard, you gain insight purely by being in the same environment as the vines. You witness how the vineyard is part of nature itself. You see flowers, weeds, grass, bees, butterflies and birds. You sense how the sunlight plays on the vines. You touch the soil. You are aware of an energy. The beauty of wine lies in the intangibles, the world beyond lab analyses.
It behoves those of us involved in selling wine to empower and inspire our customers in their choices. The more we know, the more we can communicate information in an interesting and digestible format. And that information can, in turn, be passed on to others. Producers should therefore be willing to divulge their process, the better we may understand that each and every wine is the aggregate of countless processes and endless decisions. As regards the fiche technique, any information is better than nothing, but more information, by definition, allows us to see the much bigger picture.
Reggio Emilia Doug Wregg is director of sales and marketing at Les Caves de Pyrene
QUINTA DO CRASTO
One of the oldest estates in the Douro, Quinta do Crasto is admired for its table wines as well as its ports, which are distributed in the UK by Enotria&Coe
The producer behind some of the Douro’s finest ports and table wines, Quinta do Crasto has a long history in Portugal’s leading fine-wine region, with the earliest records dating back as far as 1615. Over the past century, the estate has cemented its position at the top of the Douro hierarchy under the ownership of the Almeida-Roquette family, with Miguel and Tomás Roquette the fourth generation to take the helm.
A long-term favourite in the Enotria&Coe stable among British retailers and sommeliers, Quinta do Crasto ports and table wines have been in the UK market since the early 1980s and they continue to set the standard for the Douro.
The Wine Merchant caught up with Quinta do Crasto export director Rita Magalhães Camelo to discuss the estate’s history, its quality-conscious approach to port production and its latest plans for its ports in the UK market – including some exciting port-and-food-matching ideas and a very special new tawny. Quinta do Crasto port wines, you won’t forget a meeting with the Roquettes. Their hospitality and joie de vivre, combined with the enchanting location of the winery, are an experience not to be missed.
The family owners of the estate proudly live up to the motto coined by their forefather, Constantino de Almeida: “Honore et Labore” [There is honour in hard work]. You can find it signed on all Quinta do Crasto ports.
The motto also informs a special new project at Quinta do Crasto, doesn’t it?
Yes, the HONORE project, which commemorates Quinta do Crasto’s 400year history, pays homage to the men and women who, through the centuries, invested in cultivating the vineyards and creating unique authentic wines that have long been recognised as some of the finest worldwide.
A special wine was chosen to commemorate this date in the history of one of the oldest quintas in the Douro. HONORE is a very old tawny port, over 100 years of age, from a very limited number of casks containing wines made before 1918, from Constantino de Almeida’s private stock, which has been nurtured over three generations on the quinta. It’s a limited series of 400 bottles (one bottle for each year the company is celebrating). An outstanding wine beyond compare; the perfect way to mark such a historic event.
Miguel, Jorge and Tomás Roquette
Port is a small and crowded market in the UK. What do you think makes your wines stand out and why should independent merchants explore the range?
Apart from the impressive quality of really smooth tannin extraction, since the seeds of each berry are not mechanically crushed, and so they release much less of the astringency. Also it allows a greater maceration of the grape and, consequently, a greater extraction of colour and phenolic compounds.
Is port is under-appreciated as a gastronomic wine? If so, how can retailers help to change perceptions?
I think port consumption is in a transitional phase, and we are, albeit slowly, starting to see some changes in the traditional way it’s consumed – a glass at the end of a meal or with a cigar and good conversation. There is an understanding that we need to broaden the range of occasions when port is consumed and bring this nectar to a wider audience. There are positive signs that this is beginning to happen. We are seeing greater consumption of new vintages, particularly among younger drinkers.
And there is the democratisation of port that has come with the fresh and trendy port tonic cocktail. In tasting menus, we are also starting to see some innovations, where port wine accompanies one of the main dishes. This doesn’t mean that the way people drink port is going to change overnight. But we are certainly seeing a wider range of possibilities where a port can work perfectly well.
Do you have any favourite food matches for the Quinta do Crasto range?
Outside of traditional pairings, I would recommend a glass of slightly chilled Quinta do Crasto LBV to go with a juicy steak with Roquefort cheese sauce. With a 10 year old tawny or a young colheita I would suggest a starter with foie gras on caramelised apple slices sprinkled with crushed nuts.
Foot-treading is still important to you. What difference does the process make?
Yes, for port wines, Quinta do Crasto has maintained the centuries-old tradition of treading the grapes in the old stone lagares, always selecting the best grapes of vinhas velhas [old vines]. It’s about much more than preserving a historical process. Working in this way also gives us
Crafting California Cab since 1933
Louis M Martini works with some of the most prized terroir in the Napa Valley – and it shows in its wines. A selection of independents tasted five from the range in a recent online masterclass
World-class Cabernet Sauvignon is something we readily associate with the Napa Valley, a point that was proved in the Judgement of Paris tasting in 1976. But Louis M Martini’s work began more than three decades before then. As creator of one of the first five wineries built in the valley after Prohibition’s repeal in 1933, the company has been on a mission from its inception to identify the best sites for Cabernet.
From the rebellious, visionary Louis M Martini to his scientifically minded son Louis P Martini and then the innovative, award-winning Mike Martini, the business has evolved and developed under the stewardship of its family members.
The current head winemaker, Michael Eddy – only the fourth in the company’s history – learned his craft from Mike Martini during a decade of mentorship and is fascinated by the opportunities he sees in site-specific Cabernets that tell the story of some of California’s best terroir.
Founder Louis M Martini, pictured left
The Wine Merchant invited a group of independents to sample five wines from the Louis M Martini range, which are available via Enotria&Coe and The Vineyard Cellars, at a recent online tasting hosted by luxury fine wine ambassador Jake Crimmin.
Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 £13.65 DPD Most of the grapes come from two of Louis M Martini’s crown-jewel vineyards in Sonoma County: Frei Ranch, in the Dry Creek Valley AVA, and Barrelli Creek vineyard in the Alexander Valley AVA. By California standards, this is relatively coolclimate terroir, and the fairly mild summer of 2018 has accentuated the natural elegance of the fruit. There’s a little Petite Sirah in the mix to round things out.
“If you compare it to the others, it’s a little more pyrazinal and crunchy but we’re still getting that bright red fruit,” says Jake. “It’s quite grippy, with firm tannin, but still with that approachable, fruit-driven style.” Definitely a wine that will come into its own with some protein: Jake recommends a ribeye.
Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 £19.85 DPD Most of the fruit comes from Barrelli Creek, where the gravelly soils encourage the vines to extend their roots deep into the ground in search of water. It helps gives the wine extra complexity, enhanced in 2018 by a later harvest.
All lots are aged and evaluated separately before the final blend is married together in barrel. In total, the wine spends 18 months in a combination of French and American oak, 36% of which is new.
The fruit feels generous and ripe and although the alcohol has reached 15%, the wine remains balanced by its fresh acidity. Monta Cimdina from Vinvm in Isleworth “loves the nose”, with its toasted oak and baking spice nuances.
“We’re getting into cassoulet territory here,” suggests Jake. “Big, earthy, rich stews. “I’m definitely getting more of the high notes in this wine. More pepper and spice and a little perfume; some violet.”
John Kernaghan of Liquorice Wine & Deli in Brentwood says: “A much more upfront classic Californian Cab. Very approachable.”
Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 £25 DPD Grapes are handpicked from premium Napa Valley vineyards including William Hill, Sun Lake, Cypress Ranch and Sage Canyon. A slightly later harvest delivered beautifully developed fruit with marked complexity.
Although Cabernet dominates the blend, there’s also 6% Petite Sirah, 2% Petit
Crafting California Cab since 1933
Michael Eddy: only the fourth head winemaker in the company’s history
Feature produced in association with Louis M Martini
Wines are distributed by Enotria&Coe and Vineyard Cellars
louismartini.com
Verdot, 2% Cabernet Franc, 2% Malbec, and 1% Merlot. There are enticing flavours of black cherry, blackberry and plums, underpinned by an acidity that keeps the wine vibrant and perky. John Kernaghan notices the confident tannins and wonders if this is the Petite Sirah and Merlot making their presence known.
“I think Petite Sirah, certainly,” says Jake. “But I’d probably say a lot of it is coming from the Cabernet as well, that structure and tannin. And certainly, now it’s opened up a bit, we’re also getting those menthol and eucalyptus high notes.” Monte Rosso Gnarly Vine Zinfandel 2017 £36.41 DPD The Monte Rosso vineyard in the Sonoma Valley was bought by Louis M Martini in 1938. With an elevation of between 213m and 396m, its clay/loam soils suit a number of varieties including this old-vine Zinfandel.
The wine is aged in a combination of French (53% new) and American oak barrels (25% new) for a total of 16 months.
It’s the highlight of the tasting for Alex Downie of Connaught Wine Cellars in central London, and for Monta Cimdina, who describes it as “delicious … I love the hint of cinnamon”. Alfie Colling of Blanco & Gomez in west London adds: “This type of Zinfandel makes you fall in love with the grape. There’s a vibrant nose of perfume and minerality. The palate is rich and structured with a good balance of dark fruits and complexity to it.
“The high alcohol is very well integrated. There’s a long finish with spicy notes of cinnamon and pepper ... very pleasant to my taste.” ripeness, resulting in concentrated fruit of particularly high quality, rich flavours and layers of complexity. Little wonder winemaker Michael Eddy describes it as an
“outstanding” vintage. The wine is produced in small quantities in a micro-winery. Grapes are gravity-
Cataratto vines thriving at the 19ha Kelbi vineyard
fed into small, open top fermenters for cold soak. After fermentation, the wine is racked into oak barrels for malolactic fermentation and ageing.
Alfie Colling of Blanco & Gomez is a fan, describing it as a “classy” Cabernet with an interesting profile. “Strong oak and spices on the nose,” he says. “A deeply layered palate with fruity and liquorice notes. Hints of plum and a pleasant seam of vanilla; smooth and great balance on the finish. A fabulous vintage.”
Monte Rosso Cabernet Sauvignon 2016 £68.91 DPD Consistently moderate temperatures allowed grapes to ripen fully and evenly, creating near-perfect harvest conditions. Every block is picked at optimum
Vines at the aptly named Monte Rosso
Making a living in a box The out-of-town beer shop where growlers are the star attraction
craned on to the plot. We then fitted it out like a shop using local builders and decorators.
“I used some contacts from the Carlsberg days to fit out the cellar and sourced the dispense kit from a company in Lithuania.”
Planning was a lengthy process – “as if we were trying to build a nuclear power station” – complicated by the fact that the location had previously been susceptible to flooding.
The niche beer retailing market has slipped into a convention around ramming shiny, shouty cans of pale ale between scaffolding planks. There’s nothing intrinsically wrong with that but it’s become a bit boring, so it’s refreshing from time to time to see someone who’s prepared to shake things up.
One such is The Filling Station, in the Cambridgeshire version of St Ives, where cans play second fiddle to mainly local draught beers, sold in refillable bottles from US-style growler systems. “Refilling a glass bottle uses 66 times less CO2 and water than buying aluminium cans from the supermarket,” says owner Matt Kelly. “People are into the novelty, but it tastes fresher and it’s better for the
environment.
“And the margins are better: on packaged it’s around 35% but on draught it’s 60%.”
But it’s not just the product emphasis that sets the Filling Station apart, it’s the location and the property too. The shop is housed in a converted shipping container on a patch of grass between a drive-thru McDonald’s and a drive-thru Costa, on the town-edge Abbey Retail Park that’s home to a Papa John’s, a Subway and a couple of other independent businesses, including indie wine merchant EJM Wine.
The Filling Station was founded last year by Kelly, a former Carlsberg sales, national accounts and marketing executive, who took redundancy when the Danish brewer merged its UK operations with Marston’s.
His business was inspired by working with Carlsberg’s craft brands Brooklyn and London Fields while handling casual dining accounts such as Zizzi, Jamie’s Italian and the shipping container-led food and entertainment chain Boxpark.
“The location is kind of where I wanted it to be,” says Kelly. “It’s got good footfall and it’s a mainstream market, because the ethos is to take craft beer to the masses – to demystify it and make it more approachable, and get more people drinking better beer.”
The 40-foot container was sourced from a Midlands company. “I had CAD drawings of the interior drawn up and they fitted it out.
“You can have one of three conditions of container: new, shipped-once or used. Mine is a shipped-once one. It’s sprayed black and clad in cedar, and the supplier did the insulation, the ply lining and put the power in.
“The landowners put in the facilities for water and the internet and then it got The retail space is tiny, taking up around a third of the container, with the rest accounted for by cellar equipment and storage. Since the initial opening, Kelly’s added an outdoor space that’s been used for events, and there are plans to upgrade with an adjacent smaller container to host these indoors.
It’s a set-up that’s not just about novelty; the location brings serious commercial benefits over the high street, says Kelly, who, despite sourcing the container, has handed ownership to the landowner and now pays rent on it.
“You can strike a deal with retail parks,” he says. “The rent is significantly lower than it would be on the high street because it’s done on square footage.
“We also got some sample rents from other shipping container businesses like Box Park in London and managed to grind [the landlords] down a bit.
“It is cheaper than the high street, but I didn’t want to be on the high street.
“You just become another shop and high streets are in either in flux or in decline. It’s not where we want to be.”
Diogo Campilho
Quinta da Lagoalva
On the nose, I like to make very new
world styles of wine. Very fruity and showing the grape character in terms of aroma and in terms of typicity. But in terms of the palate, I prefer the European style. We don’t make big, high alcohol wines with lots of sugar. For me, in the mouth wines should be very elegant, very gentle. I like my wines to show the terroir and the typicity of the grape variety.
Nuno Falcão Rodrigues
Casal da Coelheira
In the past it was not so easy because the region was known for bulk wine and high yields, but this is not the reality now and our image is changing. The quality of our wines has been recognised domestically and worldwide. We have so much diversity; we are able to produce very fresh white wines, full-bodied reds, traditional fortified wines and interesting sparkling wines. I think Tejo is going in the right direction.
Antonina Barbosa
Falua
Tejo has grown a lot in recent years, both in terms of quality and the
popularity of its wines. Part of the richness of the region is its diversity. There are three very different sub-regions, which makes it possible to produce many styles of wines, with very different profiles and characteristics. Every day, we have a greater connection to the soil and the way we conduct our agricultural practices.
Winemakers of Portugal’s Tejo region
Tejo has become a hit with independent specialists in the UK. Throughout 2022, we’ve invited a number the region’s producers to tell their stories in The Wine Merchant magazine.
In association with Comissão Vitivinícola Regional do Tejo cvrtejo.pt
João Barbosa
João M Barbosa Vinhos
We waited until 2009 to plant our white
grapes because at that time in Portugal white wines were not very well accepted. Nowadays we sell much more white than red. I have Sauvignon and Fernão Pires, which we call Maria Gomes; we have Alvarinho, and last year we planted Chardonnay. I told my children that if our Chardonnay becomes like a normal Chardonnay, we’re going to replant.
Martta Reis Simões
Quinta da Alorna
Tejo has definitely seen changes in the
past decade. There has been remarkable joint work done by the CVR Tejo and its producers, very focused on promotion and marketing at a national and international level.
The Fernão Pires grape variety, for example, has once again been given some limelight in the wine world thanks to an ongoing campaign in recent years.
Pedro Gil
Adega Cooperativa do Cartaxo
We are always encouraging our members to use new methods and
techniques in their vineyards, and we reward the good quality of the grapes they deliver to us. We already have some key strengths in the Tejo region: our indigenous grape varieties, the characteristics of our terroirs, and the climate. We keep investing in modernising our methods and technological capability.
port’s feeling positive
When a region is home to an unusually high percentage of the world’s finest and most famous red wines, it is perhaps not surprising that its other strengths occasionally get a little overshadowed.
A recent event hosted by The Wine Merchant and Bordeaux/Bordeaux Supérieur Wines, however, served as a timely reminder of just how good the “other” styles of France’s largest and most celebrated AOC wine region can be.
A showcase for Bordeaux’s modern dry white and rosé wines, the event was presented by Bordeaux expert and wine educator Laura Clay, who gave a fascinating overview of the variety on offer in these categories in the Bordeaux AOC’s varied terroirs, which included a 12-wine “tour d’horizon” tasting.
Clay, a self-confessed fan of the Bordeaux/Bordeaux Supérieur appellations with their mix of “tradition, ambition and the will to experiment”, kicked off her roundup of Bordeaux’s outstanding dry whites and rosés with an intriguing statistic: until the late 1950s, white varieties made up around 50% of the Bordeaux vineyard.
These days the number stands at 8% of the total, but, as Clay pointed out, the 4,504ha of white varieties that are currently planted are very much focused on quality over quantity. Indeed, Clay believes Bordeaux whites are some of the “most underrated wines in the world”.
Rosé wines, meanwhile, have been enjoying a bit of a boom. According to Clay, just 10 years ago “they barely registered on a graph” of total Bordeaux production. These days some 4,310ha of Bordeaux
More to Bordeaux than claret
vines are dedicated to rosé, which now accounts for 5.8% of Bordeaux wine produced each vintage.
Leading the way, varietally speaking, for whites are rich, golden-hued Sémillon (45% of white plantings) and lively, exuberantly aromatic Bordeaux native Sauvignon Blanc (43%), which together form the backbone of the classic white Bordeaux blend. But the tasting illustrated the importance, too, of Bordeaux’s other white varieties: floral-fragrant Muscadelle and the rare, spicy, pink-skinned Sauvignon Blanc mutation, Sauvignon Gris.
The white wines tasted were all blends, all featuring one or both of Sémillon and Sauvignon Blanc in varying proportions. And while the wines had much in common – the consistent use of night-time or earlymorning picking to preserve freshness was one modern fashion highlighted by Clay – they also reflected subtle differences in terroir and different winemaking emphases (the amount of time on skins or lees, for example).
Rosé wines rely on the same noble grape varieties used for reds, with Merlot (the most important), Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc the main players, joined by complementary varieties Malbec, Petit Verdot and Carmenère. As with the reds, Bordeaux’s rosé wines are generally blends that draw together the competing strengths of the different components,
OUR FEATURED WINES
Château Belle-Garde Bordeaux Blanc 2021
80% Sauvignon Blanc, 20% Sémillon Beautifully balanced with lovely rounded texture; serious with good depth. A food wine with delicious “punchy Sémillon coming through,” said Russell Paine of Clipper Wines, Southsea.
Château La Rame Bordeaux Blanc 2021
95% Sauvignon Blanc, 5% Sémillon Grapefruit, lemon, nettles and passionfruit: beautifully complex, ageworthy dry white from a famous Ste-Croixdu-Mont sweet wine producer. “Very smart and classy,” said David Williams of The Wine Merchant.
Château de la Vieille Tour Bordeaux Blanc 2021
30% Sauvignon Blanc, 20% Sauvignon Gris, 40% Sémillon, 10% Muscadelle Classic blend showing great skill. Lively, fresh, mouthwatering; white peach and citrus. “Just what you’d be looking for from a Bordeaux Blanc,” said Laura Clay.
Château de Parenchère Bordeaux Blanc 2021
40% Sauvignon Blanc, 40% Sémillon, 20% Muscadelle Citrus, lemon balm, white flowers and stone fruit, nice peppery finish, great texture. “I like the richness and
More to Bordeaux than claret
although the tasting featured two singlevarietal wines.
According to Clay, the growth in the volume of rosé production has been matched with a vast improvement in quality. What was once regarded as a by-product of red wine production is now treated as a serious style in its own right, with vineyards earmarked for rosé production and grapes picked early specifically for the purpose. There’s diversity, too, with a range of different styles, colours and production methods that is sadly all too rare in other roséproducing regions – but, as with all the region’s wine styles, is very much a feature of Bordeaux.
opulence; and it looks good too,” said Henry Butler of The Butlers Wine Cellar.
Château Labatut Cuvée Prestige Bordeaux Blanc 2021
60% Sémillon, 40% Sauvignon Gris “Super-expressive,” said Emily Silva. “This is stunning, but then I love Sauvignon Gris,” added Richard King of Dronfield Wine World.
Château Dudon Bordeaux Blanc 2021
66% Sémillon, 34% Sauvignon Blanc Peach, grapefruit and delicious roundness on the palate. “Very appealing fruit combination and texture,” said Williams.
Château de Bonhoste Bordeaux Rosé 2021
50% Merlot, 50% Cabernet Franc “Lovely! Really different,” said Kat Stead of Brigitte Bordeaux. Riaz Syed of Stonewines in Barnet added: “It would pair very well with food: soft fruit, great balance and enough acidity to cut through.”
Château La Rame Bordeaux Rosé 2021
50% Merlot, 50% Cabernet Sauvignon Strawberry character, citrus and green pear. Elegant. “Both of Château La Rame’s wines are really good,” said Russell Paine of Clipper Wines.
Château Caminade Haut Guérin Bordeaux Rosé 2021
80% Merlot, 20% Malbec Notes of strawberry and raspberry travel sweets. “It has an attractively sharp finish, and is really stylish,” said Clay.
Château Lamothe-Gaillard Bordeaux Rosé 2021
100% Cabernet Franc Raspberry with real lift and kick of cranberry – “zippy”, said Emily Silva. “Very attractive acid balance, freshness and length,” said Williams.
Château Peychaud Un Air d’Été Bordeaux Rosé 2021
80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc Multi-award-winning rosé produced on gravelly soils. “Really nice elegance and roundness to this,” said Clay. Williams added: “Lovely spicy note coming through.”
Château Suau Bordeaux Rosé 2021
100% Cabernet Sauvignon “Lovely and surprising flavour for such a pale wine,” said King. “Very concentrated,” added Silva. “Very pale, delightful nose and a secret flavour,” said Paine.
What the merchants said
“It’s nice to have rosés with a bit of flavour! And we love Bordeaux blanc. We have to convince people that they are much more interesting than New Zealand at a comparable price point, but, once tried, customers are hooked.” Richard King, Dronfield Wine World, Derbyshire “We’ve been doing well with Sauvignon-based Bordeaux, especially over the past year.” Andrew Imrie, KWM Wines & Spirits, Newry “We’re lucky in that our customers love everything Bordeaux. It would be great to have a selection of quality and expressive rosés and whites to offer.” Shane Slater, Sheldons Wines, Shipston-on-Stour “There’s a common thread of salinity across the white wines that is very attractive and really makes me long for seafood.” Emily Silva, Oxford Wine Company “The white wines show so much better if they’re not too cold, and especially if there’s Sémillon involved.” Henry Butler (pictured), The Butlers Wine Cellar, Brighton “Cabernet Franc brings some really appealing floral notes and slight herbaceousness to Bordeaux rosé.” Kat Stead, Brigitte Bordeaux, Nottingham
