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Stainton wine closes on its own terms

Famous Cumbrian indie has been trading for four decades
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Garage Wine Company joins Hallgarten line-up

Cult Chilean producer was previously handled by Jascots
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Our 2026 Survey of Independents is now open

Five participants will win mixed cases from Hatch Mansfield
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The Vineking crashes with £800k debts

Erik Laan’s new company means Reigate branch is still trading
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BOLNEY ANNOUNCES REPLANTING PROJECT

The Sussex vineyard grubs up old vines
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Good Wine Good People acquires Plonk

Deal sees UK-based e-commerce wine club join growing business
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NORTH SOUTH WELCOMES RIBERA DEL DUERO PRODUCER

Coto de Caleruega is owned by Grupo Baron de Ley
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ENOTRIA&COE ANNOUNCES REBRAND

The distributor restores its original name
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THE LONG RUN

Cat Brandwood makes a welcome return
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PERFECT PAIRINGS IN CARDIFF

Cheese specialist adds wine to its offering
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PROFILE: D BYRNE & CO

A look inside the iconic Clitheroe shop
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Minister hails resilience of South African winemakers

Cape Wine opens with upbeat message amid challenging headwinds
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IRREGULAR THOUGHTS

David Perry decides against local deliveries
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BAILEY’S OPENS IN CREWE

Two more sites are planned
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SIMON ADOPTS STRAY CAT

Cat Brandwood is gainfully employed
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HALLGARTEN & NOVUM IN HIGH SPIRITS

Frapin joins Hallgarten portfolio
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SOUTH AMERICA: THE ROAD AHEAD

A spotlight on Argentina, Chile & Uruguay
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BARKS JOINS SHEFFIELD WINE SCENE

Hybrid model encourages bottle sales
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NEXT STOP, SOUTH MANCHESTER

Kate Goodman continues to spot opportunities
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MARGATE INDIE BRANCHES OUT IN FOLKESTONE

Historic pub gets a new lease of life as Pomus moves in
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SH JONES MERGES WITH FRAZIER’S

Merger of regional rivals creates new £5m business
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EAST SUSSEX TOWN WELCOMES NEW INDIE

Zoey Walters has named the shop after her grandmother, Maggie.
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Issue 152 (November 2025)
Issue 151 (October 2025)
Issue 150 (September 2025)
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More than 100 independent businesses have already More than 100 independent businesses have already taken part in this year's Survey of Independents.

If you're a UK-based indie, with physical retail premises, we want to hear from you. You'll find the link at winemerchantmag.com.

Remember, five participants will be selected at random to receive some fantastic Hatch Mansfield wine.
Our first issue of 2026 is here and if you're even Our first issue of 2026 is here and if you're even vaguely interested in the independent wine trade you need to read it from cover to fragrant cover.

All the news, views and reviews you demand of us, plus honourable mentions for Bill Clinton, tumbleweed, Pac-Man, horse boxes, Rutland Water, Kylie, Billy Joel, two Tim Watsons, Easter egg hunts and an attempt to convince you that wine is never improved by food.

You can subscribe to the print edition for £85 a year, or hack into the free digital version via our website. We don't know how to build firewalls, so fill your boots.
Thanks to all eight of our indies who did such a g Thanks to all eight of our indies who did such a great job of judging at yesterday's California Collection tasting. Thanks also to our friends at @wbc.co.uk who made us so welcome and created the perfect environment for the wines to shine.

We've got 50 worthy winners to reveal in our March supplement, published as always in association with @california.wines.uk.india
Every year, we at The Wine Merchant embark on our Every year, we at The Wine Merchant embark on our Survey of Independents. More than 200 businesses take part, representing indies of all shapes and sizes.

The results we get help us paint a really detailed picture of what's happening in our market.

It takes 15 to 20 minutes to complete the survey and five participants will be selected at random to win Hatch Mansfield goodies.

If you're a UK-based indie with physical premises, you can find the link on our website.
Our final (and biggest) issue of 2025 is landing n Our final (and biggest) issue of 2025 is landing now, with an early Christmas gift of a 2026 wall planner. Never miss Xinomavro Day again!

As always there is loads going on in this edition, but that goes without saying, because the independent trade is where the fun happens. We do our best to report on it all, and throw in a few cartoons and silly captions along the way.

We next publish in January but we'll keep the website up to date in the meantime.
Issue 151 of The Wine Merchant is here. What's i Issue 151 of The Wine Merchant is here. 

What's inside? Nasty scammers, majestic hawks, repurposed wine bottles, guilt pangs, bleeding cocoa nibs, Sting (the singer), stings (from bees), 10,000 wine louts, people who lie about chocolate, hedonistic vermouth, Torres v Walkers, hairdresser puns, Lennon and McCartney in the northern Rhône, sesquiterpene rotundone, Leicester City and a small cheese sandwich. 

See if you can spot them all!

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