Articles - The Wine Merchant Mag

An independent magazine for independent retailers

Sherry sampling spearheads summer campaign

A Splash of Andalusia involves indies as well as multiples

Olive oils now part of Hatch offer

Esporão and Zuccardi extra virgin olive oils are available to indies

Gulf crisis puts new pressure on wine prices

As diesel surcharges spiral, importers face tough decisions in the coming weeks

Boutinot tops indie popularity poll

Supplier has topped Survey of Independents chart for 13 years

Winners announced for California Collection 2026

Eight merchants made their selections from wines submitted by UK importers

Oxford wine company splits in two

Retail and wholesale divisions are now separate companies

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Saturation point is a long way off

The UK could sustain another 200 independent wine shops, says study

Shop? Wine bar? Café? Maybe all three

28.4% of retailers now offer wine for on-premise consumption

Confidence high but turnover takes a hit

Independent wine retailers saw turnover fall by 5% last year, according to figures compiled by…

Saturday Kitchen could feature indies

Show ‘is open to the idea’ of filming on location in independent wine shops

What’s happened to the AWRS?

It was meant to be in full swing by now. What has gone wrong?

Roberson quits retail to focus on ‘new ideas’

Roberson is closing its iconic shop but says it still has faith in independent retailing

Ambitious indies open more shops

Oeno, Planet of the Grapes, Vagabond and Bottle Apostle have all been busy

News flash: independent trade rises by almost 5%

The independent trade grew by 4.8% in 2014 and is now worth more than £500m…

Independents bloom in garden centres

Reserve Wines is the latest indie to bed in beside the bedding plants

Wanted: women. Any age. Must love wine

Independent wine shops still have a bit of a problem with women. It’s a fact…

Independents are just too good

At least two companies want to build retail empires that tap into a wine market…

Survey provides a glimpse of the future

Independents are taking an increasingly open-minded approach to their shops and broadening their specialism beyond…

Independents buoyed by 7% sales increase

Independent wine shops have seen their combined turnover go up by 7% over the past…

Stop trying to be cool

New world producers are obsessed with European elegance. But why?

What we did on our holidays

Reporting on The Wine Merchant’s trip to the Centre-Loire

Wine’s weird. Deal with it

Let’s celebrate the unique effect that wine has on us, and have fun expressing it

Broaden the offer, but stay special

Independent wine shops have defied the Nielsen pessimism about their category

Not oaky-dokey

Too many winemakers evidently prefer trees to vines, argues Doug Wregg