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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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THEATRE OF WINE branch to close

It’s the final curtain for the Leytonstone store
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PROFILE: ND JOHN WINES

Indie merchant is celebrating 30 years in Swansea
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Two new Spanish agencies for Liberty

Caso Castillo and Cellar del Roure join the roster
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MOUSE & GRAPE OPENS IN PINNER

Owner Jessica Summer thanks mentors for their support
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Majestic reports record Christmas sales

Multiple is jubilant, but increases are cancelled out by inflation and duty
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HOUSE OF TOWNEND’S 5TH GENERATION

Georgia Townend joins the family business
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Sales of rosé Prosecco rise 20%

Prosecco DOC consorzio says 60m bottles were sold in 2024
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Bellavista signs for Hallgarten

Franciacorta pioneer is fourth Italian recruit in recent months
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Off to Navarra with five indies

Reporting back from a memorable buying trip in late 2024
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Jancis wants a greener industry

Excerpts from a keynote speech at Sustainability in Drinks
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Secret Cellar has a new owner

Heritage Wine Company is also planning to bid for other independents
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Shekleton Wines, Lincolnshire

Charlotte Shek left accountancy during lockdown to start a wine business
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IRREGULAR THOUGHTS

David Perry styles it up with lemon trees, stilettos and metal polish
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BAKKUS IS OPENING IN LANCING

West Sussex town gets a new wine merchant
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LEBANON’S CRISIS VINTAGE

The missiles rain down, but the harvest comes in
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Jeroboams: the £35m indie

The London merchant approaches its 40th anniversary in buoyant mood
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Why go to trade tastings?

Indies gave autumn events a miss. Maybe 2025 will be different
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PHOEBE’S AMAZING LUNCHES

Broken equipment? Who you gonna call?
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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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