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My love of wine, the regions in which it is made and the often extraordinary but wonderful characters who make it, led to my starting the business more as a hobby than a career. People often say to me that they are not wine connoisseurs and don’t know about wines. I tell them that it is their enjoyment of wines that is important. I often eat out with a wine-loving French friend of mine. "On n’a pas fini la bouteille," we say if we are giving the wine the thumbs down, or "On a déjà fini la bouteille," when speedy imbibing demonstrates the wine’s appeal.
What experience has brought me is, I believe, an appreciation of what makes for quality and value in a wine. Year after year I’d been saying to myself, "I really must try importing some wine from France, then one year I took the plunge. After tasting nearly twenty different wines one afternoon in the village of St Chinian (near Béziers), I tentatively brought home a pallet load of wines on the premise that if I could not persuade potential clients to trust my judgement then "at least I could enjoy drinking the wine with my friends !"
That same year I purchase two more pallets from St Chinian and was also introduced to some excellent vineyards in Australia.
Over the subsequent 24 months I imported in excess of 50,000 bottles from France and Australia. Most of my customers,whether hotels or restaurants or individuals, come back for more again and again. |
Mr Peitavy at the Domaine de Mairan
The endeavour was definitely no longer a hobby and there was no question of drinking quite that much wine with my friends no matter how enthusiastically they may have protested to the contrary !
Despite the growth of the business, the personal touch remains key and it is no accident that our name is Chateau Select.
Bill Warry |
