Best Specialist Wine Merchant England, IWC Winner
Wickhams Wine Merchant has been named as "Specialist Merchant of the Year England" at the International Wine Challenge (IWC) Merchant Awards 2022. Presented by Tim Atkin MW and ITV This Morning’s Helen McGinn, Wickhams was praised for its extremely impressive English wine selection.
In this category, Wickhams was up against incredibly tough competition with Waitrose & Partners also shortlisted. In addition, Wickhams was a finalist for "Online Retailer of the Year", in which it narrowly missed out to online wine merchant Naked Wines, with mail order specialist Laithwaites a fellow runner up.
Oz Clarke OBE, a long term champion of English wines, was also playing an integral role at this prestigious international competition that recognises and rewards outstanding achievements in the UK wine trade.
Wickhams founder, Dan Farrell-Wright, comments:
“We are absolutely delighted to win this award. We are a young business but have come out of the blocks fast and are clearly pressing the right buttons in a sector renowned for its knowledgeable and demanding audience.
I set up Wickhams Wine Merchant late in 2020 specifically to sell the kind of wines I like to drink myself and to provide excellent service to wine consumers across the UK. Within the first year we were shortlisted in the ‘Newcomer of the Year’ and ‘England & Wales Specialist’ categories at the Decanter Retail Awards and now to be acknowledged with a win at the International Wine Challenge Awards as the ‘Specialist Merchant of the Year England’ proves we are doing a lot right which is thrilling.”
Wickhams offers more than 350 different wines, including individual bottles as well as curated cases, encouraging customers to try new varieties, all at accessible price points. By building close working relationships with winemakers they are able to reduce the length of the supply chain to give better quality at a lower price. They are committed to sustainability with their use of 100% recyclable packaging.
Dan adds: “We’re passionate about knowing the story behind the wines we sell. More than 25 per cent of the wines listed on our website are from England, so it’s a huge seal of approval that we’ve won in the specialist wine merchant category. We’ve taken time to get to know the wine producers we work with personally, it’s therefore great recognition not only for us, but for the producers that we work with too.”
Wickhams’ sources the finest estate bottled wines from around the world and their team curates collections from the everyday to the classics, so there's something to suit all tastes. Delivery is available to mainland UK, with all orders packed in 100% recyclable packaging, from a centrally located Mansfield warehouse allowing the whole of the UK to be serviced with fast deliveries. Orders over £40 are shipped free of charge.
