Aldeby Wines Limited is a young company having been it set up in 2008. Its objective is to import wines made by small quality focussed producers. The wines need to offer good value for money and above all provide some interesting drinking for the UK consumer.

 

Initially the decision was taken to focus on producers in the South of France, as the wines from that region that generally hit the UK High Street are mass produced and at the bottom end of the market. A year spent living in Languedoc, working at the Ermitage du Pic Saint Loup, a Wine producing domain, highlighted that there are plenty of focussed winemakers in the region who make lovely wines, which never get to these shores. Better still, they are by comparison with most other European wine regions cheap. This all means that there is great value for money in the £6 to £15 a bottle range, as well as some superlative “Icon” wines that are more expensive, but are of sufficient quality to be compared to some of the great wines of the world.

 

 

Many people have asked why start a wine company in the UK, during the worst financial crisis for 60 or 70 years and with a marketplace dominated by the supermarkets? The answer is complex, but as one of only two people in the UK with a Wine Studies and French degree, with great knowledge of the wines of Languedoc, a great passion for wine and the wines of the region in particular, a strong desire not to return to engineering, and a very supportive wife. It was the only logical thing to do!

 

But apart form the apparent value for money of their wines, why choose the South of France as the launch region for the business. Well it is a fascinating place: