THE WINE MERCHANT. An independent magazine for independent retailers
Issue 141, November 2024
Dog of the month: Flynn Wandering Palate, Monton
New Secret Cellar owners aim to snap up more indies Heritage Wine Company would provide “a sympathetic home” for traditional merchants looking to sell up or retire
A
new business called The Heritage Wine Company is looking to
expand by buying independent
wine merchants.
The company has just acquired
Winchester Wines, which owns The Secret Cellar – an indie based in Tunbridge Wells which has four sites in Kent, East Sussex and Surrey.
Heritage is owned by Australian MW
Miles Corish – whose Milestone Wines
business will now be incorporated within
the new business – and Texan businessman Jim Ludwig, who has been based in the UK for almost two decades.
The deal also gives the company control
of Milton Sandford Wines, an upscale import and wholesaling business.
“We sifted through 1,000 businesses
in the UK to identify 18 that met our
investment criteria,” says Ludwig. “We
ended up completing on this one. We’re
still looking for potentially more to add to the group.”
Ludwig says this search “absolutely”
includes independent wine shops, though not in locations that compete with The Secret Cellar.
“That’s where the inspiration for the
name Heritage Wine Company came
from,” he says. “We both recognise that local independent retail shops across
the country are part of the community, especially when you get into nice
Faouzi Issa of Domaine des Tourelles is one of many Lebanese winemakers faced with the prospect of completing the 2024 vintage against the backdrop of Israeli bombardments. Read how he and his counterparts at Musar, Ksara and Massaya are coping on pages 18-19.