ABOUT US

Home at Howbery Park, Wallingford

WELCH & CO WINE MERCHANTS

Established 1988

Bespoke suppliers to the on-trade in and around Oxfordshire since the fine sunny vintage of 1988, we are a small firm, independent, dedicated to service and good wine - and we love what we do.

Our wines are sourced from a wide variety of producers and buying groups; foremost among them is Boutinot, grower and importer, significant other to the UK independent trade and long-time market influencer for all things good. Indeed, they have been our chief partner in wine for more than 30 years.

Wine at Bunkfest

We have a lot of boxes

All deliveries by own transport

Our long history serving the on-trade came, of course, to a dramatic pause with the onset of Covid-19 and the general UK lockdown in late March 2020.

In the interests of survival and having something to do during our waking hours, we very quickly set up as an online retail merchant, aiming chiefly to serve our local community around Wallingford: and so Pierre le Vin was born.

Pictures with Wine

This was all the more entertaining as we needed to offer quite different labels from our on-trade business, let alone learn what on earth we were doing. Nevertheless, we seem not to have been too wrong, given the happy contribution to cash flow over the months since, and we have certainly enjoyed the new set of demands.

Paul not running a virtual tasting

Now, in early September 2020, following some very welcome return of activity with our bar and restaurant customers, we are maintaining the retail work and are hoping that given the ongoing fluid nature of business conditions, a blend of the two will keep us busy and on our toes.

And looking forward to the next thirty odd years.

Peter Welch and the Team.