Walker & Wodehouse re-launches

Wine merchant Walker & Wodehouse has re-launched as a supplier to the off-trade with Gareth Groves as managing director.

Effective from today (1 June) Walker & Wodehouse will sell exclusively to the independent retail and wholesale trade and wields a new portfolio of over 500 wines, 50% of them exclusive to the company.

Exclusives include ranges from Bodegas Escorihuela and Finca Las Moras in Argentina; Vina Ventisquero in Chile; Babich Wines in New Zealand; Bodegas Navajas in Rioja; Val d’Oca in Veneto; Paul Prieur in Sancerre; and Steenberg and Spier in South Africa.

A subsidiary of Bibendum-PLB the company has a history dating back to the 1790s through its original incarnation John Harvey & Sons. Walker & Wodehouse was founded in 2009 and holds a royal warrant that was originally given to John Harvey in 1955.

The re-launched company will be overseen by Groves, previously head of marketing at Bibendum, who said: “We have a fantastic opportunity with Walker & Wodehouse to really engage with the independent sector and offer them a wine range and service which is tailored to their business.”

“We have added lots of great wines to our portfolio which also includes a collection of exclusive spirits and craft beers. We have put together a very strong team that has many years of experience working with independent merchants and we are delighted to be able to start trading as Walker & Wodehouse.

“We know that to succeed we have to listen and respond accordingly within what is a dynamic and fast moving sector of the wine trade.”

Speaking to the drinks business late last month, Groves spoke of the “positivity” returning to the UK off-trade sector. He noted: “There are lots of customers who will still go to a Tesco convenience store, but at the weekend they will go to their fishmonger, the local butcher and their wine merchant. As the supermarkets contract their supply base, my hope is that we will see more consumers drift out into the independents.”