After years of experience in both the UK and France in all aspects of the world of wine Husband and wife team, Nigel and Helen Brotherton set up Fine Wine Works in 2008.
Today, they are one of several wine suppliers to superyachts, offering a bespoke wine provisioning service.
Using the company’s Winefinder Advice and Sourcing service, superyacht owners and charter guests now have access to the world’s most sought-after wines.
To make things even easier, Nigel and Helen have now introduced their Pure Collection, a handpicked a selection of the world’s fine and rare wines.
Their collection differs from others in today’s wine provisioning market becuase these wines are actually in stock and available for delivery to yachting clients – from the very start of the season.
These wines are the very best in their class, a tag that is backed up by both critics scores and trading prices on the secondary market.
Mythical wines
Helen told us, “We know that many of these mythical wines are often at the top of the wine requests on guests’ preference sheets. She added, “However given the short lead-times in yacht provisioning, wine suppliers usually struggle to source them as they are only produced in finite quantities. Not only that but, even if your supplier manages to find them, the wines are delivered in far from optimal drinking condition for the client as they have come rushed from fine wine merchants’ cellars all over Europe – or beyond, to arrive in time for the charter”
It was in response to that dilemma that FWW decided to build a very special selection of the world’s most sought-after wine. – They have started with Burgundy, the boom region in wine investment circles. These are wines that connoisseurs want to drink and investors want to have in their collections.
Now, the yachting industry has access to these exclusive wines from temperature controlled cellars on the Côte d’Azur. Working from its own base on the French Riviera, FWW has an established network of partners in Croatia and Palma that can also supply superyachts.
Point of distinction
Another point of distinction is that the Pure Collection is only sourced vintages that are ready to drink – neither too young nor too old. “I am constantly surprised at how young some of the fine wines offered to the yachting market are,” Helen continues. “These blue-chip wines have defined drinking windows and to drink them too soon – especially at the prices they command – is a real shame. As the experts who wine crew trust for advice, it is our role to only provide them with wines in optimal drinking condition.”
In stock
Some of the bottles currently in stock in the Pure Burgundy collection:
- Armand Rousseau – Chambertin Clos de Beze 2010
- Domaine Romanée Conti – Romanee Conti 2004
- Comtes Lafon – Montrachet 2009
Other regions will follow throughout the course of the year. During the season, stocks will be updated weekly.
FWW is also an Approved Programme Provider for the WSET® Wine & Spirit Education Trust, running internationally-recognised wine courses in France, Spain and onboard yachts. FWW is also a Corporate Member of the Professional Yachting Association.
