| Bennetts Fine Wines
High Street
Chipping Campden
Gloucestershire
GL55 6AG Tel: 01386 840392
Fax: 01386 840974 E-mail: shop@bennettsfinewines.com |
Opening Hours Monday: | Closed | Tuesday: | 9.30am - 6.00pm | Wednesday: | 9.30am - 6.00pm | Thursday: | 9.30am - 6.00pm | Friday: | 9.30am - 6.00pm | Saturday: | 9.30am - 6.00pm | Sunday and Bank Holidays: | Closed |
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| Directions We are located on the High Street in Chipping Campden and are the last shop on the left hand side heading in the direction of Stratford on Avon/Mickleton, if you pass the Lygon Arms Hotel on the right you have just missed us! |
| | Bennetts Fine Wines was established by Charlie Bennett in 1985, prior to this the shop had operated as a delicatessen, health food shop and a bakery. Originally purchased at auction in 1931 for the princely sum of £400 by Charlie’s grandfather Enoch Bennett, the shop first operated as a bakery. The business grew under Charlie’s father Harry Bennett and in 1933 a small handcart was custom made to take round the bread and cakes, a bicycle was also purchased enabling deliveries to be taken much further afield. Later a horse and trap was used and finally in 1937 a new Ford van came into service and the business continued throughout World War Two. In 1967 as bread consumption declined and Harry Bennett’s health became fragile the shop was enlarged and reopened as a delicatessen. Charlie & Vicky Bennett ran the operation from the mid 1970’s, taking the wise decision to add a small wine selection which proved very successful, so successful in fact, that in 1985 Charlie ‘sold’ the delicatessen to concentrate solely on the wine side of the business. Charlie always preferred La Tache and Lafite to selling ‘mouldy’ cheese and this culminated in Bennetts winning the International Wine Challenge Merchant of the Year for Central England in 2002/2003 and the Which Wine Guide Italian Specialist Award in 2003. The shop remains in the original High Street premises and is a treasure trove of wines from around the world, including many rare and old vintages. Now with a client base across the UK and even into Europe, a large part of the business is conducted on a mail order basis, however the shop located in the historic High Street in Chipping Campden is still visited by thousands of customers each year. |
Charlie Bennett Charlie has a renowned palate for fine wine along with an ear for music, having studied at the Royal College of Music. Charlie is a talented classical musician and organises the renowned Chipping Campden Music Festival. Charlie likes nothing better than listening to Mozart with a glass or two of something fine from his cellar. |  | Richard Brooks Richard joined Bennetts in March 2006 and has a background in fine wine and food. After learning the ropes as a manager with Majestic in the early 1990’s and passing his WSET Diploma he went on to work in the envied role as a Hotel & Restaurant Inspector with the Michelin Guide. After tiring of eating in the finest establishments the country has to offer, he joined an established East Anglian Merchant and ran their retail and events operation for five years. |  | William Bennett William is son of Charlie and joined the business in 1999 after working as a chef at a local gastro pub. William plays as a drummer in a band called The Copycats and as well as serving in the shop manages the ordering, despatch and the unenviable task of keeping the warehouse tidy! |  | Lesley Kibble Lesley joined Bennetts in 1982, which as well as being a fine vintage in Bordeaux makes Lesley the longest standing employee. The rumour goes that in her younger years as a professional dancer she auditioned for Pans People! Lesley has a broad role, dealing with all the accounts and book-keeping as well as helping out in the shop on a regular basis. |
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