Bennetts Fine Wines is an independent award winning wine merchant established for over 24 years and situated in historic premises built in 1727 located on the High Street in the Cotswold town of Chipping Campden, the jewel of the Cotswold towns.
Bennetts is a proudly independant wine merchant and we only deal with top quality, interesting and often unusual wines from what we feel are great and good producers.
Bennetts Fine Wines was established by Charlie & Vicky 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'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 & Vicky sold the delicatessen to concentrate solely on the wine side of the business. The business grew throughout the 1990's attracting customers from all over the UK and Euope and Bennetts won 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 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.
We are one of the principal importers of the wines of Kumeu River from New Zealand. They continue to produce the finest Chardonnays in New Zealand and there are few producers who offer such quality and consistency across a range of wines. Their single vineyard Chardonnays have been mistaken for top white Burgundies in blind tastings by reputed Masters of Wine and a recent review in the Wine Advocate has finally propelled them into the top flight of new world producers.
In November of 2009 Bennetts purchased the business of Edward Sheldon in Shipston-on -Stour. For more details see the 'Our Shops' link on the menu.
For many years Edward Sheldon have supplied wines to retail customers and to restaurants and hotels.Their trade cutomers include many prestigious hotels, restaurants, clubs, institutes and institutions
The Shipston premises comprise of 12,000 square feet of storage space including labyrinthine purpose-built cellars which are ideally suited to storing and laying down wine.
Edward Sheldon have been trading continuously in Shipston on Stour since 1842 and has a colourful history. Richard Badger, who started the business, became a vintner after first selling medicated wine at his pharmacy and in the late 1850s he passed the reins to his nephew, Edward Sheldon.
During the latter part of the 19th century the business flourished, supplying wines throughout the United Kingdom and to many parts of the Empire. Vintage Port, Sherry and Madeira were shipped for Warwickshire's affluent country houses, officer's messes here and abroad, and universities.
The shop has recently undergone a major re-fit and rebranding as Sheldon's Wine Cellars and now offers a bright and relaxing environment in which to view the extensive stocks.
Download a PDF of the Wine Advocate review here
