At yesterday's Think Indie Drink Indie event hosted in London Vagabond Wines took the top top spot in the UK's 50 Best Indies Award list.
The list was set up to to celebrate the achievements of the hardworking retailers that give the drinks trade such a good name across the UK.
The 50 Best Indies list was generated by dividing the country into 10 zones, including splitting London up, and five experts were selected from each region. Each expert was asked to nominate three retailers from their region, plus two from outside the region, and rank them from one to five, with a weighting attached to each vote. It was then a case of using a mathematical formula to create the final list.
Vagabond Wines was first set up by Stephen Finch in west London as a retail store and wine bar where customers could sample 100 different wines. He now has three stores, with plans to open three more, start an urban winery and create a microbrewery. The company has displayed tremendous ambition and has established itself as the best independent wine merchant in the UK.
"Being part of the list makes me realise I want to jump in the car and do a road trip visiting all the other indies on the list. I think we are all doing really innovative things and am so honoured to be awarded this recognition," said Finch.
The other top five merchants included , Hedonism Wines at number five, South Down Cellars at number four, Cambridge Wine Merchants at number three and The Sampler at number two.
The full list of winners is below.
Congratulations to all those who have been recognised as a 50 Best Indies!