The Interview: John Trevena, Owner, Pimlico Cellars Agencies and Vintage Cellars, London

Published: 23 July, 2008

John Trevena grew up in Santiago, Chile. He came to London to study economics, and worked as an accountant before setting up a life pensions programme with three friends. In the early 1980s he decided to follow his passion for wine and set up his own wine wholesale business. After premises in Langham Street and St Martin's Lane in London, the business moved to Pimlico and developed a retail arm, now known as Vintage Cellars, which generates about 5% of the company's turnover. Exclusive agencies include: Via Carta Vieja and Viedos TerraNoble (Chile); Riversleigh Estate (New Zealand); Eagle's Cliff (South Africa); and Domaine de la Madonne (France).

Our business is growing, though the market is a bit soft at the moment. There is an awful lot of wine in Chile, so prices have become quite soft and we have to be nimble on the feet. House prices are high, interest rates are high, so the cost of day-to-day living has increased dramatically over the past couple of years. But I think we'll increase our business because we provide a good service. When we say to somebody, We will not put this into the supermarket', they believe us, which they may not if it was one the bigger corporations.

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