Best value wines online in the UK! Buy wine online @ Surf4Wine...
Hi, I'm Andrew Chapman and welcome to Surf4Wine.
Looking for a good deal? See our HUGE range of wines under £5! Some great tasty wines, and all for a fiver or less!
Please feel free to drop me a line - I'd love to hear from you: andrew @ surf4wine co uk.
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Andrew Chapman Fine Wines...
The long and short of it!
The family wine business of Andrew Chapman Fine Wines
was started in 1989, initially supplying friends and family with interesting wines
from smaller producers in France. At the same time I began a new job as the Senior
Common Room Butler at The Queen's College, part of Oxford University. I left there
in 1996, when Andrew Chapman Fine Wines had stumbled through it's adolescence and
was ready for the big bad world...
Previously I had worked at the Randolph Hotel in Oxford,
both as Sommelier and Restaurant manager, which was a bit of a departure from my
original aim when leaving catering college where I was set on becoming the next
Gary Rhodes!
In fact the mystery and magic of wine, and the common theme
of sharing with friends, perfectly combines both loves. This relationship between food
and wine, and making interesting and complementary matches between the two is very
important to us here, and something we think very carefully about when writing our lists
and making decisions about new wines.
The Chapman family connection with the food and wine trade
is not a new one. My great-grandfather had owned a local hotel in the next village, as
one of a number of other local businesses. Who knows, Andrew Chapman Fine Wines may one
day diversify into the the Restaurant and Hotel business and complete the circle!
In 1994 I visited Australia for the first time, and we began
to introduce a number of Australian wines to our growing portfolio. It was at this time
that I first tasted the wines of Mountadam Vineyard, high on the Eden Ridge of the
Adelaide Hills. We have formed a close family friendship with Adam Wynn and his family
over the years. Adam has visited us both here in Drayton and Oxford a number of times to
present the David Wynn and Mountadam ranges.
Indeed, these "meet-the-winemaker" tastings have become a key
part of our promotional activity each year. We have introduced a number of our producers to
our customers over the years, including from Australia Ian Hollick of Hollick wines in
Coonawarra, Vanya and Di Cullen of Cullen wines in Margaret River, Mike McRae of Montara
wines in Victoria, Kym Jenke of Jenke wines in the Barossa valley and Tim Gramp of Gramp's
in Barossa and McLaren Vale, as well as from New Zealand John Forrest of Forrest Estate
and Ken & Jill Small of Fairhall Downs in Marlborough.
These winemakers all have something in common: they produce
high quality wines with a sense of place and a total commitment to make the very best wine
in that vintage possible. They blend tradition with innovation; not innovation for innovations
sake, only where it allows them to go one step futher to produce the very best wines
possible. These are the kind of winemakers you will find throughtout our list, and on
this web site.
Every year we have a packed programme of tastings and events
where you can taste our wines. Many of these events are free, and if we make a charge, it is
always kept as reasonable as possible. In 2000 we have already had our annual Summer tasting
where over 100 wines were available to taste from our Spring list. We are planning our
Autumn series of events, which will include a visit from Gavin Berry of Planatagent wines
from Mt. Barker in W.Australia, as well as our Michaelmas tasting at the end of November.
Add to that a commitment to quality, professional service and
always searching for the very best that the wine world has to offer, and you will understand
why Andrew Chapman Fine Wines is a company to trust in the 21st Century - traditional
values in a new Millennium!
Andrew Chapman
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+44 (0)7720 587073
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