I am often asked to explain Whitfield Wines, and I usual talk about how I love sharing stories and my excitement for wines that sit elegantly on favourite, much-loved restaurant wine lists. So then I am asked, why ‘Restaurant Wines at Home’?
Because that’s where I come from — restaurants. I’ve spent years thinking about how diners chose wine, and building wine lists where every bottle must justify its place.
The most important wines on lists that I favour are never the photogenic, bragging-rights bottles with the biggest price tags from the most famous producers. No, they’re the ones that sit so effortlessly in the middle of the list. That’s the sweet spot: the wines that get enjoyed, night after night, by people who love wine but don’t want to overthink it. They need to deliver — on quality, versatility with food, value, and appeal. They need to make you want to return.
Those are the wines I select for my list, for Whitfield Wines. Most come from the same trusted, trade-only importers I’ve worked with for years.
They are the bottles you would find in just the right brasseries and restaurants in London (you know the ones), sometimes in Paris and Rome too — not supermarket shelves.
Almost always, they’re from independent growers, from family-run wineries, sometimes friends of mine, places that are all about the love of the process, striving for quality, about patience and conviviality, about enjoyment and precision, about a sense of place, at a sensible price. These are wines with character, balance, and purpose - the kind that restaurateurs quietly rely on to make their lists sing.
I started Whitfield Wines to bring that experience home. For people who love good food and great company and want wine that elevates the moment without turning it into a chore. Who love the buzz of a case or two of wine arriving at the door knowing the case may be finished just a little quicker than planned because its just so delicious. No ego, no jargon, not flashy; just restaurant wines, without the restaurant.
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Next week is a big week, do stay tuned for the launch of more than 30 new bottles to celebrate summer, mainly from France and Italy, a couple from elsewhere. I am so excited to share them with you and to talk about them further in coming weeks. In the meantime though, I wanted to remind you of some of my absolute classic Whitfield Wines, best sellers and huge favourites amongst all of you lovely wine people. Snap up a case or two.
Enjoy the wines,
Ben