Do you sell directly to the public?
No, that’s a job for our customers as we only sell to the Trade. To find out where you can purchase our wines, please contact us by phone +44 (0)161 908 1300 or drop us a note via our Contact Us form telling us your location.
As a new Trade customer, who should I contact to open an account?
To request an Account Application form, either call our Head Office on +44 (0)161 908 1300 or complete the Contact Us form. Your request will then be passed on to the appropriate member of our sales team who will call to find out your exact requirements.
Who do you supply?
We sell to a broad range of customers from Independent specialists, through to major multiples, as well as the Restaurant trade. In most instances we have wines which we offer exclusively to major multiples, so as not to undermine the credibility of Independent specialists and Restaurants.
Do you supply wine on a ‘sale or return’ basis?
No, we do not supply on a ‘sale or return’ basis.
Can I collect wine from your premises?
No, we don’t store our wines here on site.
Which wines do you stock?
We supply a wide range of wines from across the world at all price points. Wines are sourced from exclusive agencies, ranging from boutique wineries through to some of the world’s most renowned larger scale producers. As a producer, we also make and source wines from some classic regions and bottle wines under our own brands. For further information about us visit the Our Story section.
How often are price lists issued?
Main price lists are issued once a year. However, if there are any significant Tax Duty changes or exchange rate movements, interim price lists may be issued. We are constantly looking for new and exciting additions to our portfolio which will be included in our price lists at the time of update.
What happens if a wine is out of stock?
Whilst we strive to maintain adequate stock levels, out of stock situations do sometimes occur. If this does occur, we will contact you and suggest an alternative wine or provide a longer-term solution.
We also send a ‘Vintage Update’ email to customers (who wish to receive this) each month which contains a vintage update specific to your buying history. To be added to our email list, please contact your Account Manager who will tick the necessary boxes on our system to ensure this notification is automatically forwarded to you and/or other members of your team.
Can I order online?
It depends on the types of orders you place, if you would like to find out more about online ordering please contact our customer services team on +44 (0)161 908 1300 or complete the contact us form and we will be in touch with more information.
Will Boutinot help with staff training / customer tastings?
Boutinot have a dedicated, knowledgeable and enthusiastic team who are more than happy to pass on their knowledge to your staff and customers. We have three resident Masters of wine (MW), a Master Sommelier and a raft of staff with WSET Diploma and Certificate qualifications as well as Oenology / wine making qualifications and experience.
Do you design wine lists for On-trade customers?
With a dedicated team looking after the needs of the On-trade, Boutinot are able to produce wine lists for customers who purchase at least 50% of their wine from us. In most cases, the service is offered free of charge and can be tailored to your specific needs. For more information, please contact your Account Manager.
How do you define Vegetarian and Vegan wine?
Glossing over the fact that some unfortunate insects will almost certainly be crushed along with the grapes, when we talk about wines being suitable for vegans and vegetarians we are thinking exclusively about the fining agents used prior to bottling. Fining is the process by which proteins that would otherwise clump together and make the wine hazy are removed to leave a clear and bright liquid – the fining agent sinks down through the wine, attracting proteins and ending up in the bottom of the barrel so that the now clear wine above can be drawn off.
Most suppliers these days use a type of clay called Bentonite or a polymer called Polyvinylpolypyrrolidone (more commonly known as PVPP for obvious reasons) for fining and the resulting wines are suitable for vegans. However, their effectiveness varies depending on the temperature and pH of the wine so it is not necessarily appropriate to use these on all wines. Also, centuries of tradition will have an impact with certain agents being more prevalent in certain countries.
The vegan and vegetarian issue arises when you use alternative fining agents – the most commonly used being egg whites, milk /casein, isinglass (derived from fish swim bladders) and gelatine (normally derived from pigs but occasionally from cows). Even though these products are never present in the finished wine, they have still been used. So, are they in fact suitable for vegans, vegetarians, pescatarians?
In the spirit of transparency, we have decided that this is an ethical question so when we say:
To view our vegan or vegetarian wines, you can use our helpful wine filter to select your preferred feature.
What is Organic wine?
While all grapes are technically ‘organic’ in terms of being the seed-bearing fruit of a living plant, the term has in recent years come to represent foods that have been produced without the use of various chemicals. In wine production this mainly applies in the vineyard – where the use of chemical pesticides, fungicides, herbicides and fertilizers would be prohibited if the resulting wine is to be labelled as organic – but in the winery, there are also restrictions on ‘heavy manipulation’ of the wines (e.g. no heavy filtration, or flavour additives like oak chips etc) as well as a lower permitted level of sulphites than for standard wines.
Many wineries use organic principles in their vineyards and wineries but elect not to get certified as such – these wineries are unable to use the term on their packaging, though we will endeavour to highlight this in our producer profiles if this is the case. The reasons for this may be down to the costs and bureaucracy involved in attaining certification, an objection to the criteria used by their regional certification body, or simply a marketing decision about how they want to present their wines.
Some places are naturally more suited to employing organic principles in the vineyard than others – a good example being the northern Rhône, where warm dry growing seasons and the mistral wind naturally combat or control many of the problems that might otherwise threaten the health of the vines. There is a much higher concentration of organic producers in areas such as this than in places where the climate and conditions are less clement, and even non-organic growers in these areas would generally need to use less chemicals than they might otherwise.
To view our organic wines, you can use our helpful wine filter to select your preferred feature.
What do you mean by Sustainable?
Recently we have been engaged in a task to find out what our suppliers do to make them sustainable. However, this is not as simple as a straight ‘Are you sustainable? Y/N’ question, and it requires some assessment of the responses on our part. Some larger suppliers will be heavily involved in environmental initiatives with audits and accreditations to prove it, however, equally valid are the comments back from some of our smaller suppliers, who simply tell us about their winemaking and viticultural philosophies. It seems silly to say that these suppliers and the conscientious work they do every day cannot be called sustainable, simply because they do not have the resources to actively pursue accreditations. Therefore, you can be assured that if we say that a wine is sustainable, then we have done our best to evaluate the supplier and their production methods and that some kind of reasoning has gone into it.
What is your policy on Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking?
Boutinot Ltd commits to developing and adopting a proactive approach to tackling Modern Slavery in Business and Supply chains. The Company acknowledges responsibility to the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and will ensure transparency within the organisation and with suppliers of goods and services to the organisation. To find out more about our commitments in this area please read our Modern Slavery & Human Trafficking Statement.
Who do I contact if I am interested in joining Boutinot?
We’re always keen to meet talented, like-minded people that will fit into the Boutinot ‘family’. Be warned, we’re a quirky bunch but perfectly harmless…!
To find out more about working for us and our current vacancies, please visit our Join Us section or email Jane at careers@boutinot.com.
