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ABOUT US

At Laithwaites, we stop at nothing to bring you great wine. Tasting our way across Australia, New Zealand and beyond is one of the best parts of the job. The only thing better is sharing our fantastic finds with you.

FROM BAROSSA TO BORDEAUX (AND BEYOND)

In 1987, a British wine merchant had great success in selling his European wines by adding a completely new ingredient; Australians.

Over the years, Tony Laithwaite had watched the Aussies "Come from nowhere to be probably the best winemakers in the world". Australian wine colleges produced many talented graduates with skills often lacking in Europe's sleepier wine regions. With a plane ticket in hand and the promise of a holiday job doing a second harvest of the year in France, Italy and Spain, many young winemakers simply could not resist.

So, he recruited some...

They came, and they conquered. In three years, Tony had a full team of what he dubbed his 'Flying Winemakers' (what's more every major wine retailer in Britain had copied him). Locals, who often spoke little-to-no English, soon learned to mimic "No worries, mate" as their obscure little regions began beating famous names in competition... and sales!

LAITHWAITES IN AUSTRALIA

Those early 'Flyers' changed the face of European winemaking - thanks to their skills, hard work and, above all, unbridled optimism. And with newfound experience and inspiration, they changed Australian winemaking too.

Skip ahead a few years, Andrew Stead, who had worked for Laithwaites UK, returned to his native Australia, and along with the gifted and experienced marketing brain of Rachel Robinson set up Down Under. In true Laithwaites tradition, it started as a small two-person office – without even a bathroom! They began introducing Laithwaites wines (both home grown product and European) to the Australian market. As it had done in the UK, Laithwaites grew quickly to attract an active customer base of 100,000.

So, cheers to those early ‘flying winemakers’. Wine and adventure are in our shared DNA. Through them we forged the enduring relationships we have with so many Australian winemakers we proudly work with today.

WE BLOODY LOVE WINE

Ever since Tony Laithwaite went to Bordeaux in the 60s, family and friendship has been central to our journey. We owe everything to the many family growers and wine lovers we support and serve today.

For over 50 years we’ve been delivering wine the right way - from people who love making it to the people who love drinking it. We never overcomplicate things. By keeping it simple at every stage, we’ve been able to keep costs down and guarantee authenticity with every single bottle.