our retail outlets.

a wine for all tastes, a price for all budgets.

Because our shops do not look like a regular off-licence some customers are at first a little intimidated on entering the shop. But all our managers are friendly chatty 'people-people' and have a genuine interest in our customers exploring all types of wine and all the wines that we sell. True we don't sell tobacco or lottery tickets, true we don't follow the national advertising tends, true we don't stack boxes of beers high.

But what we do have is a large selection of wines starting at less than £5.00 a bottle. We don't mean the token £4.99 or £4.95 so we can claim to have wines at less than £5.00. Our regular price for around 20 lovely wines is between £4.00 and £4.65.

What do we keep on our shelves?

Apart from the Fantastic Fives most of our wines fall into the £6.00 to £10.00 price range. Our greatest range of really good wines are between just £10.00 and £15.00 and there are some bargains to be found up to £20.00.

Also of course we have wines for special occasions and gifts and naturally some lovely champagnes and sparkling wines.

If you are looking for something a little more exotic then we have wines from £20.00 to £30.00 from some of the great and largely undiscovered producers in the world.

What wines from where?

Our range is often amended as new vintages are released or we discover some producer who we feel simply must feature on our list. Naturally we keep all the favourites in stock. Good Chardonnay, great Chenin Blanc, Merlot's and Shiraz, Cabernet and some lovely blends of the great varieties with varietal grapes. But you really should come in and browse for a time....

Our wines are from the New World and the Old. Some of the major producers such as Carmen and Wente, Chante Cigale and Domaine Dupont-Fahn. And lots of the smaller producers, Weinert and Rothvale, Domaine Cheysson and Promessa.

Don't' have time to visit a shop?

No problem. Our full list is available on the web site and while you may wish to order on line the shops are happy to take telephone orders for pickup at any of our locations. This is a regular occurrence; just last week a customer discovered our red Sancerre on the web site, rang a shop and picked up 6 bottles the next day. So don't be shy!

So how are we different?

True - we have some multi-buys. How about 3 easy-drinking wines from the Argentine for just £10.00.

True - we are in our own quiet way evangelists for wine. Our customers can select any 6 of our Fantastic Five wines (those less than £5.00 a bottle) for just £25.00. We run monthly promotions, feature producers, regions or grape varieties on our 'display-tables' and of course have monthly tastings of new or wines of particular interest.

True - we try to have something to interest everyone; from younger persons just starting to explore the tastes of wines after the beer years at college and university to the enthusiast who has had time to develop a particular interest in a grape variety or the produce of one region.

True - we do have offers on cases of 6 bottles of wine. How about £25.00 for a party Red View Red or White - great value wines full of flavour able to match the broadest menu, to please all your guests.

True - our wines really do come from around the world. All the major regions that you might expect, but also many of the smaller and less well known producers.

True - we have the Chardonnay's and Sauvignon Blanc, the Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon. But we also have less well known grape varieties such as Zinfandel, Pinotage and Petit Manseng to name just a few. We have the simple wines intended for every day drinking. We have some challenging wines to sip on their own. We have complex wines for the enthusiast from Grant Burge to the stunning barrel-fermented Amayna Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

We are a wine merchant, not a chain of off-licences.

But no we are not wine snobs, nor jargon-ridden. Of course we have an interest in wines and while most of our shop managers can hold their own with the most knowledgeable customers and connoisseurs others are less experienced but share the enthusiasm.

We do sell some spirits from a great value £9.95 for regular mixing blends of whisky, rum, gin, brandy and vodka to malt whiskies for the enthusiast.

We do sell a range of dessert wines.

We even have some alcohol-free wine; a surprisingly pleasing Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from California.

So are we old fashioned and stuffy, the type of wine merchant that used to be the norm?

Eh - no. We haven't worn ties for years.

We speak English, we describe wines without all the technical jargon.

Oh, and perhaps most important of all we have all tasted the majority of wines we offer.

We do not have 'walls of wine' to confuse but small selections of great wines. One can enter our shops and leave within moments with a lovely wine for the evening. Or spend a half hour just browsing the shelves. The choice is yours- and that our customers choose to buy wine from us we never forget. This is reflected in our manner, our service and our enthusiasm for what might be the last great retail area that is based on such values.

So walk into a World of Wines shop - and discover some truly unusual and hard to find wines.