The origins of Mr.Wheeler date right back to Victorian times, when George Wheeler, the great-great-grandfather of our current Chairman Johnny Wheeler, first joined the wine industry in 1883 – and the family business, supplying fine wine to a discerning clientele, began. Early success led to expansion into larger premises on Colchester’s bustling High Street, which was to be occupied by the business – and for some time the Wheeler family – for more than a century, as the company went from strength to strength. In 1937, the purchase of a further building, in Culver Street, would allow further growth to meet the increasing demand for quality wine, with the new premises incorporating stabling for the firm’s dray horses, a bottling cellar, and storage for customers.
Fast forward to the current day and Mr.Wheeler is still based close to its Colchester roots in the villages of Langham and Dedham – beautiful countryside where John Constable painted many of his iconic masterpieces. We serve the UK and international clients from this base. And still very much with the family traditions of personal service and a passion for great wines. Nowhere is this service more evident than in our fine wine and en primeur business where a dedicated team looks after clients both large and small, knowledgeable and just starting out and across the world. We combine this service with the tech-savvy expertise you would want from a 21 st century wine merchant with online access to your wines, efficient and smooth back-office and delivery and a world class storage warehouse for your wines, should you choose to store them with us.
As stated above, Johnny Wheeler is very much at the helm as Executive Chairman, and is particularly involved in the fine wine division of the business. We also have a flourishing and strongly growing business providing premium drinking wines (typically from below £10 to £30 a bottle) for home delivery, and a strong regional hotels and restaurants arm.