TABLE TALK #123
Us humans, we love to love a David. The plucky underdog. The challenger. Those who take on the big boys, and win.
Today’s Table Talk tells the tale of one of the wine world’s most iconic challengers. One whose imprint has been immense, to the point that he’s way outgrown his David-sized shoes.
Introducing Tony Laithwaite, the OG of direct-to-consumer wine.
🍝 MAIN COURSE 🍝
Everyone knows someone who’s driven to the Continent, stacked their boot with wine, then sallied home. Few of us know someone who did that, then built a monster business off the back of it.
Tony Laithwaite, however, did just that.
Tony Laithwaite, however, did just that.
The story starts in 1969. Tony had spent his university summers working on vineyards, fast falling in love with the local wines, then lugging home his favoured few on the train.
Realising that with just two arms this approach had its limits, he dreamt a little bigger, bought a van, then picked five different wines to fill it.
So Bordeaux Direct was born, the world’s first home delivery service for wine - unique for only selling wine bottled by the producers and unique in their mission to pioneer wine from southern France.
Today, Laithwaites as it’s now known, is over fifty years old and sells wine from every corner of the world.
The plucky challenger that challenged the status quo, created a new status quo. Today, no-one blinks at the concept of wine delivered direct, and that’s their doing.
The plucky challenger that challenged the status quo, created a new status quo. Today, no-one blinks at the concept of wine delivered direct, and that’s their doing.
Photo Credit: Profile Editions
Tony, to us, is a fascinating figurehead.
He’s brave. His ethos is to "work out what everyone else is doing, and do the opposite" – hence their early embrace of Australian wine.
He’s unflinchingly committed. They say that if you find a job you enjoy doing, you’ll never have to work a day in your life. Hearing Tony, fifty years in, still describing the company as “more an obsession than a business”, feels like pretty good testament to this.
He’s modest. Often downplaying his own talent: “I am very surprised at what my wife Barbara and I have achieved. We make a good team. She is organised and numerate, while I am constantly coming up with distracting new ideas."
Tony, we doff our cap.
Photo Credit: David Bebber
🍮 SWEET ENDINGS 🍮
Given that today, 95% of Laithwaites are exclusively produced, it feels pretty "pinch me" that this week they’re going live with two of our wines, Piquant and Vignette.
Sure, Laithwaites is big now, but it’s testament to the culture they've created that they still embrace younger categories before so many others.
Alongside their brilliant online service, they also have multiple bricks and mortar stores, so if you prefer shopping in store, you can find your nearest here.
