Wines with Personality
Having worked in the wine sector for many years as well as being WSET educated, Alex Roberts and Wayne Blomfield, bring considerable expertise to the table.
Alex Roberts
Alex grew up in Kent and spent time as a student in both Bristol and Florence. Given the importance of both cities to the wine trade, and the fact that he is unable to remember a time in his life when there was no wine around, it was perhaps inevitable that he ended up running London's oldest wine bar.
Itchy feet prevailed, however, and before you could even say "Barossa Valley" he found himself crouched over, wielding the secateurs for Banrock Station down under. A return to the UK found him switching to retail where he ran a selection of Oddbins branches and it was during this time that his and Wayne's paths first crossed.
Then between 2007 and 2010, they both set up and managed the Clapham Old Town branch of Wines of the World.
Wayne Blomfield
After working in the city for about 100 years, Wayne decided early on in the millennium that it was time to get a 'real' job. All those years of sumptuous corporate lunches had led to a highly developed fascination with fine wine and, more importantly, the fine foods to match them.He further enhanced his skills by running the fine wine department at Oddbins' flagship store in Battersea for five years.
At Wines of the World he took joint responsibility for sourcing the delicious wines that filled the shelves. In this time he also undertook many tutored tastings and wine fairs that were all phenomenally well attended.
A remarkably calm and tranquil individual, keen cyclist, proficient runner, global traveller and purveyor of awful jokes, Wayne has all of the attributes required to be able to work alongside Alex.
Park Vintners
In 2010 both Alex and Wayne felt it was time to take the plunge and set up on their own.
Having researched several areas, Wimbledon Park stood out as the perfect spot. After what seemed like an eternity, unravelling red tape and jumping through hoops, Park Vintners finally opened in December 2010.
Wayne says: "We strongly believe there is a place for a specialist wine shop in Wimbledon Park. We find that people who love wine love the fact there is a different range on offer. They also like to swap wine recommendations with like-minded people."
Alex adds: "We have the flexibility to adapt our range to what our customers like, something larger buyers cannot always offer their local audiences. Wimbledon Park is a close community, and we want to be as central to local life as the butcher, newsagent, and cafe"
Alex Roberts
Alex grew up in Kent and spent time as a student in both Bristol and Florence. Given the importance of both cities to the wine trade, and the fact that he is unable to remember a time in his life when there was no wine around, it was perhaps inevitable that he ended up running London's oldest wine bar.
Itchy feet prevailed, however, and before you could even say "Barossa Valley" he found himself crouched over, wielding the secateurs for Banrock Station down under. A return to the UK found him switching to retail where he ran a selection of Oddbins branches and it was during this time that his and Wayne's paths first crossed.
Then between 2007 and 2010, they both set up and managed the Clapham Old Town branch of Wines of the World.
Wayne Blomfield
After working in the city for about 100 years, Wayne decided early on in the millennium that it was time to get a 'real' job. All those years of sumptuous corporate lunches had led to a highly developed fascination with fine wine and, more importantly, the fine foods to match them.He further enhanced his skills by running the fine wine department at Oddbins' flagship store in Battersea for five years.
At Wines of the World he took joint responsibility for sourcing the delicious wines that filled the shelves. In this time he also undertook many tutored tastings and wine fairs that were all phenomenally well attended.
A remarkably calm and tranquil individual, keen cyclist, proficient runner, global traveller and purveyor of awful jokes, Wayne has all of the attributes required to be able to work alongside Alex.
Park Vintners
In 2010 both Alex and Wayne felt it was time to take the plunge and set up on their own.
Having researched several areas, Wimbledon Park stood out as the perfect spot. After what seemed like an eternity, unravelling red tape and jumping through hoops, Park Vintners finally opened in December 2010.
Wayne says: "We strongly believe there is a place for a specialist wine shop in Wimbledon Park. We find that people who love wine love the fact there is a different range on offer. They also like to swap wine recommendations with like-minded people."
Alex adds: "We have the flexibility to adapt our range to what our customers like, something larger buyers cannot always offer their local audiences. Wimbledon Park is a close community, and we want to be as central to local life as the butcher, newsagent, and cafe"
