In 1991 Shaun Tordoff was becoming tired of working for an international wine merchant. He was frustrated with the impersonal service and poor selections of wines on offer. Shaun believed that the customer deserved better. From his experience he knew that there were thousands of small undiscovered vineyards around the world, creating incredible wines that just needed to be brought to the customer. These new wines had the potential to expand the populations palates allowing them to also enhance a dining experience with the perfect wines, just like being in a Michelin star restaurant. Shaun thought that this was an opportunity that could not be missed. He spoke to his travelled wife Wendy who at the time was working as a buyer for revolutionary brand Next. Wendy agreed. It started humbly, with business cards being brought and printed from a motorway service station and Tordoff Wine importers were born.
Shaun quit his job and headed straight to France to discover and collect his first bounty. After a fruitful first trip across the border, he did not have much luck getting back across it. His van and goods were seized until he could pay the duty. So Shaun made his own way back to Leicestershire. The pressure was on to get the money together before the goods were fully confiscated and destroyed. A week later Shaun returned with the funds, and the van filled with wine back to its rightful owner. There was however another realisation on the journey back – Shaun had a van filled with incredible undiscovered wines but not a single customer to buy them.
After a long few months knocking on people’s doors, going up and down the country, carrying out numerous wine tastings, and receiving lots of rejections Tordoff Wines finally won their first client. A client that has been buying from them for over 29 years. Tordoff stuck to their original mission of bringing delicious fresh wines from undiscovered vineyards to everyone. Sticking to their mission paid off with more and more people choosing to use Tordoffs to supply their wine and recommending them to their friends. Eurostar became aware and they became Tordoffs first large commercial client and still remain today.
Tordoffs are now moving into a new exciting chapter. This chapter will still put their loyal customers at the center of what they do, listening to their reviews of wines and bringing in wines that people are looking for ahead of the trends. Tordoff will still only be providing wines from vineyards that make their wines sustainable with passion, in limited runs that ensures that their wine is the best their land can harbour. These original missions support the next stage in Tordoff Wines. Tordoffs are looking to take younger generations on a journey to gain an appreciation of quality wines and to understand when carefully curated they can be affordable. We have created a new platform that is easy to use as well as informative. Tordoffs will curate and update each month, providing new and exciting wines to try. We want young professionals to be able to effortlessly marry their wine with food and to be able to talk about its origins before a meal, to make wine-drinking an extra special experience that enhances their evening. The platform will also allow the opportunity to maintain your notes on the wine and have favourites that can easily be purchased again.
We understand that convenience is one of the most important values today. What could be better than having the convenience of beautifully curated wines being delivered straight to your door! Tordoffs is and will always be the place to go to as we care about our customers and our wines.
