Oxford Wine Company – Wine & Spirits Merchants

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Seasonal Selections

Regularly updated!

Are you struggling to navigate your way through the thousands of products on our list? Well, help is at hand! Here you will discover exciting new producers and dependable favourites, all selected by our team.

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The Oxford Wine School

Booking available for 2024

The Oxford Wine School is the education arm of The Oxford Wine Company. Our Educators co-ordinate and teaches a range of wine courses, from informal introductions to structured WSET Courses.

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Winter Wine Offers

Online discounts this December

Take a look at our range of winter wine offers, with discounts on a wide variety of bottles. Whether it’s red, white or a touch of fizz you’re after, we’ve got you covered!

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FROM THE BLOG

The Oxford Wine Cellar is now open!

2 months ago

We are absolutely delighted to announce that after many months of hard work The Oxford Wine Cellar is open! Based on a similar concept to The Oxford Wine Café, the…

The Rise of Rhum Agricole

4 months ago

When it comes to drinking Caribbean rum, nine times out of ten, what’s in your glass will be a spirit that uses molasses as its raw material. Molasses, being a…

Producer Profile: Château Pas du Cerf

5 months ago

We fell in love with the elegant, complex, wines produced at Chateau Pas du Cerf when we discovered them at a Paris wine fair this year. The rosés are classic…

Grape Expectations: Cortese

5 months ago

While I expect that most of you will not be familiar with the grape variety Cortese, I am sure that you will have heard of Gavi. Like many European wines,…

The Life of an MW Student – Thirty Two

5 months ago

On the first morning of the 2023 MW practical exams I found it difficult to get up. Fitful sleep the night before and my ‘revision dungeon’ (actually a reasonably nice…

The Life of an MW Student – Thirty One

7 months ago

This will be my last column before I make my second attempt at the MW practical exams. I am now at the point where I’m counting down in days rather…

Producer Profile: Dominio de Tares

7 months ago

Referred to as the Burgundy of Spain, Bierzo is one of the old world’s most promising “new” wine regions. A wave of young producers have converged on the region, determined…

The Life of an MW Student – Thirty

7 months ago

At the time of writing, it is exactly one month before my second attempt at the MW practical exams. The name of the game now is damage limitation. On my…

Producer Profile: Bodega Tandem, Navarra, Spain

8 months ago

Bodega Tandem is a family-owned winery situated in the Valle de Yerri in the beautiful Navarra region in Northern Spain. Founded in 2003 by Jose Maria Fraile and Alicia Eyaralar,…

The Life of an MW Student – Twenty Nine

8 months ago

In studying for theory exams last year, I created an incredible spreadsheet. This sheet had pages allocated to each exam paper, each divided into sections according to the themes likely…

HeavenSake

8 months ago

HeavenSake is a collaboration between Regis Camus, Chef de Caves at Maison Rare Champagne, and several Japan-based sake brewers. Typically, sake brewers blend multiple batches of sake that use the…

How is Sake Made?

9 months ago

In a previous blog, What is Sake we discussed that sake is a fermented rice beverage made from polished rice, water, yeast, koji mold and, sometimes, brewer’s alcohol. This blog…

What is Sake?

9 months ago

Sake is a fermented rice beverage made from polished rice, water, yeast, koji mold and, sometimes, brewer’s alcohol. A common misconception is that sake is a rice wine; in fact,…

Exciting Times for Irish Whiskey at The Echlinville Distillery

9 months ago

As our Easyjet flight approaches Belfast International Airport the first thing I notice is how green the fields in Northern Ireland still are. Back in England everything is scorched various…

The Life of an MW Student – Twenty Eight

9 months ago

With just less than three months to go before I make my second attempt at the Master of Wine exams, I am focusing on my technical tasting. This is at…

Bienvenidos a España!

9 months ago

At The Oxford Wine Company this February we celebrated Spanish wine, and what better way to start than with a double producer tasting! We were fortunate enough to have two amazing…

Reach for Ribera

10 months ago

When most people think of Spanish wine or Tempranillo, Rioja is the first thing that comes to mind. The Rioja region has all the glamour: an excellent tourist route and…

The Life of an MW Student – Twenty Seven

10 months ago

I write this having returned yesterday from the annual MW student study seminar. This is an intensive, bootcamp-like week which aims to get students fighting fit and ready for sixteen…

The Life of an MW Student – Twenty Six

11 months ago

It’s easy, in the wine trade, to slip into unhealthy drinking patterns. We are constantly surrounded by delicious, interesting, and often free, wine. However, overindulging in alcohol is not conducive…

OWC Featured in The Oxford Mail!

11 months ago

On the back of our recent success in the Top 50 Independent Wine Merchants, we were featured in The Oxford Mail. Here’s an excerpt: Owner and chairman Ted Sandbach started…

Talking Wine – January 2023

11 months ago

We are now well into in January and a few friends are indulging in ‘Dry January’. They will tell you they are feeling great but I detect that some of…

Lunar New Year: Baijiu

11 months ago

What is Baijiu? It’s one of the biggest selling spirits on the planet with over 17 billion litres produced every year yet, outside of it’s native China, very few people…

Lunar New Year: Chinese Wine

11 months ago

The influence of Asian markets between 1996 and 2005 on fine wine, especially Bordeaux En Primeur, has been well documented. The Chinese market is willing to pay for fine wine,…

Number One Independent Wine Merchant in the UK!

11 months ago

We are absolutely over the moon to have been named as the Top Independent Wine Merchant in the UK!! We were selected by a panel of industry experts who took…

The Life of an MW Student – Twenty Five

12 months ago

During the three years I have spent on the Master of Wine programme I have (mostly unintentionally) focused on the theory element of the exam. With hindsight, it is clear…

Talking Wine – December 2022

12 months ago

As we fast approach the Christmas rush, we begin to see our annual customers. By that I mean those that only seem to come and see us at Christmas but…

Ted Sandbach interviewed in Harpers Wine & Spirit

12 months ago

To mark our 30th Anniversary this year, Ted Sandbach (Owner & Chairman of OWC) was interviewed in leading trade publication Harpers Wine & Spirit. Take a look at the article…

Producer Profile: Baia’s Winery

1 year ago

Baia’s wine journey started younger than most. As a child she and her siblings spent their childhood helping their grandparents in their vineyard. They were even allowed to tend their…

Georgia: The Birthplace of Wine

1 year ago

For discoveries in wine, we’ve looked to far-off countries in the New World – South Africa, Chile, New Zealand, etc. We have come to grips with the Old World. We…

A Taste of Georgia

1 year ago

Last week Emily Silva and I had the absolute pleasure of presenting six fantastic Georgian wines to a venerable group of 35 OWC patrons. In order to demonstrate the incredible…

Talking Wine – November 2022

1 year ago

This all sounds rather pretentious, but I once conducted a wine tasting on a Virgin first class flight to the Caribbean. Let me clarify the situation by saying that I…

The Life of an MW Student – Twenty Four

1 year ago

We were told well in advance when to expect our exam results. I’m still unsure whether this is a good thing or not. It certainly prevents frantic students from pestering…

Producer Profile: Daftmill Distillery

1 year ago

Daftmill Distillery Daftmill are a Lowland Whisky distillery based in the county of Fife along Scotland’s east coast, north of Edinburgh. The distillery was founded in 2005 by brothers Francis…

Talking Wine – October 2022

1 year ago

Minimum Unit pricing (MUP) for alcohol was introduced in Scotland some five years ago and Ireland have adopted a similar scheme. The idea was fairly straightforward and it was designed…

Grape Expectations: Carmenère

1 year ago

Carmenère is a grape with an interesting history. Like Malbec, it originates in Bordeaux’s Médoc where it was used in small proportions to add complexity and depth of colour to…

The Life of an MW Student – Twenty Three

1 year ago

The MW theory exams for 2022 were a typical mix of classic questions and hot topics for today’s world of wine. Depending on the paper, candidates select two to three…

Grape Expectations: Gruner Veltliner

1 year ago

Grüner Veltliner is Austria’s flagship grape variety. It’s another one of those that holds huge importance in its region of origin, but is rarely grown elsewhere (nor is there any…

Drinks Retailing Awards Shortlist Announced!

1 year ago

We are absolutely delighted to have been shortlisted for the Drinks Retailing Awards 2023! This year, we are up for two awards: Independent Spirits Retailer of the Year, and Independent…

Little Sandy’s is Coming Soon!

1 year ago

We are so excited to share the news that our sister company, Sandy’s Piano and Wine Bar, is opening a new location in Witney! Little Sandy’s will be opening at…

Talking Wine – September 2022

1 year ago

I’ve just been reading about a Master of Wine who has tasted through some very old vintages (1920’s) of first growth claret. They had a mixed reception apparently but the…

Producer Profile: DAOU

1 year ago

Paso Robles is often called the ‘Wild West’ of Californian wine country. Located in the no-man’s land between San Francisco and Los Angeles, this region has stronger roots in cattle…

The Oxford Wine School attends The Oxford Wine Festival!

1 year ago

John Shuckburgh and Manda Joyce had a great time this weekend exhibiting at The Oxford Wine Festival. They were at the festival representing The Oxford Wine School, OWC’s educational arm,…

The Life of an MW Student – Twenty Two

1 year ago

The question papers and wine lists have been released! This means that not only can I now talk about what was involved in the exam, but also get something of…

Producer Profile: Mas de Daumas Gassac

1 year ago

“I have advised the best properties in France, but there [at Domaine Mas de Daumas Gassac], for the first time, I had the good fortune to be present at the…

What We’re Drinking – August 2022

1 year ago

At The Oxford Wine Company we spend our days surrounded by thousands of delicious wines, spirits and beers. But which of them do we decide to drink at home? This…

Grape Expectations: Saperavi

1 year ago

You’d certainly be forgiven if this is the first time you hear about Saperavi (I must admit, having written this column for quite some time I am starting to feature…

My Journey in Bourbon and why I Love Michter’s Whiskey

1 year ago

The year was 2007 and I was a student beginning my Masters degree at Oxford Brookes University. More importantly, I’d just spent my first summer behind the stick in my…

Talking Wine – August 2022

1 year ago

Binge drinking on holiday has become a major issue and I discussed the subject of reducing alcohol intake on short haul flights in a recent article. But I now read…

Excellent Exam Results!

1 year ago

We are delighted to share that our recently completed WSET Award in Wines Level Two group achieved a 100% pass rate! Included in the results were five distinctions and seven…

The Life of an MW Student – Twenty One

1 year ago

I’d wake up over and over during the night, convinced that it was time to get up and start revising. Usually at about 5:00 I’d decide enough was enough and…

ABOUT US

Retail Shops

We have three shops in central Oxford, one at our HQ in Standlake and a concession shop at Millets Farm. Find our shops here!

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Events and Education

We offer a collection of tastings to suit every need: from WSET courses to informal get togethers. Our calendar is also packed with a variety of events.

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