From an early age I was given a huge insight into wine by my Father, an enthusiastic “claret man” and made up my mind to follow my nose into the wine trade. When I left school I packed a tent into my Mark 1 Ford Escort and went to live in France for the best part of two years. I worked in all the major wine regions, mostly camping, but occasionally enjoying the odd spare bed (a luxury at the time). In 1990, I bought Satchells.

To me, the most important aspect of running Satchells is helping to find my customers their perfect wine at the right price. That does not necessarily mean the cheapest, but the best value for money. Here at Satchells we value and foster return business. Through paying careful attention to my customers’ tastes, I can make honest and savvy recommendations, so that when a customer asks, “shall I have a case of this?” I can say, “no, save yourself ten bob and have this instead…its much nicer!” – a fair outcome for us both.

There are many appealing aspects to being a Wine Merchant. Firstly, there is no such thing as a typical day. In between answering the phone to speak with a customer about a 2003 claret, or ordering 200 bottles of Satchells Sauvignon, I might have to dash to Cromer in the van before preparing for 40-odd people in the shop for an evening tasting. On precious days away from the shop, I enjoy watching Norwich City FC (perhaps ‘enjoy’ is the wrong word) and trying to crack 100 at golf (stupid, but addictive game).

Personally, I find that I am always learning when it comes to wine. With so many tastes and flavours, could there be a better product to work with?

Finally, a quote from Ernest Hemingway:

“Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the natural things in the world that has been brought to the greatest perfection, and it offers a greater range for enjoyment and appreciation than, possibly, any other purely sensory thing.”

Enough said, don’t you think?

We look forward to seeing you at Satchells very soon.

Maxwell Graham-Wood