Laithwaite's Wines

Originally called “Bordeaux Direct” the original business had just five wines and only 150 customers. Today, over 40 years on, Laithwaites is a household name and delivers wine to over 700,000 customers, with a huge network supplier contacts, purchasing top-quality, small production wines.

As a student Tony Laithwaite spent his summers working in the Bordeaux vineyards – lugging the local wine home on the train for a few family friends. Then in 1969 he bought a Ford van in order to bring real wines – wines of authenticity and character – directly to customers in the UK.

Called ‘Bordeaux Direct’, the original business had just five wines on the list (at 13/6d a bottle!) and only 150 customers. In the 1970s they were the first merchants – of any nationality – to prospect and buy wine from the wine regions of southern France … Bergerac, Duras, Cahors, Madiran, Gaillac, Minervois, Saint-Chinian and so on eastwards. Then came other countries; Rioja, Bulgarian Cabernet, even wines from Australia that were first shipped in 1974.

Today … over 40 years on, Laithwaites is a household name and delivers wine to over 700,000 customers, with a huge network of supplier contacts, purchasing top-quality, small production wines from producers in every corner of the known wine world.

Keith Jones, the Company’s Health & Safety Manager had seen TagEvac^® at a local Fire Safety event and identified the potential benefits. They have now adopted the system for their busy Head office in Theale and new state-of-the-art warehousing facility in Gloucester (pictured).