Truro wine merchant named best in South West

Cornwall-based wine merchant Old Chapel Cellars was named IWC Regional Merchant of the Year 2022 for South West England last night, in a glittering awards ceremony at The Hurlingham Club in London.

The prestigious awards recognise outstanding achievement in the UK wine trade, bringing together top companies and organisations – large and small – from across the UK.

The small independent wine merchant is based in a former chapel near Truro Cathedral; Old Chapel Cellars sells wine direct to the public via its shop and website, and also supplies some of Cornwall’s top restaurants and hotels.

The business is co-owned by Louisa Fitzpatrick and Jamie Tonkin, who both attended the awards ceremony last night.

Jamie said he was delighted to receive the award, commenting: “The IWC awards are extremely well-regarded in the trade, so just to get through to the final was a great achievement. To be named SW Regional Merchant of the Year by our peers in the industry is incredible. It’s testament to the hard work of the whole team over the past 12 months.” 

Louisa agreed, adding: “We’re a small team of five, so we all have big shares in the pride and sense of achievement this award brings. The last year has been transformative for us, as we completed our journey to become the UK’s first B Corp accredited wine merchant. This award really is the icing on the cake!”

B Corp status is a highly regarded environmental and social certification given only to businesses which consider people and planet, as well as profit, in every decision they make.

Louisa and Jamie have put sustainability at the heart of their business model; they have no intention of resting on their laurels after this big endorsement of that approach.

Louisa says: “We’ll certainly take a moment to celebrate with the rest of the team in Cornwall, but then it’s back to work! We’ll be investing time and resources in our new website, bringing some exciting new wines into our portfolio, honing our carbon-free local transport strategy and hosting WSET courses in the autumn. We’re really excited to see what the next year brings.”  

To find out more about Old Chapel Cellars, click here.