John Locke, the great enlightenment philosopher of the late 17th Century was not much of a conversationalist. He had limited small talk, apparently. However he was a bit of a whiz at Socio-political thought. One of his more famous wheezes was the concept of ‘Governing by consent of the Governed’. This was instrumental in justifying the Revolution of the Colonial Americans.

He also insisted that “ Fortitude is the guide and defender of the other virtues “……….This strikes a real chord with us because it defines us. To borrow a phrase from our Dear Transatlantic Cousins “ We hold these truths to be self evident……..” In fact, it would be fair to say that this is our ‘Declaration of Independence’.

At Fortitude Wines we see ourselves as the guard and defender of some fundamental virtues, values that we are keen to share with you. ‘Virtues’ like real wine, wine made with passion and integrity, wine made respecting ‘terroir’ by real people not accountants or chemists.

We prize varietal typicity and natural balance. Wine that has a definite sense of where it comes from. We love well-made wine in all its glorious and myriad variations and we want to share this passion with you.

We also love mature Brie de Meaux, Osso Bucco, early closing Wednesdays, Ska music and fresh Crayfish. But that’s another story…..

Fortitude Wines was originally conceived as an escape plan, a vague by-product of a long lunch. It has evolved, organically, since then into a principled stand on a fiercely held belief.

The UK market is awash with wine from the four corners of the globe. Some of it is excellent, some quite good. Most of it merely aspires to a dreary adequacy, a lowly target that so much of it fails to achieve. We see it as our mission in life to act as a permanent buttress against mediocrity, to ensure that the real gems are not lost amidst this incoming tide of flotsam and jetsam.

Ranging far and wide we have sought out those gems for your pleasure. Some are well-known & deserve their lofty reputations whilst others are from off the beaten track to challenge and delight you. The select nature of our portfolio reflects our exacting standards. We seek out producers with integrity, making thoroughbred wines of individuality and distinction.

The human dimension to all this is paramount. We only sell wines from people we respect. We work hard to build a relationship of trust and support with our suppliers as well as our clients. This is achieved by personal contact, honesty and flexibility.

We will never be High Volume – Low End Merchants, purveyors of the generic and bland. Nor will we ever be too busy to stop, taste and talk. Life is too short for poorly made wine. We are tireless in our quest for great wines to show you; Evangelical in our belief that well-made wine starts its journey in the vineyard not the fermenting tanks or on the laboratory bench.

Just because we sometimes seem like Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon in ‘The Odd Couple’ does not mean we do not take this very seriously indeed.

We do…………… so you can take advantage of these virtues that we cherish.