Our Story

A storied history

Founding Enotria

Enotria started from humble beginnings. It was founded in 1972 as a small importing venture, thanks to the foresight of visionary entrepreneur Remo Nardone, an immigrant from the central-Italian region of Lazio. Drawing on his cultural heritage, Nardone curated a robust Italian portfolio tailored to meet the needs of the Italian restaurant community of the time in large British cities such as London, Liverpool, Manchester, Edinburgh, and Glasgow.

Enotria was infused with Remo's profound passion for wine, its business ethos mirroring his personal traits: resilience, determination, drive, a deep appreciation for the individuals shaping the industry, and the connections formed through a shared love for wine. In line with this philosophy and approach, from the outset, Remo made a strategic decision to establish exclusive partnerships with his suppliers, forging relationships that extended beyond mere business transactions. This commitment was founded on robust connections with winemakers, reflecting Remo's belief in the profound impact of genuine relationships. Many of our enduring partnerships, such as those with Fattoria dei Barbi in Montalcino and Fontanafredda in Piedmont, trace their roots back to this approach centred on strong human relationships and commitment to serving the wine industry.

Remo Nardone

Enotria's founder, Remo Nardone, moved to Britain from Cassino in Italy's Lazio region. This area was home to the historically significant Montecassino Abbey. During World War II, the area was subject to dramatically intense American bombardments, which prompted many, including Remo, to seek opportunities abroad. Remo embodied the typical traits of resilience, hard work, and forward thinking typically associated with industrious immigrants. Starting from humble roles in Italian restaurants, he climbed the ladder until he owned his own establishments. Then, driven by his profound vinous passion, Remo divested from his hospitality ventures and founded Enotria.

Remo's vision extended beyond recognising a market demand for high-quality Italian wine: from the outset, he understood the need to establish a bonded warehouse. This strategic move allowed Enotria, rooted in the on-trade sector, to expand its reach to retailers, including multi-site wine shops and national supermarkets. In an era when supermarkets had just begun exploring the potential of the wine category, Enotria’s ability to engage with this channel provided a significant advantage over competitors. This foresight enabled our company to develop expertise across diverse channels, laying the foundation for its present-day success.

Italian heritage

Since its inception, Enotria has devoted a significant portion of its efforts to importing prestigious names from the Italian wine scene. This journey started with founder Remo and was further developed by our Italian wine buyer Sergio De Luca upon his arrival in 1985. Today, our Italian heritage continues to be a cornerstone of our identity.

Enotria not only solidified its position as a major player in the Italian wine business within the on-trade sector but also consistently spearheaded trends in Italian wines across Britain’s off-trade. In the late 80s and early 90s, Enotria dominated the Lambrusco market, successfully meeting the surging demand from British consumers. Building on this triumph, Enotria also played a pioneering role in propelling Pinot Grigio and Prosecco to widespread popularity earlier this century. Our impact extended to Italian fine wine, too. Enotria took a leading role in the Barolo revolution in Piedmont during a period when the “Barolo Boys” challenged the region's conventions, catapulting the then-deprived Piedmont region into modernity and establishing it as one of the world's premier fine wine regions. Our own Sergio – who was himself a member of the group of vinous revolutionaries – established strong relationships with fellow Barolo Boys such as Chiara Boschi of E. Pira and Giorgio Rivetti of La Spinetta, who are still with us today. 

At the same time, Enotria has also been at the forefront of the qualitative exploit of Italy's south, thanks to our partnership with Sicily's Planeta and its visionary founder Diego Planeta. More recently, we have been exploring new developments within the Italian wine landscape, particularly focusing on exciting advancements in Lazio – the birthplace of our founder, Remo Nardone – with the emergence of the “super-Romans” movement. Enotria's prominent standing as a market leader is undoubtedly due to its pioneering role in shaping trends amid the remarkable growth of the modern Italian wine industry over the past five decades. And today, our Italian heritage endures through our robust Italian wine portfolio, featuring bottles from all major regions that span the spectrum from entry-level to top-notch offerings.

Growing Enotria

What Enotria is today

The arrival of our longstanding buyer, Sergio De Luca, in the 1980s marked a pivotal period for Enotria, as it transformed the portfolio into a more comprehensive selection that embraced all major Italian regions. But this era wasn't just characterised by the solidification of our Italian offerings. We also witnessed robust business growth and the expansion of the portfolio to include regions and countries worldwide.

A first milestone in this process was our agreement to trade leading Champagne brand Laurent Perrier in the UK, followed by the establishment of further relationships with key French agencies, such as our ongoing partnership with Alsace producer Trimbach. The expansion of our portfolio's scope continued with the inclusion of exclusive suppliers from Australia, Chile, and South Africa and, in the early 2000s, the transition from a privately owned company to private equity further propelled Enotria forward. This shift not only provided a significant business boost, it broadened our reach, too. Expanding beyond our initial focus on Italian hospitality, we established a broader connection with Britain’s restaurant sector, facilitated by what had become an extensive portfolio featuring exclusive agencies from around the globe.

The Great Wine Co.

The acquisition of Great Western Wine marked a pivotal moment for our business, representing a significant expansion of our reach across the South- West. This strategic move played a crucial role in solidifying and enhancing the national presence that our clients benefit from today. Great Western Wine, rebranded to The Great Wine Co, in 2020, has brought valuable assets to Enotria, including a physical shop located in Bath. This brick-and-mortar establishment remains a source of pride and affection for us today, but also serves as a tangible representation of our commitment to reaching a diverse array of channels and customers. Furthermore, the acquisition provided us with a skilled and knowledgeable workforce local to the South- West, whose expertise has played a vital role in deepening our understanding of the region and strengthening our human connection to it.

Coe Vintners

Maintaining a consistent awareness of market shifts has empowered us to pioneer trends and uphold our leading position in the drinks industry throughout our history spanning over half a century. In 2015, our merger with renowned premium spirits pioneer Coe Vintners marked a pivotal moment in our journey. This strategic integration led to the formation of our new business name, Enotria&Coe, and reflected our steadfast commitment to actively engage in the vibrant and evolving spirits landscape in the UK. Coinciding with this strategic move, 2015 also marked our relocation to our current offices in Park Royal.

Spirits Kiosk

In our most recent strategic move, we acquired Gin Foundry and its retail platform, Gin Kiosk, in 2020. This served a dual purpose for Enotria&Coe. The acquisition proved instrumental in enhancing our direct-to-consumer capabilities, especially during a period marked by the accelerated growth of digital and online retail due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Renamed Spirits Kiosk to reflect the expansion of the spirits offering, the incorporation of the editorial, retail, and event environments provided valuable support for our engagement with end consumers. Simultaneously, the expertise brought in by Spirits Kiosk played a crucial role in fortifying our spirits insight and spirits education initiatives. This bolstered our understanding of the drinks market and enriched the educational resources available to our trade customers.

Enotria is in a very exciting position today. With Sergio at the helm of our Italian buying since the 1980s we have embraced all major Italian regions, alongside the expansion of our portfolio to include regions and countries worldwide. This expansive portfolio is at the heart of our business today.

Ahead of us is unique opportunity and responsibility to foster sustainability both upstream and downstream in the industry. We are excited to spearhead change, one of the ways we are doing this is by achieving carbon neutrality across our internal operations by 2030 and extend this to our entire supply chain by 2050. 

The future with Enotria&Coe

Carbon net zero by 2030

As a leading wine and spirits supplier in the UK, catering some of the world's top brands to a diverse and sizeable range of on- and off-premise businesses, we recognise the unique opportunity and responsibility we have to foster sustainability both upstream and downstream in the industry.  Being in such an influential position, it is our duty to spearhead change. Hence, we have set an ambitious goal to achieve carbon neutrality across our internal operations by 2030 and extend this to encompass our entire supply chain by 2050.  To realise this goal, we are implementing various strategies. For example, we prioritise rail transport over road and air, opt for bulk transportation for high-volume products – which are then bottled and labelled at a carbon-neutral facility – and our headquarters operate on 100% renewable energy. These efforts have already led to a 60% reduction in our carbon emissions year-on-year as of our latest data from 2022.

To hit our target, collaboration with, and support for our producers are also essential. We actively assist them in monitoring their sustainability performance and facilitate gradual improvements. Our principal initiative is the “sustainability barometer”, an annual report that tracks the environmental progress of each of our exclusive suppliers. The insights gained from the sustainability barometer enable us to identify and showcase best practices, which we then share with all producers and customers to promote continuous improvement. This not only aids them in making more informed choices by highlighting our most sustainable producers, it contributes to an industry-wide commitment to ongoing improvement, too. We are also involved in working groups and think tanks alongside other dedicated industry members to proactively advocate for and influence more sustainable approaches across the industry.

We are a proud founding member of the Sustainable Wine Roundtable (SWR), a collaborative platform committed to advancing sustainability throughout the global wine industry, spanning from production to retail. An exemplary initiative undertaken by the SWR and its members is the bottle weight accord. This agreement, endorsed by some of the world's leading retailers, aims to reduce the weight of 750ml still wine bottles to 420g by the end of 2026. Demonstrating our commitment to this cause, we have set a goal to achieve this target one year ahead of the agreed schedule.

In addition to our involvement in the SWR, Enotria&Coe actively participates in Harper's Sustainability Charter as one of its three Sustainability Champions. This group comprises companies collaboratively working towards initiatives that advance the discourse on sustainability in the wine industry and raise awareness about sustainability issues.

New business models

Remo Nardone, our founder, was deeply passionate about hospitality. When he established Enotria, he was fuelled by his love for wine and a strong dedication to serving the on-trade industry. Our company continues to uphold these core values and remains deeply committed to the hospitality sector today. Over the years, however, we have also expanded our horizons to include more channels, adopting a more inclusive approach. As a result, we now cater to the entire spectrum of the drinks industry. By adopting this strategy, we have developed not only a wealth of expertise, but also a remarkable flexibility that allows us to navigate the industry's developments and embrace new business models. This is made possible by our teams' innovative thinking and their ability to provide tailored support to our clients, all aimed at making their lives easier.

Leadership

Enotria&Coe boasts a rich history spanning over five decades. From humble beginnings with just a few accounts in the on-trade sector, we have expanded our presence to encompass all channels of the drinks industry, solidifying a prime position within it. This achievement is attributed not only to our unwavering dedication to the industry, but also to an ethos centred around leadership.  At Enotria&Coe, our teams strive to anticipate trends and actively contribute to their development within the UK market. Recognising the significant responsibility that comes with being a leading business in the UK drinks industry, we are also committed to setting a standard that inspires excellence and innovation across the entire sector.