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About Us


Overview

The WineBarn are a mutli-award winning wine merchant that has been importing premium German wines to the UK for over 24 years.
Our portfolio includes elegant Spätburgunders (Pinot Noirs), dry Rieslings, sparkling Sekts, exclusive Eiswein (ice wine) and more. Our broad range has been selected to cover all styles - from the affordable to the luxurious, from dry to sweet and from fresh to full-bodied - ensuring there's something to suit all tastes and pair with any cuisine.
Described as the ‘the Jewel in the crown of German wine merchants’ by Steven Spurrier the Consultant Editor of Decanter, The WineBarn is trusted by the UK’s top sommeliers, supplying many of the finest Michelin starred restaurants. We also supply Selfridges, Harvey Nichols and many other well-known wine merchants & retailers behind the scenes.
For the past six years The WineBarn has won the title of ‘Specialist Merchant of the Year for Germany’ at the International Wine Challenge (IWC) Merchant Awards, and recently won the Decanter Retailer Award 2022 for 'Best German Wine Specialist'.
The WineBarn Awards
It is not just The WineBarn that has been recognised by critics, many of the wines in our portfolio have also impressed judges and consumers alike, receiving awards for their quality and distinction, so you can be assured of an exceptional selection.
 

Our Passion

At The WineBarn we share a common passion - to find and import the very best quality modern German wines to the UK. Our MD, Iris Ellmann, is a native German with strong ties to her homeland and is an acknowledged expert in this field. She loves nothing better than to be in Germany researching and finding exciting new producers to bring to the UK. This dedication to German wine was recognised in 2013 when The Riesling Fellowship awarded Iris the honour of being selected as one of the UK’s first Fellows, alongside industry greats such as Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson. When presenting the award, the Fellowship commented, “Iris has done much to change the face of the UK wine list for the better".
 

Our Producers

Every producer we represent is hand-picked and each one has a unique story to tell. Some have a family run business that has been handed down through several centuries. Others are new producers with small vineyards where much of the work is done by hand using traditional techniques. There is no ‘tick box’ approach to how we select our wines. Each producer is personally known to us and we have complete faith in the quality of their wines. At the recent Decanter and Sommelier Wine Awards our wines won 27 medals - a wonderful result for our hardworking winemakers.
 

Our Client Portfolio

We are justifiably proud of our portfolio of clients. On the trade side we supply a large number of the UK’s Michelin starred restaurants, top London destination stores including Selfridges and Harvey Nichols, as well as and a number of luxury hotels. We also supply to Oxford and Cambridge Colleges and well-known wine retailers such as Majestic and The Wine Society. Our private clients are of equal importance to us and we have come to know them as friends, making wine suggestions to suit their personal preferences and cellar requirements. We pride ourselves on offering a truly bespoke service.
 

Our Personal Recommendations

At The WineBarn we truly live, breathe and love our wines! Good German wine is everything to us and we strive to provide a service that is based on expert knowledge, quality advice and always a personal recommendation. Whatever your wine needs you can be certain that we can help select the right wines for your requirement. We also offer a rare and antique wine service, sourcing elusive investment wines from hidden cellars in Germany. This is a very specialist field, so please address any enquiries about this to Iris Ellmann; iris@thewinebarn.co.uk.