About Us

We opened Bottle Apostle in July 2009 with the idea that a wine shop should cater as much to the wine novice as it does to the connoisseur. We believe customers should be able to explore wine without feeling intimidated simply because they might not know much about it and at the same time we strive to offer much more than the predictable off-license or supermarket selections. We aim to carry a broad range of wines at various price points and believe you should be able to buy a great bottle around about the six pound price range, without compromising on flavour or quality.

All the wines sold in our shop and online are colour-coded, food matched and succinctly described. You can sample from a rotating selection of 32 bottles in our tasting machines. And if you still have trouble deciding then our qualified wine experts are on hand to share their knowledge – with none of the attitude – either in person or on bottleapostle.com.

If you’re in London come visit us in Victoria Park, a corner of East London that has the feel of a country village – plus highly-rated restaurants, great independent shops, and no parking restrictions – yet is only a ten-minute drive from Liverpool Street station. We offer twice-weekly wine tasting events and courses, Supper Clubs featuring award-winning chefs, and free tastings on Fridays.

The Telegraph Magazine recently awarded us Britain’s Best Small Shop for Wine 2011. We hope you’ll take the opportunity to discover why.

Andrew

Our Bottle Apostles

Chris

Chris developed a taste for good wine at the age of fifteen, when he started buying Vieux Telegraphe at his local deli. He escaped the hotel business ten years ago to live in Australia, where he gained wine experience in the Hunter Valley before heading back to Europe for a Wine MBA. He looks after all aspects of the company, having run other specialist merchants in London. His deep fondness for the wines of Portugal and Austria explains the focus Bottle Apostle now has in these countries. When not at the shop Chris spends most of his time cycling, cooking, gardening, playing piano, and of course, drinking wine.

Tom

Tom is in charge of our tastings and events programme. He has a wealth of experience in that area, having previously taught the successful wine programme at Kensington & Chelsea College and run his own wine events company. In an earlier life he was a history lecturer before making the obvious jump from education to alcohol. He passed the WSET Diploma in 2001, and since then has kept his knowledge up to date with trips to Bordeaux, the Loire, Tuscany and other wine regions. Apart from wine he loves hiking and the great outdoors.

Ruth

Ruth has been working a few hours a week at Bottle Apostle since November. She spends much of the rest of her time studying for the WSET Diploma, cooking (occasionally) for random groups, and eking out the last dregs of her modelling career. She believes wine should be an enjoyable rather than stressful purchasing experience and, for the most part, swallowed. The last bottle of wine she would drink would definitely be red. (And, she adds, a jeroboam.)

Silas

Silas swapped art theory for wine theory. He made the transition back in 2007 after gradually discovering his olfaction memory, the joy of wine and the wines of joy. He counts Burgundy and Suditrol/Alto Adige as his favourites.

Andrew

Andrew’s early appreciation of wine was a love-hate relationship. He loved the wine but hated the snobbish, intimidating atmosphere of most wine shops. If you don’t have the knowledge, you are often made to feel uncomfortable rather than just excited about tasting new wines. So Andrew went to wine courses to gain that knowledge, then opened his own shop to cater to novices and aficionados alike. Since then Bottle Apostle has gone from strength to strength, including the Young Turks dinner in the Hempel Hotel, an array of great chefs hosting Supper Clubs in our cellar and the Telegraph Magazine’s award for Best Small Wine Shop 2011. His favourite wines? Italian whites and Corsican reds.

Mara

Originally from Canada, Mara’s exposure to wine was limited through government regulations on controlling the availability of alcohol. It wasn’t until moving to London 6 years ago that she started to study wine on a serious level and taste a more interesting selection of wines. In the past year, while working for Bottle Apostle, Mara has also managed to get her hands dirty in the vineyard and winery while working in the Roussillon and Prince Edward County, which has lead her to start an Oenology degree at Brighton University.

What they’re saying about Bottle Apostle in the press

From the broadsheets to the blogosphere, the reviews make us blush like a fine rosé

Telegraph Magazine - Best Small Shops in Britain 2011, Best for Wine

Press Articles about Bottle Apostle

The Telegraph, Friday 11 February 2011:

Hamish Anderson, Telegraph Magazine wine columnist writes:

“Bottle Apostle is in a foodie oasis, surrounded by delis, a traditional fishmonger and the Ginger Pig butcher. The small shop, established in July 2009 by the owner Andrew Eakins and general manager Tom Jarvis, is a little gem that both the fully fledged wine nut and novice could happily browse in for hours. A useful style guide helps decipher the huge range that covers both the eclectic and mainstream, but always with an eye for top-quality estates. Load up an in-store card and use it to try a little snifter of more than 30 wines kept in banks of Enomatic machines (a wine preservation system that will keep an open bottle fresh for weeks). This makes the whole shopping experience not only a little more fun and boozy, but also experimental. You will find that instead of purchasing the usual pinot grigio, you are just as likely to leave with an Austrian white. Among a raft of added extras are a fine range of artisan beers and sake, while a slick website provides up-to-date information on which wines can be tasted and promotes the many evening events. Best of all, it has staff who are clearly knowledgeable and keen to find you something that little bit special. I wandered in with a vague request for a bottle of pinot noir and left with a stunning Corsican red tucked under my arm. I only wish I lived in Hackney and not west London.”

Kudos from around the Web:

“A gorgeous and well stocked independent wine shop near Victoria Park… I was delighted to discover it. Hackney-ites – take note, you should explore here.”
Niamh Shield, Eat Like a Girl

“Hackney has its own gem in the shape of the Bottle Apostle in Victoria Park, where tasting is pretty much a religion.”
Andrew Catchpole for SquareMeal.co.uk

“One of the best wine shops I’ve ever had the pleasure of visiting.”
Victoria Keeble, Bright Blue Day, on www.whitewine.co.uk

“A friendly yet informed winery that wine buffs and novices alike will enjoy.”
Martin Skegg for The Guardian

“If you really want to impress, do it at somewhere like Bottle Apostle, a gem of a wine shop nestled in the heart of pretty Victoria Park Village. Once you’ve chosen your wine of choice pop to the nearest deli to grab some delicious snacks and settle down for a picnic in your park of choice.”
from ‘How to make a splash without splashing the cash’ on e-Harmony.co.uk

“Anyone who loves champers will enjoy this evening. It's great to see how vastly different champagne can be and to be given the chance to taste rather than simply be told by some up in the clouds wine critic.”
Nathalie Bonney for fluidfoundation.com, on Bottle Apostle’s ‘Introduction to Champagne’ evenings

Mon	Closed
Tue – Fri	12 noon – 9pm
Sat	10am – 8pm
Sun	10am – 6pm

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