Botham Wines (London)

“My introduction to wine came at the tender age of 17. I was playing for Somerset CCC and was given the important task of carrying the late John Arlott’s wicker basket to the radio commentary box. Inside this basket was his new selection of Beaujolais, French cheese and baguettes. He asked me if I drank wine and I said, “No sir, I’m from Somerset and drink cider.” So begins the ‘story’ of Ian ‘Beefy’ Botham’s introduction to wine and the eventual setting up of his own wine business. Sir Ian has equally interesting stories to tell about his love of shooting (his son Liam managed a pheasant shoot before being bankrupted by a £50k bill for unpaid birds) and has a distinct view of any individual or organisation that doesn’t share his views on killing birds: an article in The Telegraph in 2020 was headlined “I won’t let the bleeding heart eco-woke ride roughshod over our countryside: My mission in the House of Lords is to stand up for ordinary rural folk like me”. Botham was sabbed at a grouse shoot in 2022 – sadly his words on that occasion were not recorded as far as we know…