Corney & Barrow Wine Merchants (London)

“Established in 1780, we are one of the oldest independent wine merchants in the UK. 75% of our portfolio is exclusive to us – a testament of the dedication to our relationships.” Those ‘relationships’ include a very close one with the shooting industry. As long ago as 2015, a well-known shooting magazine described these wine merchants as having “a pretty impressive coverage, both vineously and geographically, across shooting country. Amongst its services, the fine wine merchant works with Strutt & Parker, CKD Galbraith and others, as well as supplying sporting lodges and hotels...”. Alcohol and shooting does seem to be one of those ‘relationships’ that go together like a horse and carriage etc – ie kill vast numbers of birds, then retreat to a hotel, a log fire, and bottles of booze. We learned of Corney & Barrow through listing Buckhurst Park, a wedding venue/shooting estate that offers “a range of challenging drives, shooting mixed pheasant and partridge and also the occasional duck, geese, woodcock, etc”. Buckhurst’s own pub, The Dorset Arms, hosts a ‘game night’ featuring Corney & Barrow and dead birds (presumably shot out of the air over the estate)…