After four years of modest growth New World Wines is set to become a leading distributor of fine wine in Bermuda. I owe a debt of gratitude to the many friends, family, clients and providers (both of wine and services) who have helped make this possible.  I hope the end result will be to give the wine buying public of Bermuda new wines to enjoy and experiences to share.

When I entered this business four years ago my focus was to search for interesting wines and sell them at fair prices.  Initially this journey took me through California, Oregon, Washington State, Ontario and New Zealand.  My list now includes the best appellations of France as well as Germany, Spain, Italy and even England.

I have visited many of the wineries in the portfolio and tasted through the rest.  I have turned down opportunities to represent wineries where I was not satisfied they met my criteria and found others by word of mouth and plain good luck.  I will share some of those experiences with you in future newsletters.

The last year has seen the completion of the new climate controlled warehouse located off Harvey Road, Paget, the purchase of an air-conditioned van for deliveries and visits to France and California to source a few new wines.  The company’s website at www.bermudawine.com has also been finalised and I hope will be informative and useful.

In future newsletters, which I hope to produce bi-monthly, I will write about my buying trips in detail highlighting a region’s wines and recommending wineries, hotels and restaurants.

I will also report on many of the wines that are reviewed in the wine press so that you can compare notes with the pro’s.

Special events will be highlighted in the newsletters and in a separate section of the website. 

Looking forward to 2001 you can expect several wine dinners and a series of tastings at what my three-year-old daughter refers to as the Wine house (otherwise known as the warehouse) where a tasting room has been created.

Until next time,

John M. Sharpe
November 2000