About us

Two separate but related influences are responsible for the concept of Wine 2 Dine 4.

It started one balmy summers evening a few years ago - yes, apparently they do occur occasionally in the UK - my wife, daughter and I were having Sunday dinner outside. It was one of those rare evenings, the air was still, for once the traffic on the road was relatively quiet and we could hear birdsong - almost idyllic in fact. The farmer's tractor was turning at 'our end' of the adjacent field and a slight breeze wafted across the garden.

Suddenly, my daughter put her hand to her mouth - "eugh, what's that horrible taste?" - and sure enough both my wife and I could feel a sharp metallic taste at the back of our throats. We looked across at the field and the tractor was almost obscured by an ominous looking mustard-yellow cloud. Whatever the farmer was spraying onto the crop, it definitely didn't look healthy. We rushed inside, closed all the doors and windows and didn't venture out again until well after the farmer had finished spraying. Watching my wife scrape our dinner into the bin, I made a mental note to send the bill to the farmer!

Having made a few subsequent enquiries as to what the farmer could have been spraying, we were horrified to find that there was no legal obligation for farmers to provide any information on any chemical being used - many of which have neurotoxic, carcinogenic and hormone-disrupting capabilities. Scary stuff - and enough to make us completely change our view of the food and drink that we put into our bodies.

We subsequently decided to start growing our own fruit and vegetables and buying 'organic' wherever we could including organic meat from our local butcher. We found that with a modicum of effort and only a little additional cost, we could almost totally eat organically. However, disappointingly, the one product which never seemed to be readily available was organic wine - although I confess that that this disappointment tended to dissipate somewhere halfway through the second bottle!

So having developed a passion for good food and wine over the years - and having had the good fortune to have married an excellent cook, we inevitably had friends round for dinner with subsequent invitations to reciprocate. One of the things which I began to notice on this social journey was how many times a dish which someone had spent hours lovingly preparing was subsequently ruined by a totally inappropriate choice of wine. More worryingly, was how many times that choice of wine was mine! I therefore decided that I should rectify my errors and educate myself and my palate. During that process where it was obligatory to taste as many different wines as humanly possible - (a difficult job, but I stuck manfully to the task!) - I was delighted to discover that not only are there a whole host of passionate wine producers from all over the globe producing fantastic wines, but one of the fastest growing sectors is that of organic wine, most of which is also suitable for vegetarians and vegans. It was during one of my occasional moments of sobriety that I wondered if there were any other like-minded souls who might like to share in this viticultural journey. Rightly or wrongly I decided that there must be - and hence Wine 2 Dine 4 was conceived!

I hope you've stayed with me this far and will take some time to explore our site a little further - and maybe help me cope with the growing financial demands of a fashion conscious teenager by buying an odd bottle or two! I look forward to hearing from you very soon!