Fastest growing wine merchant celebrates 10th vintage
2023 – 10th anniversary year for Cru Wine
Award-winning London wine merchant Cru Wine commemorates its 10th anniversary this month (June).
Founded in 2013 by fine wine enthusiast and entrepreneur Gregory Swartberg, Cru Wine offers a marketplace for consumers and trade customers to buy, learn and sell.
Over the past decade, the business based in Kensington has gone from strength to strength starting with a team of just two people to a ‘cru’ of 20 passionate and knowledgeable wine experts based in London and Bordeaux.
One of Europe’s fastest growing companies
Cru Wine was recently named in the Financial Times 1000 list of Europe’s Fastest-Growing Companies for the fourth consecutive year. The ranking lists those European companies that achieved the highest compound annual growth rate in revenue between 2018 and 2021.
Despite the challenges of the pandemic and continued economic uncertainty, Cru Wine achieved compound annual growth of 40% and were only one of 4% of companies to have been listed for four consecutive years.
Founder and CEO Gregory Swartberg says: “It has been an incredible journey for the first 10 years of our existence, and it’s fantastic to be celebrating this milestone with our amazing team. It has been the most wonderful rollercoaster ride so far, and I very much look forward to the next 10 years.
“What has allowed us to flourish is our ability to offer a personalised experience and staying competitive with our pricing. Our industry is fragmented with lots of players and we are all selling a finished product, meaning we are either competing on price or on customer service. We always aim to offer our customers the highest level of service out there, while remaining competitive in our pricing. And ultimately that is what clients want: enjoy the buying, collecting, learning, drinking experience and to pay a fair market value,” adds Gregory.
Looking ahead, Gregory says: “For the next 10 years, we will continue to invest in our systems, website and mobile application to enhance the experience even further. We will continue to develop the regions from which we offer products and further expand geographically to continue to look after our clients worldwide. We are extremely excited about the next few years and what is achievable in this industry.”
The Cru Fine Wine Marketplace
Cru Wine’s engaging fine wine marketplace allows customers to access hand-sourced wines from around the world, from well-known labels to smaller, unknown producers, for drinking as well as personal collections and investment portfolios.
So much more than wine investment
For 10 years, Cru Wine has offered its clients the ability to buy, sell and learn about wine in the most transparent way. As well as providing an investment service and fine wine purchasing for private collectors, Cru Wine also supply to more than 220 trade partners worldwide.
Their portfolio is centred around fine wine from around the world, with particular strength in Bordeaux, Champagne, Italy and Burgundy, along with new world blue-chip producers, including allocation only stock. Cru Wine regularly offers new wines, rare vintages and exclusive parcels.
The team have built close relationships with producers internationally and receive exclusive allocations and access to rare wines and vintages. The fine wine list is ever-evolving, with close to £20m of wines under management, either directly in stock or awaiting collection from suppliers.
The Cru Wine Experience
Cru’s experts share their passion and enjoyment for wine by publishing Quarterly Fine Wine Reports and, through the relationships they have built up over a decade with respected producers and suppliers, host incredible wine tastings, exclusive events and field trips to the best vineyards in Europe.
Cru Wine will host a Bordeaux 2022 tasting in June and 10th Anniversary Celebration Dinner in September.
Press contact: Major PR: vicky@majorpr.co.uk | 07506750318