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Berry Bros. & Rudd (BBR) is a family-run British
wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented grapes. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different ...
and spirits merchant founded in
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, England, in 1698. Since then, the company has grown from a small coffee shop into an international
business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or buying and selling products (such as goods and services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for profit." Having a business name does not separ ...
with six offices worldwide. As well as the wines, such as en primeur from places like
Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectu ...
,
Burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The ...
, the
Rhône The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...
and
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
, the company also sells wines and spirits under its own-label range, Berry Bros. & Rudd's Own Selection. Other services it offers include wine investment,
wine storage Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are ...
,
wine tasting Wine tasting is the sensory examination and evaluation of wine. While the practice of wine tasting is as ancient as its production, a more formalized methodology has slowly become established from the 14th century onward. Modern, professional w ...
s, events and educational courses.


History

Berry Bros. & Rudd is Britain's oldest wine and spirits merchant, and one of the ten oldest family-run businesses in the United Kingdom. It was founded by the Widow Bourne in 1698 at 3
St. James's Street St James's Street is the principal street in the district of St James's, central London. It runs from Piccadilly downhill to St James's Palace and Pall Mall. The main gatehouse of the Palace is at the southern end of the road; in the 17th centur ...
, London, which today is a
Grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...
building still used as the company's headquarters. No.3, as it's known, contained Berry Bros. & Rudd's main retail premises until mid-2017, when these moved around the corner to a purpose-built shop at 63 Pall Mall. The company has a discounted store next to its main warehouse in Basingstoke, Hampshire and additional offices in
Battersea Battersea is a large district in south London, part of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross and extends along the south bank of the River Thames. It includes the Battersea Park. History Batt ...
as well as overseas in
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...
,
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...
and
Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
. The company started out selling
coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. Seeds of ...
, and then diversified into cocoa, tea, snuff, spices, and other exotic goods, quickly becoming one of London's most fashionable grocers. Its West End location and close proximity to
St James's Palace St James's Palace is the most senior royal palace in London, the capital of the United Kingdom. The palace gives its name to the Court of St James's, which is the monarch's royal court, and is located in the City of Westminster in London. Alt ...
also contributed to its growing popularity. In 1903 they formulated a ginger liqueur to revivify
Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second chil ...
from cold car journeys, still purveyed as ''The King's Ginger''. During the years, it has counted many famous customers among its clientele including:
Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and has been regarded as among the ...
,
William Pitt the Younger William Pitt the Younger (28 May 175923 January 1806) was a British statesman, the youngest and last prime minister of Great Britain (before the Acts of Union 1800) and then first prime minister of the United Kingdom (of Great Britain and Ir ...
, the
Aga Khan Aga Khan ( fa, آقاخان, ar, آغا خان; also transliterated as ''Aqa Khan'' and ''Agha Khan'') is a title held by the Imām of the Nizari Ismāʿīli Shias. Since 1957, the holder of the title has been the 49th Imām, Prince Shah Kari ...
and
Beau Brummell George Bryan "Beau" Brummell (7 June 1778 – 30 March 1840) was an important figure in Regency England and, for many years, the arbiter of men's fashion. At one time, he was a close friend of the Prince Regent, the future King George IV, but ...
. In 2020, Emma Fox took on the role of CEO from Lizzy Rudd, who had been serving as interim Chief Executive since the departure of Dan Jago in 2019. Lizzy Rudd remains the Chair of the Board of Directors.


Royal Warrants

Berry Bros. & Rudd has been the official wine supplier to the British Royal Family since the reign of
King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great B ...
and received its first Royal Warrant of Appointment in 1903 from
King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria an ...
.
Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
granted the company her royal warrant in 1952, while
Charles, Prince of Wales Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to a ...
granted it his in 1998.


Basingstoke Warehouse

In 1967, the company moved its bottling operation and warehouse to purpose-built facilities in Basingstoke, Hampshire. In spring 2014, it relaunched its warehouse shop on the site of the former bottling hall, the shop now sells bin-end and reduced price wines and spirits alongside a fine wine collection.


Cutty Sark Whisky

In 1923 Berry Bros. & Rudd launched
Cutty Sark ''Cutty Sark'' is a British clipper ship. Built on the River Leven, Dumbarton, Scotland in 1869 for the Jock Willis Shipping Line, she was one of the last tea clippers to be built and one of the fastest, coming at the end of a long period ...
Scotch whisky Scotch whisky (; sco, Scots whisky/whiskie, whusk(e)y; often simply called whisky or Scotch) is malt whisky or grain whisky (or a blend of the two), made in Scotland. All Scotch whisky was originally made from malted barley. Commercial disti ...
, whose yellow label became famous the world over. In 2010 the brand was sold to
The Edrington Group Edrington (legally The Edrington Group Ltd.) is a privately owned international spirits company based in Glasgow, Scotland. It produces single malts The Macallan, Highland Park, The Glenrothes, Naked Malt and The Famous Grouse blended Sco ...
; under the deal, Berry Bros. & Rudd acquired The Glenrothes single malt brand, which was then sold back to Edrington in 2017.


Berry Bros. & Rudd's Broking Exchange (BBX)

Berry Bros. & Rudd was the first wine merchant to open an online shop, launching bbr.com in 1995. Today it also has an online wine trading platform called BBX (Berry Bros. & Rudd's Broking Exchange). It enables customers to sell and trade their own wines if they are stored in the company's bonded warehouses. Today BBX is the world's most extensive online fine wine trading platform.


''The Future of Wine'' report

In May 2008, a team from Berry Bros. & Rudd, Jasper Morris, MW, Alun Griffiths MW, Simon Field MW, and David Berry Green, drew up a document of speculations into the state of the wine industry in the coming 50 years, ''The Future of Wine''.The Future of Wine report
Among the predictions for 2058 were suggestions that
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
may become one of the world's biggest producers, that grapes will be grown hydroponically in floating offshore
vineyard A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyard ...
s, and
honey bee A honey bee (also spelled honeybee) is a eusocial flying insect within the genus ''Apis'' of the bee clade, all native to Afro-Eurasia. After bees spread naturally throughout Africa and Eurasia, humans became responsible for the current cosm ...
s could be trained to detect
wine fault A wine fault or defect is an unpleasant characteristic of a wine often resulting from poor winemaking practices or storage conditions, and leading to wine spoilage. Many of the compounds that cause wine faults are already naturally present in wine ...
s.


See also

* King's Ginger


References


External links


Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berry Bros. and Rudd 1698 establishments in England British Royal Warrant holders Buildings and structures in the City of Westminster Companies established in 1698 Companies based in the City of Westminster Family-owned companies of the United Kingdom Grade II* listed buildings in the City of Westminster Privately held companies of the United Kingdom Shops in London Wine retailers of the United Kingdom Grade II* listed commercial buildings Food and drink companies established in the 17th century