Our Story
Why Kraft Wines?
I'll be honest. Kraft Wines started with a bit of frustration.
I knew there were some fantastic wines being made across Central Europe, particularly by small, independent producers, but trying to find them in the UK was another matter. The big names and well-known regions were easy enough to find. But the really interesting bottles? The wines made by smaller estates, from local grape varieties, with a genuine sense of place? They were surprisingly difficult to source.
After years of working with wine, travelling through the industry and drinking plenty of it, I kept coming across wines in Central Europe that I couldn't find back home in the UK. Eventually, the frustration turned into a fairly simple thought:
Why not bring them here?
And that's how Kraft Wines was born. I'm half Czech, half British, so I've always had one foot in Central Europe. I grew up with an appreciation for the region's food, culture and, of course, its wine.
Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia and Germany aren't new wine regions. They've been making wine for centuries. But many of their smaller producers and indigenous varieties remain seriously underrepresented in the UK. We want to change that.
Wines worth discovering
At Kraft Wines, we're looking beyond the usual suspects. We search for independent producers making wines that are authentic, expressive and genuinely exciting. That might mean a beautifully mineral Moravian Riesling, a distinctive Czech Pálava, an elegant Austrian red, a forgotten Hungarian variety or a Slovenian wine you've probably never come across before. We're interested in wines with character, provenance and a story. Wines that reflect the vineyard, the people who make them and the place they come from.
We don't select wines simply because they're fashionable or because everyone else is selling them. If we wouldn't be excited to open the bottle ourselves, it doesn't belong in our portfolio.
Wine and logistics
My route into wine wasn't exactly conventional. I've spent nearly two decades working in the drinks industry, across retail, logistics and supply chain management. For much of that time, my job was making sure other people's wine got where it needed to go - on time, efficiently and, importantly, in one piece.
Along the way, I completed the WSET Level 4 Diploma in Wines, an MSc in Logistics & Supply Chain Management, and I've had the opportunity to sit on the judging panel at the International Wine Challenge.
It turns out that knowing a bit about wine and knowing how to move it around the world is a surprisingly useful combination.
Our mission
Kraft Wines is about making it easier for people in the UK to discover the wines that are currently hiding in plain sight across Central Europe. We want to build relationships with smaller producers, introduce their wines to a new audience and give customers the opportunity to discover something they won't find on every supermarket shelf.
No filler. No chasing trends. Just really good wines from places worth knowing, selected because we believe they deserve a place on your table.
Discover new places. Discover new varieties. Discover new wines.
Contact Us
Questions? We're here to help with your wine choices.
