2023 marks another milestone in the history of Clark Foyster Wines as we celebrate 20 years of specialist wine imports. Since the business began in January 2003 we have expanded to a team of nine and represent 50 different winemakers from across 6 different countries. The great diversity of our wines was recently exhibited at our first portfolio tasting in London for five years.
In recent years we have put our love and knowledge of Greece – ancient and modern – to work. We began in Santorini and spread across the Aegean, so there are now seven Greek producers on the list too. Most recently, on another MW visit to Georgia, Lance was surprised to find that Gogi Dakishvili, an influential winemaker and consultant throughout Georgia, had no UK importer for his own small winery, so we added these.
If we’re honest, there hasn’t really been much of a strategy to the building of the portfolio. It has come together as a rather eclectic mix. In many cases the additions have come by chance. But all the wines are linked by having a certain lively freshness to them, and many show the wonderful personalities of their producers behind them. The styles of some have changed dramatically over the years, while others have followed a clear single vision. And we feel very lucky that our own leaning towards wines with freshness and lightness of touch seem to be increasingly popular and sought-after by our market.
We will be marking the occasion with a couple of events later in the year to celebrate the continued success of our suppliers, our team and our customers.