Litmus Wines creates subsidary agency Litmus Wine Agency

By Jo Gilbert

Published: 04 April, 2016

Litmus Wines, a UK based international consultancy winemaking business, has announced a move to separate its growing wine sales portfolio from contract winemaking and wine production consultancy.

Since its inception in 2008, Litmus Wines Ltd has been steadily developing its sales side of the business, which has now branched off to create new subsidiary company, Litmus Wine Agencies.

As of April 4, Nick Connell, former head of sales at Lay & Wheeler, joins Litmus Wine Agencies as sales manager with responsibility for all sales channels, including multiples, independents and the on-trade.

Nick Connell joins the team Nick Connell joins the team

The company currently manages sales of its own branded English wines, Litmus, in partnership with Denbies Wine Estate in Dorking - the largest vineyard in England - and offers vineyard consultancy to many English producers.

As they move into their new venture, they are aiming to replicate the success with Denbies wine brand with the South African joint venture between Litmus Wines and Virgin Limited Edition, Mont Rochelle.

With a growing portfolio, Mike Florence, general manager of Litmus, said bringing on board Connell to run the sales side of the business was the logical next step.

He said: "The sales side has always been there but the time has come to formalise it a bit more. We're offering a pretty diverse range of wines which is steadily evolving, but now we feel the time is right for the agency side of the business to stand on its own two feet."

Litmus Wine Agencies has an eclectic portfolio of wines on its books from worldwide producers including the iconic Australian Chris Ringland.

Connell will be working with the Litmus Wines team to develop new lines and new product development to grow the business.

Connell joins John Worontschak who set up the company in 2008, Florence who joined the team in 2009, and winemaker Matthieu Elzinga who joined in 2013.

"The three of us have managed the business as best we can and had a lot of success," Florence says. "But now we need support on the agency side, which is where Nick comes in. We're thrilled to have him on board. This is what we've been working towards since we began."

Florence also hinted at a new project, which he described as "totally unique".

He said: "We're incredibly excited about this. It's an English product, which is all I can say at the moment. We're hoping to launch it in the summer. It's totally unique, there's nothing else like on the market."

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