Archie McDiarmid: ‘Looking Back, Forging Ahead’

By Hamish Graham

Published: 28 July, 2025

Next up in our Summer Q&A series is Archie McDiarmid, manager at Luvians Bottleshop in St Andrews, who reflects on tourism, tax and trade wars.

How has business been for you in the first half of 2025 and how do things compare to where you were last year?

After a relatively slow January and February sales are up on 2024, which was a very strong year, so we are very pleased with our performance so far.

What have been the biggest challenges and headaches so far this year and how have you sought to mitigate those?

On the sales side of things, it has been a pretty consistent environment for the last wee while, so beyond the usual juggle of running two shops with very different markets and needs, the challenges have mainly been logistics which seem to get more fraught all the time, as every link in the supply chain tries to minimise their costs despite upward pressure in seemingly every direction.

What are you most proud of achieving this year in terms of driving the business forward?

Our tasting programme, open masterclasses, private events for groups and more large scale have done incredibly well this year, helping develop our range, the skill and knowledge base of our staff and generating sales. We now have a really great team equally comfortable working one-on-one with customers in the shop and chatting to dozens of people at a time in a tasting environment.

Looking ahead to the second half of the year, what is the biggest cause for concern?

Tourism, particularly from the US is a huge factor in our St Andrews shop, so the continuing attempts from The White House to start a trade war and subsequently tank the dollar really impacts the buying decisions of visitors. More broadly, inflation rising and the economy stagnating takes disposable cash away from our local base which is always a challenge. 

What single thing could the Government do to best improve trading conditions and the success of the drinks sector?

Going back to a more sane duty system would be awfully handy, but seems incredibly unlikely. Greater integration back into the EU would also ease a lot of difficulties when it comes to importing and ultimately help reduce pricing on wine and spirits coming from Europe through eliminating the vastly inflated admin costs that Brexit created.

What trends are you seeing in the drinks world at the moment, and how do you expect that to change going into the autumn?

If the weather stays as warm as it has to start the summer, the sales of fruity, easy drinking beers and ciders from the likes of Vault City and Thistly Cross will only continue. Cider in general is having a tremendous renaissance with producers like Olivers and Naughton Estate producing ciders built to be drunk in the same style and occasions as quality Crémant and Champagne. As the Autumn approaches and the students flock back to St Andrews, their embrace of orange and natural wines looks set to continue apace.

Any other predictions for the second half of the year? 

A dominant Lions tour victory in Australia spearheaded by Finn Russell and Huw Jones, but if you were thinking more drinks related, the cocktail at home boom, led by increasingly well-made RTD versions from the likes of Whitebox shows no sign of slowing down.

Quick fire questions…

France, Italy or Spain? 

France because of its sheer variety and because it has Alsace in it which might be my favourite wine region on earth.

Georgia, Greece or UK?

Georgia by a nose from Greece. Just some amazing crunchy, well-priced reds ideal for BBQ season and some really great textural whites that are fantastic with seafood. 

‘Normal’ or ‘natural’ wine? 

Well-made natural wine is just how we made wine 50 years ago, so I’m taking normal and good natural as the same category. All the ‘natty’ wines trying to pass off faults as character I’ll happily live without.

Cocktails or straight sippin’ spirits? 

I love a cocktail to kick off an evening, but my heart belongs to single malts, ryes, armagnac and too many sippin’ spirits to count.

Mixologist or mix it at home? 

Mixologist – much like being a good home cook just means you appreciate the skill even more when you go out to dine, being able to knock up a decent cocktail at home just makes me even more impressed by the talent and imagination of modern bartenders.

Aperitif preference? 

A martini or a glass of champagne depending on how the evening is shaping up.

Michelin-starred or cook at home? 

Cook at home regularly so you can save up to eat Michelin-starred.

Perfect drink occasion?

Days ending in Y.

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