The Wine Blog

Thirty & Thirsty… Philglas & Swiggot Wine Merchants Celebrate 30 years of discovering extraordinary wines and you’re invited to celebrate with us. It is 30-years since the business was founded, opening in 1991 on the Northcote Road, Battersea. We would like to mark this special occasion by asking you to join us in raising a glass to all the past and present people who have helped make Philglas & Swiggot one of London's best loved independent wine merchants.

Wine is very much intrinsic in the ‘Portuguese lifestyle’ and it is enjoyed at meal times with family, out in restaurants with friends, or even as part of important business lunches. Portuguese cuisine is extremely rich and varied, ranging from fresh seafood, to meaty stews and even a mixture of both. With more than 250 indigenous grapes, there’s a wine for every occasion.

It’s the middle of 2021 and we’re still not out of the pandemic that sunk 2020 and scattered people and wine businesses far and wide, and yet, watching the rescue boats in Bordeaux you have a sense that they are once again all rowing in the same direction. Uncharacteristically uncertain with the 2019 En-Primeur campaign that gave us such wonderful prices, the Bordelaise have adapted once more and have been on song like a choir about the charms and benefits of the 2020 vintage.

France is synonymous with wine and is home to many of the grapes we know and love from around the world. It is the world’s top exporter of wine and has over 750,000 hectares of vineyards and around 200 varieties of grapes. Steeped in tradition it has long been the place to go for budding winemakers to learn their trade.