Humble Grape extends its growing on-trade portfolio

London wholesale supplier and wine bar Humble Grape has expanded its on-trade footprint after signing up hospitality clients including the Corinthia Hotel Group, Quality Chop House in Farringdon, and South African retailer Savanna. The business, which was founded in 2009 selling boutique wines direct from the supplier at pop-ups before opening its first bar in Battersea, shifted focus to its wholesale operation in 2022, aiming to “realign itself” as a wine importer and distributor of sustainable wines to the on-trade. At its height the wholesale operation, which started by supplied pop-ups and corporate events before moving into wholesale supply, supplied around 40 bars, restaurants and gastro-pubs but this was scaled back as its London bar business grew and it eyed up expansion across the UK in the years before the Covid-19 pandemic.  Speaking to db in 2022, the team said that it was to position itself as “the number one sustainable wine importer of small production sustainable wines”, to bars, restaurants and boutique hotels, “with a renewed focus on customer service and flexibility” that had been missing in the trade. Since then it has taken on supplying clients such as Hawksmoor, The Cadogan Arms, Hoppers, Brigadiers, Gymkhana, Sketch, Trishna, and Gordon’s Wine Bar, in addition to its own six wine bars across London. The move is being drive by David Nagy, who joined Humble Grape as assistant wine manager and account manager in 2023, having previously worked for Amathus Drinks and Bedales Wines, founder James Dawson said. “David’s strategic insight and deep industry knowledge have been instrumental in securing these prestigious listings,” he said. “Our shared vision is to champion sustainable winemaking and bring the world’s best wines to the UK hospitality scene.”