ABOUT US

Welcome to Fells

We’re proud to be the leading distributor of premium, family-owned wines to the UK. Owned by three of the world’s most famous and inspiring wine families – the Symingtons, Torres’ and Hill-Smiths – our mission is simple: to seek out the world’s greatest wines, bring generations of family winemaking to life and share their passion, craft and stories with UK wine lovers who appreciate the very best.

We’re privileged to be the exclusive distributor for some of the world’s most admired wineries. But we’re just as proud of the customers we deliver those wines to. From Michelin-starred restaurants (including every 3-Star in the UK) to exceptional independent retailers, luxury hotels, world-famous national retailers and just about everyone in between who loves wine as much as we do.

The nature of our Portfolio – broad in range, but laser-focussed on working only with the best – lets us offer our winery partners a unique, bespoke approach. We don’t just put their wines anywhere. We put them in the places we know will work best for them.

Wine obsessives since 1858

Fells goes back a long way. Founded in 1858 as a traditional wine merchant in London’s Tooley Street, we’ve evolved a fair bit in over 160 years, and our people have evolved along with us. The photos below are from 1899 and 2025. A few more faces these days … just not quite as many hats.

We’ve never deviated from our mission to unearth the world’s best wines … and we’ve never been afraid to look in places others don’t. Enamel signs on the office wall reading ‘Fells Australian Wines – Koala Burgundy!’ date back long before Australian wine was a staple of British glasses. ‘Koala Burgundy’ may no longer exist, but we continue to distribute wines from some of Australia’s most revered producers today.

The nature of our Portfolio – broad in range, but laser-focussed on working only with the best – lets us offer our winery partners a unique, bespoke approach. We don’t just put their wines anywhere. We put them in the places we know will work best for them.

A Portfolio of best-in-class superstars

We’re not afraid to say it: we believe our Portfolio represents the greatest pound-for-pound collection of wineries in the world. Some of the most award-winning, innovative, famous and downright brilliant producers in each of their regions. People who have changed the shape of wine wherever they make it.

Whether it’s fortified wines – in which we’re the UK category leaders, thanks to our connection with the Symington Family – world class sparkling wines from France, England, Australia, the USA, Chile and beyond, or region-defining still wines from the finest vineyards around the world, our producers are responsible for some of the best and most sought-after wines made anywhere in the world.

We’re also not afraid to venture into new territory when we encounter a drinks producer whose values align with ours, and who we feel compelled to introduce to our customers. It’s how we became the distributor for the hugely successful Copenhagen Sparkling Tea, the world’s first sparkling tea brand, as well as the artisanal spirits of Janneau Armagnac and Boulard Calvados.

Our Portfolio is our ultimate calling card – our crown jewel. It’s why we love what we do.

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We don’t just work with family wineries – we’re owned by them

We feel there’s something about family ownership that leads to exceptional wines. A special connection to what you make, and who you make it with, that simply can’t be replicated. That’s why virtually every winery we represent is family owned – several for well over 100 years, some for over 10 generations.

But our connection to family-owned wineries is deeper. Unique in the UK wine trade, in fact. Since 1977 our majority shareholder has been the Symington Family, the leading producer of premium Port, as well as some of Portugal’s greatest still wines.

In 1993 they were joined by Spain’s Familia Torres, and in 2018 our triumvirate of family winery shareholders was completed by Australia’s Hill-Smith, whose crown jewel, Yalumba, is Australia’s oldest family-owned winery, and still amongst the country’s greatest today. With their guidance and expertise, our focus on family-owned wineries, and on singling out the best, is unwavering.

Our not-so-secret weapon: bespoke packaging and gifting

In the heart of Fells House, King’s Langley, is our cave of wonders – the gifting showroom. Since the early 1990s, we’ve been recognised as one of the UK’s leading producers of high quality, premium gift packs, packaging and specialist hardware, supplying a broad range of retailers including bespoke lines to some of the country’s most prestigious names.

With dedicated in-house product design, technical, and logistics teams, we offer innovative product and packaging concepts that are at the forefront of market trends. In 2024 one of our products won the coveted IWSC luxury packaging award. This unique arm to the Fells portfolio provides additional routes to market for our partner producers and added relevance for our customers. Our not-so-secret weapon.

Almost 170 years later, still seeking out the best

You can’t spend this long in the wine trade by standing still, and today we’re busier than ever. Our team in every department comprises some of the best in the business, and they never stop striving to deliver the best for our customers, and for the wineries we work with.

Every year we taste thousands of wines, visit hundreds of customers and host countless tastings – not least our Annual Portfolio Tasting, when our whole Portfolio comes together under one roof.

All of it in service to the same cause for which Fells was founded in 1858: to discover the best wines in the world and bring them to you. We look forward to raising a glass with you very soon.