Neil Palmer, co-founder of Vintage Roots, reflects on the company’s beginnings, how the market has evolved and why supporting organic growers remains at the heart of the business.
I founded Vintage Roots back in 1986 with Lance Pigott – at a time when organic wine was barely understood in the UK. Neither of us came from a traditional wine background. But after travelling in France, meeting pioneering growers and seeing first-hand how organically farmed vineyards were being run, we became convinced that this was the right direction. Now in our 40th year of trading, we still believe it’s where wine’s future should lie.
I remember the early years as a period of constant explanation. Customers would ask whether organic wine was ‘made from carrots’ or whether it still contained alcohol. Consumer interest also tended to rise after food and drink scandals, but then fall away again as memories faded.
When we started, it was true to say that most people did not understand the word organic at all, let alone organic wine. A few merchants, including ourselves, were focusing on the niche, and it was laborious and slow to make headway and win over wine drinkers. This sounds almost like a religious experience, and in some cases it was. We were there to challenge the conventional world of wine.
From the beginning, our aim was simple – to support growers who were farming without synthetic chemicals and pesticides, bring their wines to a wider UK audience and make the case for organic.
Over time, the market has changed considerably. Organic certification has become clearer and more recognizable, EU rules now cover organic winemaking as well as grape-growing, and consumers have a much better understanding of what organic means. Vintage Roots itself has grown with that movement, earning numerous awards along the way and building long-standing relationships with producers across Europe and beyond.
“We were there to challenge the conventional world of wine. From the beginning, our aim was simple – to support growers who were farming without synthetic chemicals and pesticides, bring their wines to a wider UK audience and make the case for organic.”
Those producer relationships remain central to the business. The growers really are the be-all and end-all for us. In fact, many of these relationships have developed into genuine friendships over decades. For us, organic has never simply been a marketing claim. It is about supporting farmers who are protecting their land, encouraging biodiversity and working with a more sustainable approach to viticulture.
One challenge that remains is the perception that organic wine is necessarily expensive or elitist. Our view is that organic pricing reflects the real costs of farming, certification and often smaller-scale production. Just as importantly, organic does not automatically mean a wine will be good. Quality still matters, and we’ve always believed that our wines have to stand up on taste as well as principle.
The oldest saying about organic wine is that it does not give you a headache! Sadly, that’s false – alcohol is still very much involved. However, due to lower sulphites – or even the absence of any added sulphites in more recent times – and cleaner winemaking, we have had hundreds, if not thousands, of pieces of anecdotal feedback from consumers experiencing a better ‘morning after’ feeling.
Forty years on, our underlying purpose has changed very little. Vintage Roots is continuing to grow its trade business, develop its website, expand its team and progress its B Corp journey. Meanwhile, we remain focused on the same idea that inspired the company in 1986: supporting organic growers and helping move the wine world, little by little, towards ‘thinking and drinking organic’.
By Neil Palmer, Vintage Roots