Cooden
Cellars
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Cooden
Cellars
independent wine merchants
was established as a
partnership between
Colin Barnes and
Ian Jarman
in 1997. In May 2001
we opened our retail shop in the Grand Hotel Buildings, Compton
Street, Eastbourne.
We aim to provide an extensive
range of fine
wines
of character and
distinction, the vast majority of which will not be found in
supermarkets or other High Street outlets locally. We personally
taste and select all our wines before offering them for sale - which
accounts for the collection of corks in the shop window! We have
extensive knowledge of the wines, including the vineyards where the
wines come from and the producers who make them. We look for
quality, character, typicity and a natural expression of the grapes
used in the wines. This leads us to focus on wines which are the
products of great care and attention both in the raising of the
vines and in mainly non-interventionist approaches in the winery.
Often this leads us to appreciate wines from old vines or organic
vineyards and those which have been filtered lightly or not at all,
or even produced biodynamically. Above all we look for wines which
have been made with love, respect and dedication.
Many of our wines in the shop
carry brief information or tasting notes, often from independent
sources, and sometimes we try to relay an anecdote or two to make
the notes amusing as well as interesting. We are more than happy for
you to spend time browsing our shelves without any obligation to
buy. We hope the convivial atmosphere - with seats and a little
background music - will encourage you to pop in and spend some time
with us. We have an extensive collection of reference books and
journals, including Wine Spectator and Robert Parker's Wine
Advocate. And we are always on hand to help with advice or
suggestions or to answer any questions you may have or to research
wines/producers you may have a particular interest in - we have an
internet connection so often we can do this immediately in the shop
whilst you are there. On Saturdays we always have a few bottles open
for you to taste.
We also carry a number of
quality wine
accessories and gifts
and an unrivalled range of presentation
boxes and bottle carriers
which are all on display in the shop.
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Colin
Barnes
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Colin has been a wine merchant for over 10 years and runner up for
two prestigious wine awards (Wine Merchant of the Year 1996 (London
Evening Standard) and Australian Wine Merchant of the Year 1995/96 (International
Wine Challenge)) and has appeared on several radio shows. "We are about quality service and
the enjoyment of wine", says Colin. "We're really pleased to be here
behind the Grand in Eastbourne, and hope we can make a unique difference
to people's shopping experience."
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Ian
Jarman
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Ian has run his own company for six years, specialising in French wines,
and holds a Diploma from the Wine and Spirit Education Trust. "We've
had a good initial reaction to our shop and our wines, but we want to build on this and continue to add to
peoples' awareness and enjoyment of wine. We want to work towards making
Eastbourne in general, and
Cooden Cellars
in particular, the
destination for wine lovers."
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Regional
Wine Merchant of the Year
2003, 2004 & 2005;
Small Independent
Merchant of the Year 2005
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We are
very proud to have been selected as Regional Wine Merchant of the
Year in the IWC Awards for the last three years, in 2003 and
2004 as runner-up and in 2005 outright. The apogee for us was to
be the receivers of the Small Independent Merchant of the Year,
2005 as well.
This is especially rewarding
not only as it is judged by our peers in the trade but also because
we are still a young company with ideas for the future in which we
do not intend to rest on our laurels. We thank all those who have
helped us in this endeavour, including, of course, our customers and
suppliers.
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