Dylan

Dylan has worked his way through the WSET exams to Level 4 Diploma and has a keen palate. When we had a restaurant, it was listed in Neville Blech’s ‘The Top 100 UK Restaurant Wine Lists’. Hugh Johnson described our shop as ‘a great little wine shop in Wales.’ 

For over 20 years he has been visiting vineyards and importing wine. He has always loved to travel, so the wine trade’s appeal is a natural one. Any excuse and he’s on that plane.

One notable example was when he arrived home from the London wine fair, flushed with excitement having found a wine from Armenia. ‘Surely you’re not going to Armenia?’ A quick check of his Google history confirmed my suspicions. Well, I have to say,  Zorah makes delicious wine so there we go.

He also loves people. So, get chatting to him about wine in the shop and you’ll never escape. I’ve warned you now, so faint cries for help from the tasting rooms will be ignored.

Llinos

This is Llinos – the boss! (Don’t tell Dylan). She rules the roost here in Dylanwad. Often caught up in mischief from overordering luxury foods and finding another gem for us to sell here.

Llinos is a great lover of Champagne, we don’t fob her off with the cheap stuff so don’t be surprised if you come and find her with a glass in hand. She has her WSET Level 3, so come and quiz her on wine. If you’re in need of a hamper, best ask her. She can show us a million times how to wrap up a gift but it’s never as effortless as she shows.

Llinos is a lover of travel and has been to many interesting places – just don’t ask her to get on a plane! Always enthusiastic to learn and to share her knowledge on wine, she’s often the instigator of our much-loved training sessions in which wine is compulsory. Her contagious laugh can be heard throughout the shop, so if you need any assistance on what gin to buy or what bubbles to go for you know who to ask!

Terri

She looks so young but is already at the end of  her first decade with us. But don’t be fooled by her youthful good looks, she is a font of knowledge that she has so readily absorbed over the years. Terri has also completed her WSET Level 3. And she is no pussy cat – we don’t call her ‘Terri the Tiger’ for nothing when she’s working on the accounts!

A delight to have on our foreign forays, she has enthusiastically tasted all the wines and even accepted her punishment of trying new foods from squid in Ribera to Bratwurst in Bratislava.

Her taste may verge on floral and a touch of sweetness but she knows a good red when tasting, although so far, she has been challenged by my enthusiasm for fortified wines from Port and sherry to Madeira – I promise that will come with age Tez!

We have actually known Ceri since she was a very young child! Little did we know that the tiddler we took swimming would have this talent for wine tasting!

She has a keen nose and a palate to match along with a love for Champagne and a good Chenin Blanc.

She is the creative mind in Dylanwad with an excellent photographic eye. When you see the pretty pictures on Instagram it’s often her along with Terri having gone out to arrange bottles in the local river or some other creative location!

She’s a family girl and when she’s not here planning our window displays and telling the staff where to hang the bunting she is with her two little one’s, doing something creative.

Pop in and quiz her on wine, she’s usually got a new favourite to recommend.

Llinos

Keyboard king – Osian has many talents – a degree in music and a masters to top that off! You can find him, cool as a cucumber playing in local establishments but his wine knowledge is catching up fast with the tunes!

I hate to say this but he has learnt in 18 months what it took me 10 years to thump into my brain! He has the passion: his nose is always in a book or a website finding out fine details about a wine maker and his or her magic.

He loves a full bodied fragrant wine and he has a growing interest in natural and organic wines. Dyl and he are fighting it out (metaphorically) about these new kids on the block. But that’s the fun of all of this isn’t it?

Come and have a chat with him about our wines. He really knows his stuff and will guide you down new paths!

Llinos

Meet our part-timers – Pip & Elain! You’ll usually find them behind the bar on an evening or on the weekend.

Pip joined us after seeing our advertisement having always wanted to work with wine!

She’s a busy lady and when she’s not here she is tending to her family business on the The Bike Ranch or chasing after her 3 young boys.

She is a big fan of wine, keen to learn and is tasting her way through the shop, ask her about her tick list!

Elain is always running around the shop, she doesn’t like to be still! No surface is safe when she’s about – our clean queen!

She’s a dental nurse by trade, so she’ll either be pouring you some wine or pulling out your teeth!

Jokes aside, Elain has a sweet tooth when it comes to wine, her favourites tend on the light, sweeter and she loves a good  rosé!