L’ART du Vin may be based in Fife, but they supply a comprehensive range of wines, meticulously sourced from all corners of the globe. Their bespoke portfolio consists of wines that are made with passion, integrity and uniqueness of origin while remaining true to environmental and ethical issues. Now celebrating their tenth year in business, it’s been an interesting journey, but one thing remains clear: L’Art Du Vin is dedicated to investing time to find the most skilled producers in each region of the wine world.

We spoke with managing director Philippe Larue, who gave us an insight into the curious world of wine and his fruitful business model.

READ MORE: What's on in Scotland this month...

Do you follow the trends when it comes to wine?
AT L’Art du Vin we really try to stray away from following the so-called “wine trends”. The company was set up with the sole intention to work with small artisans from around the world and our ethos was to distribute crafted products with provenance, sustainability and traceability at the heart. We maintain a very hands-on approach.

Is provenance and sustainability a big deal in the wine world?
ABSOLUTELY! We’ve really seen that less is more and our customers want better quality wines with a great back story, rather than have a huge selection of mediocre wines. We’ve seen it in the foodie world, people care about where their produce comes from, how it’s been sourced, and want to know more about the business – and the wine world is no different. We are passionate about provenance and telling the story of our suppliers.

Do you think wine is becoming more accessible?
I THINK wine has always been accessible but people are becoming more and more open-minded and feel less daunted by the prospect of wine. People are exposed to wine every day through the media and they like to try to experiment. That’s what, for me, is so exciting about being here in the UK!

Telling the story of wine is so important. We need to tell the story of the producer and try not to complicate it too much. Telling stories is what we love to do to ensure that our customers are educated – we are simple in our approach which tends to work best. We just focus on the difference between certain wines and what makes it special.

What can we expect from l’Art du Vin this year?
WE’VE been searching all over Europe for the great artisans of the wine world and we have found some fantastic suppliers. We are focusing more on Italy and Spain and have trialled some great, indigenous grapes from Italy and Spain. Passerina is a great grape in the Terre Di Chieti region and we are working with a producer called Fabulas. We are also looking into Pansa Blanca in north-east Spain. We are just trying to bring more colours to our rainbow, as they say!

How much has happened in your 10 years?
WELL, it’s gone too fast! When we first started the business, we wanted to be the leading distributor of artisan wines in Scotland. We have excelled and really surprised ourselves with our steady progress. We’ve been on an incredible journey and every credit to our great customers around the UK and our fantastic suppliers. We would be nothing without them by our side. We need to focus on expanding our distribution in the Scottish market and getting in touch with the right customers. We need to continue to build the business and do what we do best – pass on the passion and share our love of wine with those who love wine too!