Tell us about the Heretics - who are you and why are you called The Heretics?
The Heretics is myself and Jimmy Hunter. We are friends and have worked together on other people's wine brands, Jim does the design, I do the commercials and this is our first project together. We are called The Heretics as we naturally do things differently to others.
How did you get to know each other and decide to go into business together?
Mates and business partners and aka The Heretics, Gareth Maxwell and Jimmy Hunter
Jim and I know each other from a long time ago as we grew up in the same town. As I was promoted to commercial director at Hattingley Valley, Jim had left the big agencies in town such as BBH and CH&I Partners to set up his own business, Noisy Design, so we started working together on Hattingley’s brand (developing a television advert in French, doing photoshoots with taxidermy butterflies etc).
I went through a divorce in 2022 and at the same time my cousin was given a terminal diagnosis of cancer so I had that, “fuck it, life's too short” moment. So instead of putting the divorce settlement towards a house, I did this instead.
Other than the disruptive name what is your trading strategy and what you see as your point of difference?
We find many English producers play it far too safely, sometimes in winemaking style but often in branding. We wanted the Heretics to be a reflection of what we are into; music, art, design and fashion. We don't have to put thought into what we do as it comes about naturally and organically. We wanted to make wine that not only looked fantastic but tasted even better and was up there amongst the best in class.
Why do you think the "rules of traditional winemaking" need to be rewritten?
I'm not sure that we do really, we just amp things up, don't sit on the fence with styles. We’re willing to change everything every year etc. We aren't ‘traditional’ wine people, we want to make wines that are clean but that have character. And we make wines we want to drink personally.
How are you “amping” things up?
The Heretics want to make wines they want to drink and sell it to people who get what they are trying to do
We are just being bolder in style, such as 100% barrel fermented rosé, big, new puncheon dominant Chardonnay etc. This year, for the 2025 vintage for example, we are aiming to make three styles of rosé and all will be in black bottles. We do this to protect the wine and always sealed with Diam.
We want our customers to trust that what is in the bottle will be in tip top condition. We know our wines won’t please everyone, and we’re fine with that.
You are 100% focused on English wine - why are you so invested and passionate about English wine?
We are 100% focused on English wine now but that's not to say that we wouldn't make wine from other regions in the future. I've been in English wine for 10 years and love it, there is a great sense of camaraderie and people have been very supportive. I also think that there is a bright future, cool climate viticulture is only increasing in popularity as is lower alcohol.
Our ballsy Cantillon Rosé packs a hell of a punch at just 12% abv, for example. The Crouch Valley is the next big thing in English wine. In our opinion.
What styles, price points and marketing position are you looking to go for with English wines?
We'll always be at the top of the quality spectrum, we don’t think about marketing position, we make the wines that we want, in the brand that we want and hope we will find our customers naturally.
Neither of you are winemakers - so who is making the wine?
We are working with Ben Smith and the team at Itasca Wines contract winemakers in Hampshire and they are doing fantastic job for us. I dictate the style and do the blending with them but leave the winemaking to people who know what they are doing.
You both have strong business, commercial and creative backgrounds - can you explain what skills you are bringing to the business and how they work together?
The Heretics Instagram page reflects how it wants to use branding and imagery to cut through and stand out from traditional English wine marketing
Jim has an incredible CV from world leading agencies as mentioned earlier, I was in hospitality, then distribution, then at Hattingley Valley so I bring the commercial acumen and, mainly, the hustle
Jim - of all the product sectors and brands you have worked what is it about wine and English wine that made you want to make a brand of your own?
In a word: Gareth. His enthusiasm is very infectious. We did some great work together when he was at Hattingley, and when he mentioned the idea of doing our own thing, I jumped at the chance. I’ve always loved a well-designed wine label and I work with a lot of English wineries creating labels for them today.
There’s something about the constraints of the label size and the fact that you are competing with so many other labels, so your label has to stand out and be noticed.
I will usually buy a wine I have never heard of if it has a great label. I think if they have put this amount of care and craft into creating a beautiful label, they will have done the same with the wine.
Gareth and I are big fans of the Orin Swift labels from Napa (and their wines too). They are beautifully designed, wonderfully nonconformist and decidedly unconventional. Each label is very different, yet instantly recognisable as theirs. That’s where we were heading with our own labels.
Who are your target customers and how are you looking to reach them?
We don't have target customers. We just do what we do and are finding people who resonate with our brand. It’s very personal and many DTC and trade customers become friends pretty quickly.
How do we reach them? Hustle, bit of this, bit of that, try things, some work, some don't. We haven't inflated our Instagram numbers like many brands do, so all of our followers are actually into what we do. We don't buy followers to make it look like we are bigger than we are.
Wine marketing the Heretics-style
We get a lot of positive feedback and people can see that what we do is genuine, authentic and natural. But we don't want everyone to like our brand, we have had people say that it’s not really for them and every time I have heard that, they are absolutely right, amen to that.
As it's just the two of us, no shareholders or investors, there's no one trying to water down what we do and we want it to stay that way.
With so much competition and producers and owners with bigger pockets to get listings and distribution what tactics approach are you taking to get your wines out there?
Back to the authenticity really. Yes, we are poor financially in comparison but we have spent the time and money to put everything into our brand and we think it shows. Undoubtedly almost all other producers have more money than we do but that's fine, I think independent restaurants want to work with like-minded producers and DTC customers like to think of the money coming to us rather than a big hedge fund manager.
Also, there aren't many English brands that have led with still wine. Particularly from the Crouch Valley, with the exception of Liam Idzikowski at Danbury Ridge.
Also, we bring a lot to the table in design, of course, and all of our labels are done by young creatives, aged 25 and under, and the labels change every year.
Do you want to work with a wine distributor - if so what sort of business do you want to work with?
The Heretics wines are making their way into an increasing number of Michelin and high end restaurants and bars
Yes, I'm open to it and we have already done a few bits here and there, Davys, for example, organised the Chewton Glen listing, Jeroboams helped facilitate the Selfridges business for The Cut, 266 in London have also just taken some stock.
Since we started to sell to the trade in February we are now in seven Michelin star restaurants (with two more, including a three star incoming) and multiple other fantastic venues across the country.
Tell us about your wines - what is in the range?
We have three wines now, the Deluxe Seven Chardonnay 2023, made in neutral barrels and stainless steel, pure and fresh with very balanced acid that has six different labels for the same wine. Cantillon Rosé 2024 was partly fermented and aged in a second fill Damy puncheon.
Our latest release is The Cut Chardonnay, 42% fermented in a brand new puncheon for 13 months, which is serious business.
What other countries outside of England would you look at?
If we did it would be for red wines only. I'm not there yet on English reds in terms of quality vs price. I’d potentially look at Sonoma Coast, I represent a group out there in export markets and the wines are phenomenal.
What has been the most rewarding aspects of starting your own brand?
Seeing how people understand our brand, how much they dig into it and engage with us. Seeing something that we created getting into, literally, some of the best restaurants in the country is mind blowing, as is the Selfridges listing for The Cut 2023, that’s really game changing.
What has been the most challenging and frustrating?
Sending everything out personally for DTC and trade customers has been tricky at times and I will need a decent holiday come the end of December but I wouldn’t change any of it. We offer a very personalised service and I love that.
* You can find out more about The Heretics at their website here.
