This year’s Dirty Dozen tasting features some very familiar names who have been part of this event since it started, but also introduces four new suppliers to help shake things up and bring some new ideas, wines and passion to the event.
So for the first time the tasting will include Newcomer, Modal, Theatre of Wine and Vin de Vie by Caroline Brange who are joining the existing suppliers that includes: Clark Foyster; Yapp Brothers; Top Selection; Howard Ripley; FortyFive10; The Wine Treasury; Raymond Reynolds; and Swig.
“It’s super exciting to have these four fantastic, much respected and loved importers on board, adding their amazing ranges. It’s so important to keep The Dirty Dozen dynamic and relevant,” says Robin Davis founder of Swig and one of the founding members of the Dirty Dozen.
Here we introduce each of the suppliers taking part ahead of the Dirty Dozen tasting on March 11 at St Mary's Church in London - full details here.
Caroline Brange, founder of Vin de Vie
Vin de Vie is a leading importer of wines deeply rooted in terroir. Founded by Caroline Brangé, whose experience as a sommelier and innate French sensibility shape the portfolio, and celebrate talented, small-scale winemakers from France and Italy.
As she says: “Produced by passionate ‘Terroirists’, our wines express a true sense of place—made by producers who pour their hearts into their craft, just as we do. Every wine on our list is one we proudly drink ourselves and can't wait to share with you. With 15 plus years of experience in wine and hospitality, we are committed to supporting an industry we love, providing our partners with exceptional wines and personalised service. We are thrilled to be taking part to The Dirty Dozen under our new colours and look forward to sharing with you the new wineries who recently came on board. We are happy to share that Simone Zemella will be there to share the stories behind Tenuta La Novella.”
The Top Selection team
We are delighted to be returning as full members of The Dirty Dozen. A wonderful collection of innovative UK importers. The event is very much part of our 25th anniversary celebrations and we will be showcasing several new producers and wines, not least the introduction of our new own label range of premium boutique wines Ulmus; exclusively created for us by some of the worlds most talented winemakers with independent retailers and sommeliers in mind. Look out for the outstanding the sumptuous Ulmus Barberesco made by Achille Boroli. As ever we continue to innovate and enhance our portfolio with new producers from California, Chablis, Tuscany and Tokaj joining the Top Selection family in recent months. We look forward to introducing you to many of these gems at this year’s Dirty Dozen.
Howard Ripley will be showing its range of respected Burgundy and German wines amongst others
Over the last 35 years, Howard Ripley Wines has become one of the leading Burgundy and Germany specialists, supplying the most sought-after names as well as new talent. We have developed an unrivalled portfolio of German estates and championed the new wave of top dry wines and exciting reds. The last few years have seen us branching out of our Burgundy and Germany comfort zone with an exciting Central European range from Croatia, Slovakia, Hungary, and Czech Republic and expanding our Italian portfolio with fresh faces like Caccia al Piano in Bolgheri and Barbaresco producer Gigi Bianco. We also welcomed Bob Lindquist, an original Californian Rhone Ranger, to the portfolio with his Lindquist Family label. In 2025, we’ve brought on our first Jura wines, from genius Burgundy winemaker David Croix, and our first Polish wines from winemaker Kamil Barczentewicz.
The Wine Treasury has become one of the UK's key Californian suppliers
At The Wine Treasury we have lovingly built up a stellar representation of North American wines over the decades, with legends such as Kistler Vineyards, Sine Qua Non, Alban Vineyards, Cayuse, Antica Terra and Silver Oak particular highlights. Our range extends well beyond the USA, of course, and we take equal pride in the gems that we have gathered from other parts of the world, producers such as Bodega Noemia, Valduero, and Bilancia. It takes a special producer to impress us, but there are few things we enjoy more than sharing special wines with our friends at restaurants and independent retailers. We’re excited to be back with the Dirty Dozen in 2025 with a selection representing both our traditional strength in wines of the USA and the fabulous producers we work with in other parts of the world. We have plenty of new wines to share, some highlights being from Blue Farm (Sonoma), Sea Smoke (Sta. Rita Hills), Cloudsley (Niagara), Apollo’s Praise (Finger Lakes), and Ferrer Bobet (Priorat). We look forward to seeing you there!
Theatre of Wine's Daniel Illsley
This year we are excited to be joining the Dirty Dozen tasting for the first time. We have been fans of the event since it started and it’s been a staple for most buyers since, so it’s a fantastic opportunity for us to make more people aware of the work that we are doing in the on trade and with independents and the level of service we can provide. Despite all the challenges our industry faces, hospitality and independents are hugely resilient, so we won’t be scaling back our shipping activities, in fact, quite the opposite. Our portfolio is constantly growing and evolving with strengths in regional France and Italy complemented by gems from Portugal, Austria, Hungary, Greece and beyond and we are eagerly looking forward to new additions this year.
The Yapp team
A leading importer of French regional wines since 1969, Yapp Brothers are proud agents for many iconic domaines including Jean-Louis Chave, Auguste Clape and Grange des Pères. Characterful and individual wines from our traditional French heartlands and further afield.
Following our move to a new headquarters in Sparkford last year, we have been putting the space to good effect, cramming our cellars with exciting new wines (and a couple of new producers) from Burgundy, Bordeaux, Luberon, Rhienhessen, Mendoza and Stellenbosch. We look forward to showcasing a selection of these new arrivals alongside some of Yapp classics at the Dirty Dozen.
Timothée Stroebel of Montagne de Reims will be with Newcomer Wines
While Newcomer Wines' historic strength lies in Austria we are really excited about the dynamic scene of growers in Burgundy as well as Germany with people like Andrew & Emma Nielsen / Le Grappin in the Hautes Côtes de Beaune, Moritz Kissinger in the steep hills of Oppenheim along the Rhine or Carsten Saalwächter working on steep sites in Assmannhausen — Rheingau's ultra historic Spätburgunder heritage 2025 also marks a new chapter of 'Cru Blaufränkisch' - underlining the immense quality that now comes from pioneers like Franz Weninger, Christoph Wachter-Wiesler as well as future talents such as Milan Nestarec in Moravia or Naboso along the Lower Carpathian basin.
Modal Wines
Modal Wines is a specialist importer with a strict farming-led ethos. We champion the work of true 'growers' who push boundaries in the field of organic, biodynamic, and regenerative agriculture, genuine artisans whose work is a source of education and inspiration not only to their peers but also to ourselves and our customers. In the cellar we favour a less-is-more approach though never at the expense of fruit purity or stability. Choosing to let the ever-changing world of wine inspire our travels, we currently feature a list of producers from 10 different countries across the world.
Christos Zafeirakis from Domaine Zafeirakis will be showing his wines with Clark Foyster
At Clark Foyster Wines, we aim to be specialists in our chosen field. We sell only wines in which we truly believe. Our range is eclectic with growers who are generally small, family-run estates producing wines to the highest standards. We’re always on the lookout for quirky new/old discoveries! We’re very excited about latest arrival ‘Vinya Vella’- a Grenache made from exceptional old vines in the Barossa. From Greece, we have award-winning Limniona made by Christos Zafeirakis. From Portugal, we’ve got two brand new whites; ‘Concrete’, from the Dao and ‘Mare e Corvus’ from Sintra, near Colares. From Alentejo, we have a new ‘old ‘ wine- a ‘talha’ wine made in a unique and ancient style. And in contrast, a great value red from the modern co-op just down the road. In our typically eclectic style, we’ll also be showing wines from France, Georgia and Austria.
Pojer and Sandri will be with FortyFive10
Since the last Dirty Dozen we have continued to focus on carefully expanding our portfolio of ‘Select Italian Wines’ – it includes a small number of non-Italian producers too. But the ethos remains the same - boutique producers showcasing local viticulture and varietals. From the powerful, elegant Barolos of Piedmont to the mineral wines grown on the volcanic soils of Etna, our collection ensures a journey through Italy's finest wine regions. New wines and vintages from our existing producers have been the primary focus, alongside the introduction of two new wineries – Vignamato from the Marche region, our first Verdicchio producer; and Podere la Villa from Tuscany, the home of legendary Italian winemaker Giacomo Tachis whose wonderful Chianti Classico is now a ‘Select Italian Wine’. It is one of the wines we will be showing on 11th March.
Raymonds Reynolds
Raymond Reynolds begun life importing from wines from emerging wineries in Portugal, in the excited belief that this small and beautiful country on the western fringes of Europe with so many different terroirs and native grape varieties, would come of age. It has and fully pressed our enthusiasm with it. A special journey that is but at the beginning after 35 years. A portfolio of 33 producers. Some of the greatest exponents of their craft and diverse approaches to what they make. Lagares, Amphoras, vats, barrels, tanks – unfiltered exuberance. And world-class fortified wines too. Yet the wine world at this level is a larger community of fellow believers, enthusiastic growers, winemakers and us who buy and distribute these creations. It knows no borders. So organically we've reached out to the small wine yonder and inevitably found like-minded innovative growers in Spain and Germany - new paths of exploration. We bring you this small peerless portfolio of many lighthouses.
Swig's founder Robin Davis
We love challenger producers and this tasting is full of them.
Winemaker, Liam Idizkowski, will be pouring Danbury Ridge’s Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, (Crouch Valley and Blackwater Estuary, Essex) along with their 1st edition solera sparkling, called Solstice (Krug-inspired). We’re showing Stefano Amerighi Syrah. Amerighi took a chance on growing Syrah in Cortona, Tuscany, after falling in love with top Cornas. It’s become one of Italy’s true cult wines. He’s now planted vineyards with cuttings from top Northern Rhone producers Alongside that we have top Barolo consultant Gian Luca Colombo’s Langhe Nebbiolo that comes solely from Barolo vineyards near Verduno and Brunello di Montalcino Cupano’s multi-vintage, declassified Brunello. We are showing a Bergianti, known as the messiah of Lambrusco. A new discovery is Prinz from Hallgarten in Rheingau, showing the terroir over the grape, as is the unfortified Jerez white, Atlantida, made the almost extinct variety, Vigiriega, from Alberto Orte. We will have some of our favourite South Africans, Blank Bottle, Tesselaasdal, Badenhorst, The Vineyard Party, and the latest vintage of Didier Dagueneau-inspired Salt River Sauvignon Blanc made by Duncan Savage.
* The Dirty Dozen tasting takes place on March 11, 10am-5.30pm at St Mary’s Church, York Street, London, W1H 1PQ. Click here for more details and to register.
You can follow them all at
@dirtydozentaste
@newcomer_wines
@modalwines
@vindevie.uk
@theatreofwine
@clark_foyster_wines
@howardripleywines
@yappaboutwine
@rrltdwine
@thewinetreasury
@topselectionwines
@fortyfive10
@swig_wine
