At Condor you have become synonymous with South American wines, but you have a new project for 2026 that takes you into new ground?
Yes, 2026 is an important year for us. As we celebrate our 15th anniversary, we’re taking a natural step forward with Flight of the Condor — our new range from New Zealand. It complements everything we’ve built in South America while adding styles that broaden what we can offer our customers across the UK.
Why did you want to widen your range outside of South America?
Lee Evans, third left, with the Condor Wines team that celebrates 15 years in business this year
South America continues to offer extraordinary diversity and remains the foundation of our business. What motivated us was the opportunity to evolve.
After nearly 15 years of specialising in South America, we felt ready to bring something complementary into the portfolio; something that reflects our curiosity, our excitement at working with like-minded producers and our desire to keep offering the trade new and interesting wines. New Zealand is a natural extension of what we already do.
Why did you want to source and introduce a new range from New Zealand in particular?
New Zealand feels like a close cousin to South America: dramatic landscapes, independent winemakers, and producers who are deeply connected to their land.
My interest in the region was reignited in 2022 when a customer asked us to manage a shipment. The more I explored, the more I saw stylistic parallels — and differences — that would add real value to our portfolio.
What was the objective of the wines you wanted to list in terms of style, taste and price point?
Our aim was to create wines that bring something genuinely complementary to our South American portfolio. South America gives us depth, texture and bold, expressive reds; New Zealand allows us to add lift, freshness and delicacy — styles that work brilliantly for the on-trade.
We wanted wines with clarity of fruit, purity, and a considered, lighter touch in the cellar. Above all, we wanted wines that over-deliver in regional character and provenance and give our customers both great value and a clear point of difference on their lists.
How did you go about sourcing the fruit and the producers you are working with?
Lee Evans with Ant Moore (middle) and viticulturist, Braden Moore
Firstly, we approached Chris Stroud (European market manager for New Zealand Winegrowers) and he gave us a short-list of producers seeking UK representation. We met with potential producers, explored their offer and commercials and conducted numerous blind benchmark tastings.
We ultimately approached New Zealand exactly as we approach South America; we sought excellence across three key buying parameters – quality, price and people.
That led us to Mt Beautiful in North Canterbury and Ant Moore in Marlborough, partners with great personality who share our values.
What have been the challenges along the way and how did you overcome them?
The challenge was ensuring this wasn’t perceived as a pivot. We’ve spent 15 years building credibility in South America, and we needed to bring New Zealand in without diluting that. We overcame it by being very clear internally and externally: this is an evolution, not a rebrand. It’s about using the skills we’ve developed over the last 15 years and doing what we do best to add value to our portfolio.
Portfolio selection was more challenging vs South America where we know most of the main players and the ‘lay of the land’.It was very different to when we shipped our first wines from Argentina nearly 15 years ago, none of those wines had been in the UK before, Argentina was an emerging region and Malbec was only just starting to gain momentum.
New Zealand is very established in the UK, and we had to spend more time on due diligence, which included speaking to others with a deep experience of the category.Ultimately, we made up our own minds, and we found two excellent partners who met our three key buying parameters – quality, price and people.
Tell us about the wines you have in the Flight of the Condor range.
Mt Vineyard makes a number of key varietal wines that capture the sense of place from its home in north Cantebury
The range includes Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, Riesling and Chardonnay, plus two Pinot Noirs and a rosé. It’s a concise but balanced selection that allows us to showcase regional nuance and a lighter touch in winemaking, while still delivering wines with personality and structure.
We had numerous benchmark tastings across potential producers and existing wines in the market, mostly done blind.We wanted to achieve the best balance of price and quality, and discover distinctive wines that captured attention among a competitive set.
When you say lighter style, what do you mean by that?
For me, ‘lighter’ means wines with energy, lift and precision — lower extraction, fresher aromatics and a more subtle hand in the cellar. They are styles that are attractive to modern wine consumers: easy to enjoy, refreshing and food friendly.
In addition, our existing range from South America naturally leans toward red wines, many of which would be considered full-bodied, but the climate in New Zealand is different so it provides the opportunity to increase the diversity in our portfolio, with a wider range of whites and lighter styles of reds.
Has it encouraged you to look at similar projects from other countries and if so where?
It’s certainly opened our minds, but we’re not sending the Condor on a world tour just yet. If we do explore other regions, it will be because the producers and stories align with our values.
Chile, Argentina and Uruguay remain our anchors — New Zealand simply adds a new chapter.
Finding the right wines and partners in New Zealand has taken 18 months and we need to give these wines time to get established in our business before we start considering new flights of the Condor.
It is a big year in 2026 for Condor with a special anniversary – what have you got planned?
We want to celebrate with the people who helped us get here: our customers, the team and our producers. There will be tastings, events and a few surprises along the way.
For me, the launch of Flight of the Condor is the perfect way to mark 15 years — it embodies our spirit of exploration.It’s also good for businesses to evolve, strengthen their position in the market and ensure they remain relevant. We need to make sure we can sustain our success over the next 15 years as well.
Looking back over the years, what are you most proud of and your biggest achievements?
Condor has twice won the Specialist Merchant Award for South America from the International Wine Challenge
I am proudest of the relationships we have built and sustained with our customers, we have no business without them.We started out as a husband-and-wife operation and we still lead the business, but I am immensely proud of the team who have joined us and the network of producers who trust us with their wines.
Winning IWC Specialist Merchant of the Year twice was a highlight, but the true achievement is building something meaningful and sustainable.
What have been the hardest aspects and how did you overcome them?
As has been said before about our type of company, we are ultimately a supply chain business, and it can be both complex and frustrating at times.Importing wine is rarely straightforward: shipping, currency, freight, political shifts — we’ve seen it all.
The hardest part is keeping calm when things go wrong. You overcome it by being resilient, communicating openly, and treating everyone — team, producers, customers — with honesty and respect.
Any advice for anyone looking to run their own wine importer business?
Persistence counts for a lot — and so does listening to your customers. A good part of this business is simply being willing to dust yourself down and get back up, again and again, but persistence without paying attention to what people are telling you won’t get you very far.
In the early days you must trust your gut. Stick with it because that instinct comes from your own experience. Over time, though, you need to be clear about what you and your business stand for.
Communicate your values and be true to them in everything you do — this industry rewards authenticity.
Build genuine relationships, don’t chase volume for the sake of it, and surround yourself with people who know more than you do. And above all, be passionate — if you don’t believe in what you’re doing, it’s very hard to expect anyone else to.
* You can find out more about Condor Wines and its range of wines at its website here.
