This May we raise a glass to a remarkable milestone – the 40th anniversary of Nickolls & Perks’ Managing Director, William Gardener’s tenure at the company.  

Will joined Nickolls & Perks in 1985, a time when his father David Gardener Sr. was at the helm. This year was recognised as an excellent vintage for Port, Bordeaux, Champagne and Burgundy, in fact it is considered to be one of the most consistent vintages globally, and it was also a fantastic time to be in the business of wine. 

During his time at Nickolls & Perks, Will has shaped the very core of Nickolls & Perks, transforming ecommerce platforms, expanding En Primeur campaigns and building relationships with négociants, as well as developing the fine wine arm of the business. 

I sat down with Will to chat about his time at the company, as well as the future of the business.  

Q: Could you describe your role at Nickolls & Perks, and perhaps how this has changed over the years?
A: As you can imagine my role has changed over the years, selling has always been central and when the team was smaller it was more of a focus, but what has retained my interest has been the diversity of working in a small family business. These days structural and operational management is equally satisfying. 

Q: Looking back to 1985, your first year at N&P, what do you remember about that time?
A: The memories are still vivid, working alongside dad was a real privilege, he was strong minded and very dapper. The high street shop was a big part of the business back then and I was soon given the keys to the van to shop around the numerous cash and carries in the midlands area for the best deals. They used to send leaflets through the post with the weeks offers on, and I can picture dad now excitedly opening and scanning them circling those with his fountain pen that looked like a promising deal.  

Q: Do you have a favourite memory from your early days in the company?
A: A visit to the Pall Mall Army and Navy Club in London to taste the newly released 1985 vintage ports was an early insight to the splendour of the London fine wine scene, the then 30-year-old 1955’s were opened for tasters’ pleasure in a separate, equally ornate room. A long jocular lunch followed… and this was work? 

Q: During your tenure at N&P what have noticed about changes in the fine wine market, how do you see it now, compared with 40 years ago?
A: Fundamentally it hasn’t changed really. A well-known London trader once said to me the selling is easy, it is the buying that takes skill. I think that’s even more important today because there are so many great wines being made. Operationally things have changed remarkably. We used to jump from our seats when the fax machine started whistling and that sheened white roll of paper with its handwritten scrawl of an order would reveal itself inch by inch. It is 30 years next year since we launched our first ecommerce website. The current one is in its fifth incarnation.   

Q: Did you always know you were going to take over the business? When did you know that wine was the industry for you?
A: No, as an 18 year old leaving college I had no idea what I wanted to do, I enjoyed the atmosphere of the business with its enchanting shop and cellars, but it was the broader trade which dragged me in for life, so many good people combined with such an absorbing subject, it has always been a way of life rather than just a job. 

Q: Is there a specific wine that confirmed that this was the industry for you?
A: There are many which stick in the mind, we were fairly blessed at home to be fair, 1959 Musigny Louis Jadot left its mark on me I suspect. Also, a memorable bottle of 1986 Chateau Musar drunk rather quickly, due to a pressing train time back to the midlands, with a wine loving colleague at the Bahn Thai in London’s Frith Street. It seemed quite a perfect accompaniment to the hot and sour fish soup. 

Q: What does ‘fine wine’ mean to you?
A: Anything which triggers emotion, could be aromatic purity, or lingering satisfaction on the finish, it doesn’t necessarily mean expensive, but I guess story telling is important too, if it doesn’t have one it probably isn’t a fine wine. 

Q: What have you been drinking lately, any standouts you can recommend?
A: We enjoy Chablis, Bernard Defaix’s Cote de Lechet is rarely a wine you can ignore, and given a few years, I think it is great value. Burgundy reds have been prominent in recent years, but value has become an issue. Mature Bordeaux is a little more accessible and a bottle of Lynch Bages 1986 was flying the flag amazingly at a recent get together. 

Q: How do you see the future of the company, and the fine wine industry as a whole?
A: N&P has always been quite diverse, and though I had at one time felt this may have been an Achilles heel, but it has continued to be an organic path. Becoming one of the country’s most respected spirits retailers and more recently, journey’s back into On-Trade hospitality, with the re-opening of The Old Wharf gastro pub, as well as the acquisition of winecollector.com digital trading platform, all bear witness. These are all of course investments primarily in people and nurturing their individual qualities, which I think is the key to success in business. 

Q: What are you most proud to have achieved during your 40 years?
A: I think keeping the family together in one of the most dynamic and fascinating industries, the future will be equally difficult and equally rewarding no doubt…