Highbury Wine Shop With 1,400 Wines: Highbury Vintners

Highbury Vintners is the neighbourhood wine shop that turned into an award winner without leaving its parade of shops in north London. It trades from 71 Highbury Park, London N5 1UA, a building that has sold drinks since it was built in the early 1900s. In the weeks before Christmas the shop fills up with locals buying cases for family dinners and Thanksgiving potlucks, and its tasting calendar is built around exactly that.

The shop's own history is short and specific. The premises have been a drinks shop since the building went up in the early 1900s, and the current owner, James Nicholson, took over in 2019 after four decades in the wine trade. Under him the shop won Retailer of the Year at the International Wine Challenge in 2025, an award usually taken by much bigger businesses. Every member of staff has completed WSET courses, so the person at the till can usually explain the difference between two Beaujolais crus without reaching for a phone.

The range is large for a local shop. It stocks close to 1,400 wines, around 400 craft beers and more than 500 spirits. The wine shelves are arranged by country and region, with a long run of Italian, French and Spanish bottles and a good corner of German Riesling. Deliveries leave in an electric van that is charged from a renewable supply, a detail the shop is clearly proud of.

Prices start low enough for a weeknight. Rallo Ciello Bianco Catarratto 2025, a fresh Sicilian white, is £12.50, and Viña Bujanda Rioja Reserva 2020 is £17.00. For a Thanksgiving turkey or a Christmas goose, the shop's Beaujolais is a strong choice. Domaine Mathieu & Camille Lapierre Château Cambon Beaujolais Rouge 2024 costs £24.90, and it has the bright fruit and low tannin that suit a table full of different dishes.

For something more serious, Coursodon Saint-Joseph L'Olivaie 2021 from the northern Rhône is £49.00 and goes well with lamb or game. Ridge Vineyards Geyserville 2021 from Alexander Valley is £60.00. It is a Zinfandel-based Californian red that gives an American holiday dinner an American wine. If you are buying in bulk, the shop gives 10% off six still wines with the code SAVE10. Some fine wines and sparkling bottles are excluded.

The beer and spirits sections deserve a look too, especially if you are hosting. The 400 or so beers lean towards small British breweries, and the spirits wall has enough gin, whisky and amaro to build a full drinks tray for the holidays. Staff will happily point you to a dry vermouth for an aperitif or a digestif to close the evening, and they can suggest a non-alcoholic option for guests who are driving home. Telling them what you are cooking is the quickest way to get a useful answer.

The shop's main pre-Christmas event is the Big Tasting on Saturday 14 November 2026. It is held at Christ Church Highbury Community Centre, N5 1SA, a short walk from the shop, with two sessions: 2:30pm to 4pm and 4:30pm to 6pm. Tickets are £20 per person, and the fee is refunded if you buy six bottles of wine. More than 30 wines are poured, the shop's own listing says the event is happening "because Christmas is coming", and festive jumpers are optional.

This is the most efficient way to shop for the holidays here. You can taste reds for the main course, a fizz for arrival and a sweet wine for pudding in one afternoon, then order a mixed case on the spot. Sessions are capped, so book a slot online as soon as you know your plans.

Smaller tastings run throughout the year, and the shop says it hosts more than 100 events annually. On Wednesday 4 November 2026, Steve Smith MW of Pyramid Valley in New Zealand presents his wines in the shop. There are two sessions, from 6:30pm to 7:15pm and from 7:30pm to 8:15pm, and tickets cost £15 per person. Pyramid Valley's Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are hard to find in British shops, so this is a rare chance to taste them side by side.

These evenings are informal and standing, held among the shelves rather than in a separate room. Arrive on time, because the sessions are short and the first pours go to whoever is at the front.

If you are not carrying bottles home, local delivery is free on orders over £50 to N1, N4, N5, N6, N7, N8, N15, N16 and N19, with a £6.95 charge below that. Elsewhere in mainland Britain, delivery costs £6.95 and is free on orders over £120. That covers most of Islington, Hackney's northern edge, Haringey and Stoke Newington, which is where most of the shop's regulars live.

Highbury Park runs north from the old Highbury Barn shops towards Finsbury Park, and the shop sits in a good spot for a weekend walk. Highbury Fields, the largest green space in Islington, is a few minutes to the south, with plane trees that turn gold in November. To the north-east, Clissold Park in Stoke Newington has a lake, a deer enclosure and a café in its Georgian house.

Football fans will know the area for a different reason. The Emirates Stadium is a short walk west, and the streets around the shop fill up on Arsenal match days, so pick a non-match Saturday if you want a quiet browse.

A good loop is to start at Highbury & Islington station, walk up through Highbury Fields, stop at the shop, and then continue north to Clissold Park before catching a bus or the Overground home from Stoke Newington.

Highbury Vintners, 71 Highbury Park, London N5 1UA. Opening hours are Monday to Saturday 11am to 8pm and Sunday 12pm to 6pm. Arsenal on the Piccadilly line is the closest Tube station, and Highbury & Islington on the Victoria line and Overground is a longer walk. Free local delivery applies over £50 in nine north London postcodes. The Big Tasting on 14 November costs £20, refunded with a six-bottle purchase.