Kew Wine Shop With 800 Bottles: The Good Wine Shop

The Good Wine Shop in Kew is the sort of place you find by accident on the way out of the station and then keep coming back to. It sits at 2 Royal Parade, Station Approach, Kew, Richmond TW9 3QD, right beside Kew Gardens station on the District line and Overground. With more than 800 wines on the shelves and a small wine bar inside, it is a useful stop on the way to or from the Royal Botanic Gardens. In the run-up to Christmas, its evening tastings are some of the busiest in south-west London.

The business began in the year 2000, when Daniel Thorold opened the first Good Wine Shop in St Margarets, near Twickenham. Mark Wrigglesworth took over as owner in 2004, and in 2009 the company opened its second shop here in Kew Village. It now also has shops in Chiswick, Richmond Hill and Teddington, though Kew remains the one most visitors come across.

The Kew shop has had a dramatic history for a small parade of shops. In 2018 a serious fire closed it for three months. It reopened and went on to help the company win Decanter's Best London Wine Shop award in 2019, and in 2022 Decanter named it the best specialist retailer for organic and biodynamic wines. That focus on low-intervention growers shows on the shelves, where many of the producers farm organically.

If organic or biodynamic wine matters to you, say so when you walk in. The staff can point to the growers who work that way across the range, from Loire whites to Italian reds, and it is an easy way to narrow down 800 bottles to a shortlist of five or six. Telling them what is on the menu for the holiday meal helps just as much, since they can match a grower to each course rather than handing you a generic crowd-pleaser.

Part of what makes the Kew branch different is that it is not only a place to buy bottles. There is a lively wine bar inside, so you can sit with a glass after a walk in the gardens and decide what to take home. On Friday and Saturday the shop stays open until 10pm, which makes the bar a calmer alternative to the pubs around Kew Green for an evening drink.

The bar also makes the shop easy to use for holiday shopping. You can try something by the glass, ask the staff what else is open, and then buy a bottle or a mixed case of the wines you liked. For a Thanksgiving dinner or a Christmas lunch, that saves guessing from a label.

The shelves run from easy weeknight bottles to wines for a special dinner. Laberinto Cenizas Sauvignon Blanc 2025 from Chile costs £21.50 and is a sharp, citrusy white for oysters or a starter. Emmanuel Darnaud Mise en Bouche 2022 is £26.50, a Crozes-Hermitage red from the northern Rhône that is soft enough to open young.

For a holiday table with American guests, the shop carries some strong US bottles. Evening Land Eola-Amity Hills Chardonnay 2023 from Oregon is £29.00 and suits turkey or roast chicken. Ridge Geyserville Vineyard 2024, the famous Zinfandel blend from California, costs £60.00. For a Christmas dinner centrepiece, Le Ragnaie Petroso Brunello di Montalcino 2019 is £110.00, a Tuscan red that rewards decanting an hour or two before the meal.

The Kew shop runs a full programme of evening tastings, and the dates for the end of 2026 are already on sale. On Wednesday 4 November, Meet the Winemaker: An Evening with Alex Brogan costs £35. On Thursday 5 November, Bordeaux vs USA sets classic claret against American reds for £80, a fitting warm-up for Thanksgiving later in the month. On Thursday 19 November, Spain: Rioja and Beyond costs £65.

December brings Champagne vs The World on Thursday 3 December at £80, and the seasonal highlight, Christmas at Kew, on Thursday 17 December at £65. That last evening is built around festive wines, and it is the one to book if you want ideas for the big day. Seats are limited in a small shop, so book online well ahead.

If you can't make a Kew date, the company runs walk-around Winter Wine Showcases at its other branches. The Teddington showcase is on Sunday 22 November from 2pm to 5pm, and the Chiswick one is on Sunday 6 December from 2pm to 5pm. Both cost £25.

Delivery to mainland Britain costs £15 on orders below £75, £9.99 on orders between £75 and £125, and nothing on orders over £125. Collection from any of the shops is free, which is handy if you order online and pick up on your way home from Kew Gardens station. For a Christmas order, collecting in person also lets you ask the staff to swap a bottle if one is out of stock.

The shop could hardly be better placed for a day out. The Royal Botanic Gardens are just a few minutes' walk from the station, and in late autumn the Arboretum is full of colour, with the Temperate House and the Palm House offering a warm escape on cold days. A glass at the shop's bar is a good way to warm up after an afternoon among the glasshouses.

On the other side of the station, the streets of Kew Village have small cafés and independent shops. A short walk north-east takes you to The National Archives, which has free exhibitions and a café. Kew Green, with its cricket pitch and St Anne's Church, is a pretty spot to walk off a long lunch before heading back to the shop.

The Good Wine Shop Kew, 2 Royal Parade, Station Approach, Kew, Richmond TW9 3QD. Closed on Monday. Opening hours are Tuesday 11am to 8pm, Wednesday and Thursday 11am to 9pm, Friday and Saturday 10am to 10pm, and Sunday 11am to 8pm. Kew Gardens station on the District line and Overground is next door. Evening tastings are booked online, and Christmas at Kew on 17 December costs £65. UK delivery is free over £125, and collection from any branch is free.