Our Story

Theatre of Wine was created to escape the boring. Established in 2002, Theatre of Wine is a retailer, importer and wholesaler with one of the most eclectic ranges of wines, beers and spirits in the UK.

We embrace classic European wines, such as Bordeaux and Burgundy, Barolo and Chianti, Rioja and Riesling, alongside wines from emerging regions such as Romania, England, Greece, Bulgaria and Croatia, and forgotten treasures such as Sherry, Port and Madeira.

We also have a range of handpicked spirits, including single malt whiskies, gin and boutique rums, not to mention craft beers from around the world and a selection of Cuban cigars.

Theatre of Wine has extensive experience of instore, corporate and private tastings, having hosted over 1,000 events ranging from our weekly tastings to corporate functions with over 300 guests.

We also offer many of the services of a traditional merchant, such as glass hire, ice and UK-wide delivery, and the ability to set up a wedding or cellar list.

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Who We Are

Daniel Illsley

Born in St.Ives in Cornwall in a flat on the Fore St, a stone's throw from the ocean, Daniel worked in theatre, film and TV for 10 years, most notably at the ground-breaking Citizens Theatre in Glasgow.

In July 2002 he created Theatre of Wine with Jonathan Warren, David Simmonds and a lot of helpers. The name came about through the fusion of two loves - theatre and wine - embodied in antiquity in a single entity, the god Dionysus.  

The shops are a stage for our wines, and at our weekly tastings we let these characters interact and reveal their personalities. While the team has changed, the philosophy is the same: to give a stage to wines that have something interesting to say.

Jon Jackson

Having worked in the student bar whilst studying for a Business degree, Jon decided to combine the two interests into a career, joining Majestic Wine in 1990.

Seventeen years later, having fitted in store management, teaching Wine and Spirit Education Trust qualifications to over 400 staff, and judging at international wine competitions, he decided that Majestic had got too mainstream and ran away to join Theatre of Wine’s troupe of underappreciated grape varieties and little-known wine regions, where he has spent the last decade allowing his wine-geekiness full rein!

Jason Millar

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a student studying for a English degree has too much time on their hands. When not in The King's Arms or the library, Jason was in Oddbins where he acquired a love of wine and spirits that were instrumental to his graduation from Hertford College with his MA in English Literature.

After leaving Oxford and spending five years in publishing, Jason enrolled on a Wine and Spirits Education Trust course and joined Theatre of Wine's Greenwich store soon after, in no small part thanks to a pivotal bottle of Giuseppe Mascarello's Barolo Monprivato 2003.

Since then, Jason has been awarded his WSET Diploma with Distinction, winning the Vintners' Cup and Vintners' Scholarship as the top graduate worldwide, as well as the Graham's Port Scholarship for the highest mark in the Fortified Wines paper. He has hosted hundreds of tastings, consulted on private cellars and is involved in wine judging on a variety of panels, including Decanter and Harpers, as well as working in a freelance capacity as a comment and feature writer.