Caviste Shops

Andrew Chapman

Hungerford (and E commerce)

Andrew began in the trade as Assistant Sommelier in Oxford’s 4 star Randolph Hotel. He’d wanted to be a chef and had just completed a course at catering college, so it was a serendipitous entry into food and wine pairing - something Andrew still loves. Wine quickly became his passion and he stoked it by studying for every course the Wine & Sprit Education Trust could offer in London. After Forte promoted him to Restaurant Manager at the Randolph, he moved into general management. But the lure of the cellar was too great, and when he was offered the post of butler at Queen’s College, Oxford he nipped straight across Radcliffe Square to take up the position.  At the age of 25, he was the youngest ever butler of Queen’s.  Andrew was catapulted into the world of classical wines, but blew a few cobwebs out of the college’s 300 year old cellar by adding a few ‘colonial wines’ (their expression, not his!)  It was at Queen’s that Andrew began his first wine business, with several Oxford colleges as his earliest customers. He left in 1996 to concentrate on the business full-time and ran it for the next 12 years, becoming one of the first UK businesses to develop a successful e-commerce website, Surf4Wine.   Andrew returned to high street wine retailing in 2009 with Caviste, for whom he has launched their new website.  He continues to have a passion for food and cooking, and the challenges of an almost grown up family.  His other indulgence is the garden which he and his late wife, Alison, created together. Not unrelated to his love of food and wine, he has also started running to stay (or become) fit.