Olivier Gasselin on How OenoTrade is Unique to the Hospitality Sector

In Oeno’s first podcast episode with Interpreting Wine, our Director of Trade taps into the distinctive model of OenoTrade, and how it aspires to support the hospitality trade sector. 

Originally from Tours, France, home to many wine producers including Olivier’s own grandfather, Olivier came into wine at an early age. But it wasn’t until he came to the UK that he learnt more about wine. Early 2000s was a lucky time to be in the UK, recalled Olivier, as the local wine industry was blooming. This led him to work with excellent Michelin-starred restaurants with extensive wine lists. Also an expert in sake and spirits, he fully enjoyed the opportunity to explore wine cultures in countries like Qatar, Abu Dhabi and Asia. 

In 2019, Olivier decided to bring his career to a new direction by joining OenoGroup, a then small luxury wine company that allowed him to explore and build wine lists from scratch. In just two years’ time, he witnessed the company’s extraordinary growth, bringing together top quality accounts and portfolio managers. 

As Head of Trade, Olivier oversees OenoTrade which sources high quality wines for restaurants, hotels and bars. He observed that as the city was recovering from the pandemic, the restaurant scene was once again blooming and looking for great wine. Recently they have discovered a number of exciting new accounts, such as Maison Estelle, a new private club in Mayfair, new Swedish restaurant Ekstedt, and Michelin-starred tea room Sketch. In fact, OenoTrade is looking at its best month yet, with business in October almost doubling that in September 2021. 

Olivier owns this success to OenoTrade’s unique way to structure wine buying. The company looks into diversified and flexible ways of sourcing wine, including our exclusive wineries and highly sought-after wines from the secondary market.

But what gives Olivier the greatest satisfaction is being to support the hospitality sector through his work. A natural virtue of OenoGroup lies in the many connections it brings together, from wine producers, collectors, trading partners to retail buyers. This business model allows them to access some of the most extraordinary and sought-after bottles restaurants might be looking for. OenoTrade is also more flexible than competitors in terms of buying. While most wine trading companies in the UK require a minimum £350 order per delivery, OenoTrade sets no such requirement. It also offers wine on consignment service to their closest partners in trade. This is said to a great help with the cash flow of smaller restaurants. During the pandemic season, OenoTrade proactively looks for ways to help friends in trade get back on their feet. 

In the meanwhile, Olivier is also working on exciting plans to expand OenoHouse, which includes a new shop in Miami next year and potentially in North Italy. Not only will they tap into these cities’ enormous potential for wine, there will also be plenty of opportunities to distribute to local restaurants. 

Interpreting Wine is a podcast passionate about sharing stories of wineries and experts from all over the world. The episode with Olivier Gasselin can now be listened Here. Also available on Apple Podcast and Spotify now.

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