Forth Wines

General information

Inverarity Morton is Scotland’s largest independent wines and spirits merchant. Founded in 1946, the business is a long-standing supplier to the licensed trade and has evolved to become a market-leader by investing in three core areas: people, product and service.

PEOPLE
All our personnel are put on a progressive training pathway to further develop their professional skillset through vocational learning. Our account managers are all WSET qualified, most to Level 3, and regular briefings, tastings and even trips to meet suppliers are organised so they are well versed in all aspects of our portfolio. Everyone in the company is put through FLOW training.

PRODUCT
As a composite distributor, we can supply any liquid needed to any outlet but our true focus is on wine, beer and spirits, which account for 91% of our sales by volume. We will launch our 2017 wine portfolio at our annual tasting, which is Scotland’s biggest trade event, next March. The list is our most comprehensive yet, comprising over 1,300 wines from 350 producers spanning all four corners of the globe. The rationale behind our buying is to strive to work with likeminded independent/family-owned producers who are passionate and driven about what they do. This means that we deal with very diverse businesses from fledgling wineries to iconic multi-award-winning houses. Where possible we secure exclusive listings; this gives producers peace of mind in terms of routes to market and price-setting and it gives customers peace of mind because they won’t find our wines in their local supermarket. We currently have 78 UK agencies and 31 Scottish agencies.

In developing our range, we have also worked hard to stay ahead of major global trends, ergo we are the only SOPA-certified wine importer in Scotland offering a range of organic and minimum intervention wines.

Our beer range features everything from Scottish, British and import beers in both packaged and draught, and we introduced a craft beer list at the beginning of 2016, offering national distribution for budding independent Scottish brewers including Bellfield, Black Wolf and Jaw Brew. The same applies to the gamut of spirits we hold.

SERVICE
Our service extends from tangible support packages to activities that add value when it comes to customer and consumer engagement. We don’t just supply goods to our customers, we build relationships with them. Every interaction they have with our company is with an experienced member of staff, from their account manager and telesales agent to their delivery driver, they have their own Inverarity Morton team at every touchpoint.

Our telesales team handles 800+ enquiries a day. Our fleet delivers over 2,000 drops every week to customers the length and breadth of the country and our 30 account managers are not far behind when it comes to miles travelled. And they go the extra mile for customers: beyond crystallising a tailored product range, our sales team are well known for taking on events: talks, tastings, dinners, even quizzes.

We also know the benefits that staff training can give to our customers, not only to their bottom line but also to staff morale and retention and that’s why we make staff training a focus. We are the leading centre for WSET training in Scotland and we are the only wholesaler in Scotland to offer this complimentary service to front-of-house staff. We were the first to train to WSET levels 2 and 3 and routinely educate more students per year than any other provider in Scotland. In 2016 we welcomed our 2,000th candidate and saw 342 sit exams with us.