The History of La Vino

La Vino Wines & Spirits began its life as part of the Mayfair Wine Cellars group, which is one of the oldest independent wine retail groups in New Zealand, and has owned and operated eight wine licenses in the group's twenty year plus history. Mayfair Wine Cellars is owned by Peter, who, apart from being a winemerchant is a director of 3 other companies. The company now owns La Vino in Ponsonby only.

Peter, the owner of La Vino, has a passion for wine. Peter grew up on a vineyard in New Zealand and his family have planted vines over past generations.Originally Peter trained as a winemaker and holds a Bachelor of Applied Science (Oenology) from Charles Stuart University in New South Wales Australia. Just as Peters passion for wine took him to winemaking it has also taken him to becoming a wine merchant with standards of excellence.

With our website you have Peter's personal guarantee and over 20 years wine and business experience.

On 8th June 1997 the doors of La Vino were open for business. The opening was somewhat of an event as La Vino was positioned just inside in what was then the Grey Lynn 'Dry' area. La Vino was the first licensed store to receive an off license after the area voted to become 'wet' and allow the sale of wine, beers and spirits.

How the name La Vino came about is also very interesting, for the phrase actually doesn't mean anything in New Zealand's two official languages, English and Maori, and would be incorrect in its context in other languages. The French would use Le Vin, the Italians would use Il Vino and the Spanish El Vino.The phrase La Vino was taken from the french words  'La Vinotheque' which was going to be the name of the store until market research revealed  there were many winestores in France called La Vinotheque. Why shorten a phrase for a company name? The answer is branding. There are many organisations that have names shortened and don't actually mean anything other than the brand of service they provide. A good example is New Zealand's "Telecom" or "Vinopolis" in London. We wanted a brand name that was unique in its identity, easy to use and that is exactly what La Vino is.

It brands our individuality, our excellent service and our selection of wines and it uniquely brands our website. Welcome to our brand and our website.