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Pacta Connect to open more East European wine sites following success of Brighton store

Published:  11 March, 2015

Pacta Connect, specialist importers of central and Eastern European wines, is looking to open further retail outlets following the initial success of its first site situated in Brighton's recently renovated Open Market.

Trevor Long and Judith Burns of Pacta ConnectTrevor Long and Judith Burns of Pacta Connect

Pacta Connect, specialist importers of central and Eastern European wines, is looking to open further retail outlets following the initial success of its first site situated in Brighton's recently renovated Open Market.

The shop is the company's first retail venture since Trevor Long and Judith Burns starts importing wine in 2010 with exclusive wines from Croatia.

The company has since expanded to source and bring in wines from across central and Eastern Europe which Brighton locals have been able to sample and buy from what Pacta Connects claims is the first shop to specialise in the area.

Long said: " Usually only a few central and  Eastern European wines are found in a wine merchant's, so we decided to create a specialist shop dedicated to all those wines that we import exclusively now from countries such as Bulgaria, Slovenia, Romania, Turkey and, of course, Croatia."

He added: "Our wines have always been a hand-sell. We train staff in wine merchants and restaurants, present masterclasses for wine societies and organise wine dinners in restaurants and bars, but we always needed to meet the customer face to face to educate them more and introduce our wines to people who seek adventure in their wine world."

The shop is proving successful with customers across all age groups.

Pacta Now in BrightonPacta Now in Brighton

Burns explained: "We've been carrying out extensive research into consumer perception and taste about our wines, and feedback has been so positive. We decided that rather than open a general wine shop like most others, we would concentrate only on our speciality, and we've been proved right because the response has been phenomenal."

She added: "Our customers really do want to go on a wine journey with us, they're genuinely excited to find something on the shelves they don't know and they're willing to take a risk on a grape, country or region new to them. We target the wine lover who is looking for something different."

Its Brighton store is called Pacta Now with the 'Now' standing for natural and organic wines.

Burns said the natural wines have proved successful: "Quite a few customers seek out these wines from us; they may be sulphite or chemical intolerant and they'd rather drink a superb wine at a slightly higher price than buy a couple of bottles of cheaper wine that make them feel unwell.

Long said: "Our customers see themselves as wine sleuths, they love giving us their feedback about different grape varieties, telling us their opinion of them, or what food they paired them with. We knew the shop would work, and actually it has worked so well that it will be the first of several shops we plan now to open across the UK."

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