Celebrating our 50 Best Indies winner Old Chapel Cellars

It is perhaps appropriate, considering the historic role that the church played in viticulture, that one of Cornwall’s most iconic merchants occupies a former place of worship. Once a Methodist chapel, it was transformed in the mid-1970s into the premises for Laymont & Shaw, a specialist importer with a passion for all things Iberian. Decades later Hispanophile Jamie Tonkin joined the business before being drawn to the bright lights of London. After a stint in the capital’s wine trade, Tonkin returned to Cornwall and purchased the business in 2009, continuing its evolution as “an old chapel full of wine”. Joined by co-owner Louisa Fitzpatrick in 2020, Old Chapel Cellars is today a leading merchant, community hub and sustainability advocate rolled into one.