Who Are We

We are Wine Circle. I am Chris Carrad, a WSET certified wine expert with over 35 years in the wine trade. I started my wine career in Bristol before moving to London where I was a senior manager for Oddbins, in their heyday before becoming the Tastings Editor of Wine Magazine in the mid 1990s. Following a move to New Zealand, I have worked as a retailer, importer, distributor and wine writer before I endeavoured to open my own retail establishment. These days I focus on wine importing and still rely on my former employee and good friend, Connal Finlay DipWSET, who was at the time the youngest certified wine expert in history. Together, we choose the wines that Wine Circle imports and sells to our customers, trade and private, here in New Zealand.