In the crowded world of wine retail, where global brands dominate shelves and algorithms dictate preferences, Dan Belmont, Director of Good Wine Good People (GWGP), offers a refreshing alternative. Recently crowned ‘Online Specialist Wine Buyer of the Year,’ Belmont has built GWGP on principles of thoughtful curation, environmental consciousness, and the celebration of underrepresented wine regions. From his New York roots to his established presence in London, he combines an industry insider’s knowledge with a personal touch that resonates with both retail customers and trade clients.

In this interview, Belmont shares how GWGP evolved from a personalised sommelier service into a multifaceted platform that bridges the gap between the wine trade and consumers. He discusses his commitment to showcasing wines made with respect for the drinker and the planet, the importance of tailored customer experiences, and how his ties to American wine inform his approach. Join us for a deep dive into Belmont’s journey, the challenges of balancing retail and wholesale priorities, and what lies ahead for GWGP.

Image: Good Wine Good People; Source GWGP.

Dan, Congratulations on winning ‘Online Specialist Wine Buyer of the Year’! Tell me more about what led you to win this award. When curating the GWGP portfolio, what principles guide your selections? How do you tailor offerings to different customer bases, from retail to the New York Bottle Shop to GWGP Trade?

Aw, thanks! First and foremost the wine has to be delicious. This gives us a lot of confidence when we make personal recommendations. I’m fortunate to have a broad palate that likes nearly everything assuming it’s well-made. We try not to be dogmatic about anything particular. We look to avoid wines you can find in the major supermarket retailers, as such our entry point is around a £12 bottle. Lower than that, things like tax and duty make up the lion's share of a bottle price and the wine itself is worth mere pence. The economics of our small business is a lot more straightforward – with fair prices all year round. 

We sell wines made with respect for the drinker and the environment. That’s just thoughtful viticulture and smart winemaking. Over ⅔’s of our stock fit into organic or biodynamic practices, but I’m not a hardliner for certifications, in doing so you’d cut yourself off from some of the world's great wines where organic practices, like the use of copper for example, don’t fit with the values of the producer and place. The certifications themselves can be expensive, too. I think producers doing things the wrong way with overuse of herbicides and additions of sugar and mega-purple and the like should have to pay, and be transparent not the other way around. We end up making it more difficult for producers to communicate that they do things the right way! Ultimately we try not to look at things so black and white. 

When we first started in 2020 the website was simply a personal somm offering – tell me about yourself and I’ll send you wine! So I worked hard to ensure a wide range of styles and regions at each price point, with our core range under £50. With well over 500 wines listed now, only about 60 sit above £50, and that's really important to us, I don’t think you should have to spend a mint to drink great wine. What’s the UK average bottle sold? £7? Ours is £24, which tells us we’re communicating the value proposition well. We launched with 140 SKUs and I was proud to say that I had met each producer personally. Could have been a quick chat at a trade tasting, all the way through to guests at my wedding! They’re the good people who have opened up this wonderful world of wine to me, and I was eager to support them.

I don’t fetishize the current vintage. I look to avoid wines I think have a short shelf-life, probably why I don’t sell any Provence Rosé. If a wine has depth, and structure, and is well made you can happily sell a rosé three years on, and we do! Generally, I think we often drink wines too young, so I often chase the last of the previous vintage from our suppliers. Eventually makes for less competition when a consumer is doing a Google search for a wine, and offers a unique collection and drinking experience and that other retailers can’t offer. It was also a way to safeguard the business when just starting out with a limited marketing budget in the middle of a pandemic! I don’t want to sit on stock when I can be selling it, but in the event it doesn’t move, I can trust that the wine is not in decline. 

We currently stock more wines from the USA than any other country, and I do believe it’s one of the strongest value-based offerings of American wine available in the UK. While I am now a British citizen, in London for over 8 years now, I got my start in the US wine industry and my relationships are strong there. Still, I don’t consider GWGP an “American Specialist”, it makes for just under 25% of our listings, and I am equally proud of our French, Italian, and Austrian selections that follow right behind.

One of the reasons for the unique strength of our US range and what sets GWGP apart is the inclusion of wines from New York State. I got my start in the industry there, as a brand ambassador and hospitality consultant for Finger Lakes wineries. For several years now I have supported the New York Wine & Grape Foundation as a presenter, educator & judge. In 2022 I authored the latest edition of the New York State Wine Reference Guide. It’s also, conveniently for me, one of the most exciting wine-scapes out there at the moment. It’s a region for wine lovers. Lovers of terroir. Lovers of flavour; exciting cool-climate viticulture; food-friendly wines; well priced; and all from small family-owned and operated producers.

We created a page on the website dedicated to the wines of New York. The New York Bottle Shop boasts the largest selection of New York State wines available in the UK. That’s not a particularly high bar to cross, but we’re planting the flag early. The page is chock full of great information, maps, and photos – it’s a place to discover and celebrate viticulture in New York State. Additionally, our first direct imports hail from the Finger Lakes region, introducing Empire Estate, produced by celebrated NYC sommelier Thomas Pastuzak (The Nomad Hotel, Eleven Madison Park) featuring dry riesling and riesling-based traditional method sparkling wines! 

The other country that I’m a huge torchbearer for is Austria. After several visits, I think it’s one of the most undervalued European wine producers out there, particularly because the wines offer such great value. The wines are charismatic and surprising - which is pretty much how I’d describe the winemakers too. All the more interesting because it’s so under-represented in the UK. Historically, we’ve stocked a good number of wines from a diverse range of producers. Now, I am proud to say, that seven Austrian producers will sit at the core of our wholesale portfolio, representing five regions (Neusiedlersee, Burgenland, Thermonregion, Wachau, and Weinviertel), and a range of styles, priced right in our sweet spot from £13.50-50 retail. Now Austria is #4 in our wine range, right behind Italy. 

Image: Dan Belmont with the Online Specialist Wine Buyers Award at Wine Buyers Awards 2024.

Good Wine, Good People is celebrated as the UK's 'Most Personalised Wine Club.' How does the Personal Somm Questionnaire (PSQ) create a unique experience for your customers, and how has it evolved since its inception?

It really is the most personalised wine club! With multiple price points – average. bottle price of £20, £30, or £50; at 3 or 6 bottles, delivered monthly, bi-monthly, or quarterly – it can fit a wide range of budgets and needs. Beyond that, we maintain an “open door” policy for feedback. Many of our subscribers simply email me directly with feedback on last month's wines, or a new discovery they’ve had while travelling - it all feeds into our decision-making process for their next installment. Some subscribers are very food first, and we’re tasked with choosing wines to pair with a specific cuisine or meal. It’s a lot of fun for us too, each installment includes a personal note from the expert who chose the wines and brings the personal interaction of your neighborhood wine shop into the online home-delivery space. 

As we’ve grown it's been important to optimise our systems to make the collection and organisation of feedback and the selection of wines more efficient. At the end of the day, it's blood, sweat, and spreadsheets! While I personally managed most of the relationships, we’re not afraid of growth. The questionnaire collects really helpful info (we built it off of feedback from some really smart somm friends of ours), and as long as we continue to stock a variety of wines and styles at each price point, we’ll remain sustainable. Really proud to be powered by wine lovers, not AI or algorithms. The PSQ is UK-first and remains our flagship product be it for exploring our wine collection on the website, our wine club; one-off case purchases; and now you can gift it with ease! We’ve even created a custom questionnaire as a wedding gift for newlyweds! 

Image: Dan Belmont.

How does your background as a certified American Wine Expert influence buying for GWGP? How is the demand for American wines growing in the UK market? What strategies is the US wine trade implementing to grow its market base here?

I think we’ve become a bit of a go-to source for American wines whether I like it or not (not much to be done about my New Yorker accent!); but it’s also based on the strength of the stock. With in-depth knowledge of the American wine landscape, I can find the gems that sit between the “US wines are expensive” stereotype and the industrial production levels of entry-level supermarket wines. I’m confident in selling the cool-climate wines from New York, and even playing with some hybrid grape-based wines, so it makes for a more exciting spread than only working with the west coast wines. There are strong relationships between our two countries, whether someone has lived there for work, traveled for wine, or married into ex-pat families, there’s a lot of love for American wines in the UK. As our business is largely based on personal recommendations, essentially surprise cases, US wine can boast a lot of surprises. There are few rules when it comes to wine production, so the diversity in style and grape is massive. 

The US wine trade can be pretty loud here when they want to be. They usually throw a pretty good party! They engage the UK wine trade in a big way, knowing that we’re the amplifiers with a direct line to the consumer audience. 

The launch of GWGP Trade in 2024 marked a significant expansion into wholesale. How do you balance the priorities and challenges of catering to both retail customers and trade clients? What opportunities have emerged from this dual focus?

It’s challenging for sure. I quickly realised that I saddled myself with a second small business! The impetus for starting to import direct has thankfully held true. When the wines are sold via our website, the margins are significantly better having cut out a middle-man 3rd party importer/distributor. The direct access to the producers/winemakers is very strong. It makes storytelling and communicating the wine story to the consumers easier, and more efficient. The website is a joyful platform to tell these stories to both consumers and trade. I assembled a highly motivated group that is both eager and proud for their wares to make an impact in the UK market. Our medium-term goals include a brick-and-mortar venue in London (more on that another time); but that’ll be our home base for these imports and benefit the promotion and margins of these new-to-market products in a big way. We can also better manage the flow of information to the wine media, and I’m happy to report we’ve received high praise from several notable outlets. 

GWGP is known for championing innovative producers. What trends are you seeing in the wine industry, and what types of wines or producers are you actively seeking to add to your portfolio?

As I’ve noted, I try not to put too much stock into trends. I think what we can perceive as trends is often just the wine bubble talking to itself! I’m in awe of the winemaking odyssey and I love stories about overcoming challenges – it drives me to support regions like NY’s Finger Lakes, and Nova Scotia Canada; England (check out what Beare Green Winery is doing – true honest English terroir-driven wines). At the end of the day, London and the UK is a very competitive and even saturated market for wine. So I look to differentiate our portfolio from the rest. With the exception of a single Champagne (made by an Austrian) we’ve avoiding France and Italy thus far. There’s so much competition there. I’d rather be a go-to for the unique, eyebrow-raising curiosities that surprise and delight. As long as we can find the intersection of quality and value. In 2025 we’ve set our sights on three new producers, one of which is an exciting discovery from Georgia! A second New York producer with a focus on Cabernet Franc to complement our Riesling producer, Empire Estate; and a beautiful estate from Montsant, Spain. Exciting times! 

Image: Dan Belmont at Shafer Vineyards.

GWGP has embraced digital tools like the video library and other online content to engage with customers. How do these initiatives complement your mission to make wine shopping more inclusive and approachable?

Our motto is ‘Wine is Personal. Drink Accordingly." It recognises and respects that different people appreciate and approach wine for different reasons, so we aim to create as many entry points as possible. At the end of the day, we are humble storytellers, hype-men, and big fans of these products. Our tasting notes for each wine don’t have a standard format, and I have half a dozen different voices to help with our notes. Sometimes it’s about the vivid violets and cherries; sometimes it’s that they needed rock climbing gear to pick the grapes; sometimes it just says “Drink with a kebab. Now. Run!” 

– The Personal Somm Questionnaire, as discussed. Some folks need some hand-holding and are more confident in their purchases with a personal recommendation. We’re here for you. 

– Good Pairings. Are you food-first? No judgment here. We’ve collected our favourite wines to pair with Fish & Seafood; Pizza & Pasta; Cheese; Meat & BBQ; Asian Cuisine; and even BRUNCH! We like to think outside of the box with our pairings too, rules are meant to be broken, and some of the pairing suggestions will certainly get your attention. Welsh biodynamic red pet-nat from a grape called Triomphe with Asian Cuisine? You betcha. 

– Good People. Including our ‘Meet the Maker’ video content we have a growing collection of over 40 producer profiles. 

– Hot Topics: Old Vines (we’re the first and only retail member of the Old Vines Conference with just shy of 100 wines in the collection). Women Winemakers (we’re all about promoting equality and diversity in all areas of the wine industry – there’s some damn good wine here). Lower ABV (anything 11% and under. We support a healthy wine lifestyle and moderation in all things, including moderation!). 

– Price Levels. If it’s easier for you to start with a price level you’re comfortable with, we’ve got them set up for you from “Tuesday Nighters” to “Serious Sh*t”. 

What role do sustainability and ethical practices play in your wine-buying decisions? Are these considerations driving shifts in consumer demand or producer priorities?

With ‘Good People’ in the name you have to have a baseline for what that means – respectful winemaking and environmental practices, pay your employees, don’t be a racist, little things like that. It sounds basic, but if you have a reputation for being an a-hole, I don’t want to sell your wines, doesn’t matter how good they are. Plenty of wine out there sets a ‘good people’ standard.

Transporting liquid in glass is innately problematic for our impact on our rapidly changing climate so we encourage all our import producers to source lightweight glass. Similarly, with our retail stock – why is this 11% wine in a massive heavy bottle? No thanks. 

Sustainability is a broad term that opens itself up to green-washing, but I think you can see the effort in action when it’s there. Solar power, composting, biodiversity, soil health, to name a few. LGBTQ+ allies that foster an inclusive workplace environment. This is the kind of stuff that gets us out of bed for these producers each day. 

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Looking ahead, what are your ambitions for GWGP, both in terms of expanding the portfolio and redefining what it means to be a modern wine retailer?

I think we have an opportunity here with a lot of untapped potential, and that’s the most exciting part. We manage to accomplish a lot with a very small team and limited resources, and when those things inevitably (hopefully) follow, the sky’s the limit. We could certainly play the e-commerce ‘game’ better – we only send 1-2 emails a month for example, but when we reach out, our mailing list engages. We have an average open rate of 43.5%. Mailchimp’s e-commerce average open rate is only 15.68%. So we’re making the most of what we’ve got. 

As I mentioned, 2025 will see some growth in our wholesale portfolio which continues to mold our retail offering. We’ll do a capital campaign this year to accelerate our current growth trajectory, growing our salesforce (beyond myself); and focusing our marketing efforts. Brick and mortar is always in our sights, we believe we can bring something unique and fresh to the London high street, too.

And we’ve been shortlisted for ‘Online Drinks Retailer of the Year’ at the Drinks Retailing Awards – just being nominated alongside juggernauts like Virgin Wines and Master of Malt is an honour, but the little guy taking home the prize would really turn some heads. Onward and upward.

Image: The GWGP Team.

Conclusion

Dan Belmont’s approach to wine retail is as much about storytelling as it is about selling. By championing underrepresented regions like New York’s Finger Lakes and Austria, he challenges conventional market dynamics while offering consumers a uniquely curated experience. Belmont’s dedication to thoughtful sourcing, sustainability, and personalisation has not only set GWGP apart but also opened new avenues for trade and retail synergy.

As GWGP expands its wholesale portfolio and explores brick-and-mortar possibilities, Belmont remains committed to bridging the gap between the wine world’s complexity and its accessibility. It’s clear that his journey is driven by more than just a passion for wine—it’s about creating meaningful connections through every bottle.

In conversation with Malvika Patel, Editor and VP, Beverage Trade Network

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