Berrys on TV in 'Wine: The Firm'

The first programme in the BBC’s series, ‘Wine: The Firm’, was based around the UK’s oldest wine merchant Berry Bros. & Rudd and charts a year in a life of the family business.

Starring Berrys’ buyers Jasper Morris MW and Simon Staples, the programme explored the relationships between these larger than life characters and the winemakers and chateaux owners of Burgundy and Bordeaux.

Filmed in a year when high finance caught a fever, ‘The Firm’ unwittingly became a chronicle of the changing world order and Berrys’ Chairman Simon Berry unveiled the secrets of a successful family-owned and run business.

From the unassuming winemaker David Clarke of the small village of Morey-Saint-Denis, in Burgundy, to the wily General Manager of Chateau Cos d'Estournel, Jean-Guillaume Prats, – one of Bordeaux’s premium chateaux, the programme explored the eccentric and compelling world of wine.

‘Wine: The Firm’ was aired on BBC Four on Monday February 16th 2009 at 9pm. An Oxford Film and Television Production, it is narrated by Matthew MacFadyen and produced and directed by Nick Angel, with executive producers Patrick Forbes and Nicolas Kent.

The series featured the following programmes:

• Programme One: 'The Firm' – 16th February 2009, 9pm (featuring Berry Bros. & Rudd)
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• Programme Two: 'The Faith' – 23rd February 2009, 9pm (featuring Chateau Margaux)
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• Programme Three: 'The Future' – 2nd March  2009, 9pm (featuring Oupa Rangaka and Mark Solms – owners of South Africa’s only black-owned vineyard)