A new vintage

Washington, DC might not seem the obvious choice for Britain’s oldest wine and spirits merchant to establish its first US outpost, eschewing more likely suspects such as, say, Manhattan. But that’s exactly what Berry Bros. & Rudd, founded in 1698 opposite St. James’s Palace in London, has done. “We’ve quickly earned recognition across all of DC, as well as Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and more,” says Jamie Ritchie, the company’s longtime managing director. “The news that we’re here spread quickly because it’s a smaller population, a smaller competitive set. People are aware we’ve arrived.”

The Berry and Rudd families have long held a desire to bring their wine business to the US. “They’ve looked at it several times over the last 20 or 30 years,” Ritchie explains. “They’re very familiar with the US market because the Berry family owned and created Cutty Sark, which was a top-selling whisky in America for about 50 or 60 years,” he says of the blended Scotch whisky, known internally as “liquid history.”

That history is present throughout, beginning with the floorboards rattling underfoot at No.3 St. James’s Street. “It’s an address that we have called home since the 17th century,” says Geordie Willis, the brand’s creative director and himself a Berry. The shop began as a grocer’s selling coffee, tea, and spices, eventually evolving into an independent supplier of wine and spirits to royalty and the likes of Winston Churchill. “Our spaces allow us to tell rich stories around our history, as well as the stories of the producers we represent and the customers that we have served over the centuries.”

In November 2025, after three years scouring and planning, Ritchie picked up his life from the shores of Miami and launched the Berry Bros. flagship Washington, DC store, alongside a dedicated American website (alcohol laws in the US are such a riddle that each state is like a different country), and private client services. “It’s taken about three years to get up and running,” says Ritchie. “Surveying different cities, different locations, and different buildings.” All culminating in last year’s opening. “We’re planting the Berry Bros. & Rudd brand here in DC, and doing that in a way that is befitting of the brand and living up to the values: trust, integrity, respect, and reliability.”

Set on Farragut Square – a neighborhood once dotted with food trucks and jocular students, now a sea of Brooks Brothers, with panoramic views of the National Mall as well as the White House and US Treasury – they’ve hit on that ident­ifiable Berry Bros. personality. There’s dark wood, wide tongue-and-groove panels, and a cross-section of social lubricants at every turn – roughly 1,000 bottles in store and 1,600 online. “When you’re buying a wine, you want it to be authentic,” says Ritchie. “You want it to be in the best condition, and to trust that you’re drinking the true version of that wine.”

Equally, this vetted lineup from trusted suppliers is representing a slice of regions. “It should enhance your life. It should enhance the conversations you’re having.”

Both a monument to the past and a shove into the future, “The physical store here is very similar to the physical store at 63 Pall Mall. Except, it’s not hundreds and hundreds of years old, but it is effectively a copy-and-paste of the same aesthetics found in the original – with a few more modern flourishes.” Like floor-to-ceiling windows, and the reserve cellar – all made in cork. “Everyone seems to know the Berry Bros. name,” says Ritchie. “Everyone” being the jumbles of lobbyists, lawyers, and political operators, “people from the financial worlds and the defense industries,” alongside the gentrified apartments, offices, and restaurants swirling around this section of DC.

“With 327 years of history, it can be easy to get stuck in the past,” says Willis. “But this business has never been complacent. If you spend too much time looking backwards you tend to bump into the future. The US presents us with a hugely exciting opportunity.” As an eighth-generation Berry, Willis has a perspective that can’t be replicated. “Family businesses have the unique ability to think about the long term,” he says. “The decisions we make consider the future generations of both families and ensure that we continue to build a business that they will be proud to inherit.”

As for what vino of storied domains the American market is actually looking for? “To pull the cork and have a damn good glass of wine. Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne have been the three highlights,” says Ritchie. “Overall, we probably have a larger focus on ready-to-drink, mature wines. The market in the US is more focused on drinking today than maybe it is for laying down wines for the future. And so we have a very large and impressive collection of ready-to-drink wines, mature vintages that are obviously in pristine condition. We also sell Berry Bros.’ own label, and they’ve also proved to be very popular here in DC.”

There is also the issue of the no-drinking, no-budget, no-fun younger generations who (if you believe what you read) prefer protein shakes to late-night bar tabs. “Berry Bros. did launch a sparkling tea,” says Ritchie. But at the moment, that’s only available in London. “The whole evolution of the alcoholic beverage industry is super interesting. But ultimately, our DNA is being wine and spirits merchants for the last 327 years, so I think we will continue being wine and spirits merchants.”

And as for the ramifications of landing in Trump 2.0’s rapidly far-right-turning America? “We’re very happy to be here. We’ve made an investment in a new business. We have a strong commitment to that business, and people here have been very welcoming towards us,” says Ritchie. “Back in the UK, our adv­e­n­turism and our enthusiasm for expansion at a time where the rest of the industry is maybe thinking about the opposite, has been met with admiration.”

Besides, he adds, “Wine doesn’t choose its audience, you know. Its audience chooses it.”