This Peter Dominic wine list from October 1973 might bring tears to the eyes of people of a certain age – and not just because of the (to modern eyes) exceptionally inexpensive prices. It is a tale of the wine trade over th
e last 80 years.
Over Christmas I found a copy of “Everybody’s Wine Guide” by Anthony Hogg, a director of Peter Dominic from 1959 to 1974 and a contemporary of David Peppercorn MW (former Peter Dominic wine buyer) and my former colleague Anthony Hanson MW, both of whom are name-checked in this 1986 book.
Peter Dominic was the brand name of Paul Dauthieu, a Scotsman of French heritage. Starting with a shop in Horsham in December 1939, the business grew to 10 branches in southern market towns by 1956. I believe that Paul Dauthieu’s descendants now own Ehrmanns.
In 1963 Peter Dominic was sold for £750k to International Distillers & Vintners, which at 
that time comprised Gilbeys, Justerini & Brooks, and the Hennessey agents Twiss & Brownings & Hallowes. By 1968, all of International Distillers & Vintners’ 354 off-licences were branded as Peter Dominic – “the best name we’ve got”, said the IDV Chairman.
Watney’s had a 25% stake in IDV and took complete control in 1972. Within a few months both companies found themselves part of Grand Metropolitan, which in 1997 merged with Guinness to form Diageo – now a 37% stakeholder in Moët Hennessy.
When Thresher took over Peter Dominic from Grand Metropolitan for £50m in 1991 the shops were rebranded under the Thresher name.
The Bottoms Up brand of shops, formerly owned by Peter Dominic, was retained. Peter Dominic was separated from Grand Met’s IDV group in 1989 to become a retail division.
Thresher was purchased by the Japanese private equity firm Nomura Holdings in October 2000 for £225m.
Terra Firma Capital Partners purchased it in April 2002 and allegedly sold it to Pension Insurance Corporation at a significant loss in June 2007.
Only two weeks after the purchase from Terra Firma Capital Partners the company was sold by Pension Insurance Corporation to Vision Capital. It was renamed as First Quench Retailing in 2008.
In October 2009 it was announced that First Quench Retailing had entered into administration, crushed by competition from supermarkets.
And that was that – a sad end to a once great wine company that started with a single shop in a Sussex town in 1939.
22 responses to “The rise and fall of Peter Dominic: The story of a wine business”
I spent a wonderful 1964 working at Dominics 2 Orange st, Haymarket, Manager Mr Roy Cronk, his deputy Mr Galloway,
and my boss Mr Dom. O.Neill, a wonderful softspoken, delightful man.
Also on staff were Ray Strowgger, Eddy Farmer,
I returned to Australia in Dec 1964.
I fondly remember my time with this wonderful firm,
Thanks for the comment, Nigel.
Best wishes from London
Stuart George | ArdenFineWines.com
Hi,
I worked for Peter Dominic Cambridge in 1988 just before the re branding to Bottomsup. That shop was beautiful before they vandalised it with green shelves and tacky cheapness. I only worked there for a short time but I gained my love for wine and Whisky that I learned from an old school wine expert. Thanks for the history lesson and thanks for allowing me to pin point the year of change that I had forgotten
Before my time, Craig!
Thanks for the comment.
Best wishes from London
Stuart George | ArdenFineWines.com
My grandfather, Paul Dauthieu, founded Peter Dominic. As you say, the first shop was in Horsham in 1939. My mum, Paula, spent some of her youth working for her dad in the shop and in May 1952 my dad, a young army captain, walked into the shop and within a month they were engaged! My dad died in 1999. These days, my mum has dementia and because of COVID we can’t see her at her care home… which is very sad. My aunt, her sister, Rosemary does not have dementia and is very on the ball. I printed off your article and sent it to her, and as I thought she might do – she returned it with all sorts of corrections! My uncle Peter, went to Spain and became a wine broker there. His full name is Peter Dominic Dauthieu. He has remained in the business, and his sons are in the business too, and their company is called Ehrmanns. – Kindest regards – Richard Lamplough
Does anyone know the family of Lieutenant Commander Anthony Hogg? I bought an old filing cabinet and it contains many of his private papers dating back decades. Please let me know, otherwise they will be disposed of confidentially.
Hi Richard the above appeared on the Chichester Matters FB page. I believe Lt Cmder Hogg may have been involved with Peter Dominic from 1950s onwards. I have no direct connection but am exRN and it would be a shame if this family history is lost.
Jason Burch
I worked for Peter Dominic Group from the late 70’s to the early 90’s, initially in the Gloucester branch, then the Plymouth before becoming a relief manager and finally having my own branch in East Devon. I loved my time with the company and remained until a short while after the Thresher take-over when illness forced the parting of the ways.
Thanks for the comment, Bob.
Best wishes from London
Stuart George | ArdenFineWines.com
I read your article with great interest. I was at school with Paula at the Convent of the Holy Family Littlehampton. We were house captains together.Your aunt Rosemary was two or three years younger and had the most beautiful black curly hair..I was so sorry to hear that Paula has dementia, such a cruel complaint and not being able to see her be use of COVID is aweful.I hope that you will get to see her over Christmas. Your mum always was a person with lots of energy and ideas..My name was Mary Sheppard in those days but I married and became a Baldock. That group of us ,there was only seven in that year all arrived quite young as was usual then.
I had the great pleasure of working at Dominics , 2 Orange St Haymarket, from Dec 1963, to Dec 1964.
Manager was Roy Cronk,his deputy Mr Galloway, cellar master Dom. O’Neill, sales Eddie Farmer, sales Ray Strowgger.
I was a 24 yr old Australian, they were wonderful to work for
I returned to Australia, in Dec 1964
What a lovely summary of Peter Dominic, The Wine Merchants. I joined in 1959 then (Foster Wine Merchants) at Queens road branch Brighton. I became a relief manager,for the southern area,working in Horsham ,Worthing,Crawley,Haywards Heath,Guildford,then branch manager of Dorking,I was offered the new Chichester branch. I first met Anthony Hogg when he had an office near my branch, he then moved into an office above my shop,in 1973 until sadly when,the branch lease expired in 1989. The Peter Dominic annual price list he compiled,in book form,was called Wine Mine,and contained,apart from prices,lots of interesting wine articles about various vineyards and people. Paul Dauthieu’s most famous Inexpensive ‘House Wine’ was called “Carafino” produced in half gallon jars or ‘Carafe’ from France ,Red ,White, or Rose,and his slogan for these was “What a lot of wine,for 21/9″…… Hope you found this of some interest. Best wishes Terry Powell.
I have just read a copy of the Peter Dominic ‘Wine Mine’ – Winter 1963 catalog, and am truly amazed! both by the price info, and the great sketches! Are there any modern equivalents?
IDV was not all Peter Dominic, some of their shops were aimed at street corners and renamed “Westminster Wine” these shops opened until late in to the evening to cater for business after normal closing time of high street shops: example there was a Peter Dominic in Ruislip High street and a Westminster Wine near the station at Ruislip Manor..
In 1968 I was transferred from Peter Dominic Orange Street to run Marylebone High Street. Then Kings Road Chelsea followed by Kensington High Street. My career in the Wine Trade continued until 2002. Not such a bad life and a liver still intact, I think !
Paul Dauthieu was our close neighbour near Horsham, Sussex and our families were very close friends. I remember him with great fondness and when he died of cancer in the 1960’s, it was a great loss. His wife, Blanche, survived him by many years and played, i think, an active part in the formation of Peter Dominic. Paul’s knowledge of wine was legendary and he could pinpoint a specific vineyard in a blind tasting.
It was a great Business ,my husband worked for Peter Dominics in the early years , the days when you went to the shop toget advice on wines . They were good years .
I worked at the oswestry branch of Peter Dominic between 1989 and 1991…..fabulous range of wines and I really enjoyed working there but it was obvious Dominics were in trouble even then as wages were terrible and a number of times I was asked to work overtime during busy periods at Christmas or height of summer and promised overtime rates but come payday they simply said they couldn’t afford it and I should just take time off in lieu instead….. These days a company trying that on would find themselves in court!!
Trying to trace my ex manager of yeovil peter dominics colin bailey he moved to tunbrige wells branch in about 1978 or anyone who worked in yeovil between about 1973 and 1980
Dear Mr George,
I was saddened when I read this as I worked for them as a salesman in the early 70’s initially at the Sutton branch, I was the transferred to the Croydon branch in the Whitgift centre an on occasion as a stand in counter salesman at a number of other branches including a long stint at Thames Ditton. One thing that may be of interest is that a substantial number of managers where ex military and a fair number of the staff were reservists, myself included which may have influenced the dynamique of that time. After leaving Peter Dominic’s I left to work in France and improve my language skills for a year and when I returned I was then “head hunted” by the Four Vintners as a relief manager and the sent me to the Wines and Spirits education trust school in the city where I passed a couple of qualifications/ diploma, but not the full master of wine. What was interesting in that company was the vast quantity of “old” stock in the cellars of some of the branches, in one of the branches which I audited there where things like 50 & 25 year old Glen Grant pure malt, Romanée Conti, La Tache, Ch. Latour 61 and a vast quantity of port laid down in the cellar / Dungeon of the city branch. I also have a copy of the 1967 of” Off the Shelf” 2nd edition by Antony Hogg also a copy of “The wine students companion for certificate course” 1975. If I can help you in any way just drop me a line
Thanks for posting this. I had wondered what had happened to the brand. I worked for Peter Dominic in Reigate for five years between 1972 and 1977. I was essentially a “Saturday boy” (as they were called in those days) filling the shelves from the stock room below the shop. I eventually graduated to working behind the counter when required. I remember them as happy times mostly because of the other staff and especially the shop manager Mr Foster (I never knew his first name – he was only ever referred to by his surname). I also met someone who became a lifelong friend there in Christmas 1974 when I was 16 and he was 17. This year we will celebrate 40 years of friendship which gives me great pleasure. I had no idea the brand was started in Horsham at the beginning of the Second World War. Fascinating. Sad that in the end it all collapsed as have so many major brands over the years.
Found this by accident, I remember the acquisition of Peter Dominic when I worked for Thresher, I remained with them until a year before they went into receivership.
However while working for Thresher I managed to rescue the Thresher Archive documents from Whitbread when the archives were closed, post administration I then rescued them again and they are now deposited with a society that keeps historic advertising material. If I remember correctly there were PD documents amongst the collection, it was a long time ago.
The downfall of the off licence chains happened over many years, effectively First Quench bought half of the Unwins stores, Victoria Wine was part of the Group from Allied, it also encompassed Gough Brothers, Ashe and Nephew to name a few
I worked for Peter Dominic Epping branch as their delivery driver late 70s manager was Dennis Abbott and his brother ran the Billericay branch which I delivered for on Fridays before nipping down to the cockle sheds at Leigh on Sea before heading back to Epping