About Us
Who We Are
Founded over 60 years ago, Continental Wine & Food Limited has become a leading wine and alcoholic drinks wholesaler, producer, bottler, and distributor with an experienced and dedicated team of over 140 people based at our Head Office in Yorkshire. Specialising in NPD, liquid development, demand planning, bespoke product solutions and fulfilment. Customer satisfaction is our number one priority delivered through quality, value, innovation, and service.
Importation of estate bottled and bulk wines, together with the development, processing and bottling operations packaged at our fully accredited UK bottling facility. We have a diverse customer base across both the on-trade and off-trade including major multiple retail groups, independent cash and carry, wholesale trade, events and export. CWF offers an extensive product range including still and sparkling wine, British Wine, fortified wine, mulled wine, perry, liqueurs and speciality mixer drinks.
Master of Wine
Our Wine Development Manager and Master of Wine, Nicholas Tatham MW works closely with our buying and sales teams to bring his expert knowledge to the wine selection process and to help our sales team recommend the wines best suited to your needs.
Exclusive Italian Wine Agency Relationships
We also have a number of exclusive wine agency relationships and represent over 30 producers from across the length and breadth of Italy. From small, family owned wineries to large, modern Cooperatives, we have an unrivalled range of Italian wines to suit every taste and budget. To find out more about our impressive Italian wine portfolio, please click the link below.
Areas of Speciality & Expertise
Unparalleled service, the highest standards and a focus on quality and value British Wine.
Mulled Wine
With a significant share of the UK retail market, serving all consumer occasions from at home consumption to outdoor Christmas markets with various abv options available in a wide range of pack sizes.
British Wine
Our two British Wine brands – The Straw Hat and Silver Bay Point – are the number 1 and 2 British Wine brands in the UK (respectively) with over 55% market share and sell millions of bottles every year.
*(Nielsen British Wine market share by volume,
52 weeks to 12 Feb 2022)
Our Story So Far
Early 1940’s
Shortly after the end of World War 2, Marino Bevilacqua arrived in the United Kingdom without a penny and limited grasp of the English language.
Late 1940’s
From hard earned money working down the mines in Worksop, Marino purchased an ice cream van. He started selling ice cream during the day and pasta during the evenings to the local Italian community who couldn't get pasta in the UK supermarkets.
1955
Demand for pasta and Italian staples was high and one van quickly became 16, leading to the set up of the wine and food importation business.
1960
Continental Wine & Food Limited (CWF) was established and relocated to Huddersfield.
1981
An Australian conglomerate purchased the business from Marino and relocated its head office to the current Trafalgar Mills site.
Mid 1980’s
From the proceeds of the sale of the business, Marino bought land and built the restaurant and hotel known as Da Sandro’s and Briar Court Hotel close to the M62 in Huddersfield. He also established a building company which developed residential housing and commercial properties for lease in the area. He became involved in classic cars and opened a Fiat and Citroen dealership at the current site in Huddersfield.
Late 1980’s
Only 18 months after they had purchased the business, the Australian conglomerate decided to withdraw from the European market and offered to sell back the business to Marino for £1 provided he took on its liabilities. The deal was done and since that time the business has grown organically through careful investment and steady growth, importing Italian and European wine and food for sale to restaurants and supermarkets.
Early 1990’s
The first production lines installed, producing British Fortified Wines.
2000
The business acquired an operation in Scotland called CQS which had a much wider range of speciality Italian products and distribution of multi temperature products. Such as handmade frozen cakes imported from Turin, cheeses, meats and a whole host of specialised Italian products normally seen in speciality delicatessens. This saw the food service side of the operation grow rapidly from the year 2000 onwards.
2008
During the credit crunch there was a demand for value UK bottled wine and British Wine which saw the launch of Silver Bay Point.
2011
Following the success of Silver Bay Point, The Straw Hat was launched. CWF made significant investment in the winery, production plant, warehousing and distribution operations whilst expanding its portfolio across various alcoholic beverage categories.
Today
Today CWF is an award-winning UK winery producing and bottling branded and own label wines and alcoholic beverages, producing litres per year with a strong capital base and financing. The CQS division is a leading importer, agent and distributor with an extensive portfolio of over 1,500 specialist Continental wines and foods servicing England, Wales and Scotland.