Trevor Hughes is a man whose passion for wine has taken him across the globe in search of the finest. Trevor is no ordinary wine merchant. There was no formal training or introduction to the trade.

Growing up in the flower power era he experienced, as I am sure many of you will recall, those stalwarts of the 60's and 70's, Mateus Rose and Black Tower. Trevor, training for hotel management in East Anglia, developed a taste for wine.

With his house mates, they set about providing a weekly dinner party. Each Saturday, one would take the weekly kitty and return with the wine for the evening. More often than not, it might be four or five bottles but if Trevor was in charge, he would return clutching a half bottle of some exquisite vintage wine to sample. Quality rather than quantity has remained his philosophy throughout his 24 years as a wine merchant.

This love of wine was reinforced when as a trainee assistant manager for Bass Charrington, he spent many a late night or early morning with the wine buyers who were visiting Bass's local offices. Not to be deflected from his early career path, Trevor went on to become manager of a small country house hotel indulging his passion for wine by increasing the wine list from some 50 bins to 500. In 1977, he sold his share of the business and started up T&W; Wines.

Unlike most adventurers into the trade, he had no client base to call upon. Instead, he chose to import the wines he liked and then look for customers who would appreciate his choice. Over the years, he has built up a dedicated following of both private wine lovers and the country's top hotels and restaurants. The wines he selects are painstakingly researched. There is no quick visit to a particular wine growing area, more an in-depth visit where he can search out the area's finest winemakers.

The wine industry has changed over the past two decades reflecting the changing British palate. More and more people are embracing the European passion for wine not just at mealtimes, but as a social drink. T&W; Wines has responded to the marketplace and thus, when entering their shop at Thetford or browsing through the extensive list, you will find wines to sip on a warm summer's evening, wines to enjoy with food and wines to clasp as one stares thoughtfully into the dying embers of a winter fire.

When opening the wine list one embarks on a journey that encompasses the largest Burgundian Domaine and the smallest artisan producer and moves from the traditionalist home of the vine, France, to the New World producers of California, South Africa, Australia and beyond. Interesting snippets are included in the introduction to each wine and reveal some of the mysteries behind the growers and their families. They explain why, for example, a bottle of 1989 Bollinger Vieilles Vignes Francaises can command a price three times that of the vintage Grande Ann�e of the same year. For the curious amongst you, it is that this particular vintage has only been produced nine times in the last 25 years with just 3000 bottles released on each occasion.

Trevor's love affair with the vine has resulted in a range of wines that runs from the very expensive to the extremely affordable. Each chosen with the same care and attention and quest for quality. Each wine is a reflection of Trevor's taste, vitality and passion for life, a self-confessed workaholic for whom work can only be described as pleasure.