Barbara Laithwaite awarded CBE for her services to wine

Barbara Laithwaite, co-chairman of Laithwaites Wines and founder of Wyfold Vineyard in Oxfordshire, has been made a CBE (Commander of the British Empire) on the King’s Birthday Honours List.

Barbara Laithwaite has been an awarded a CBE in recognition of her services to wine, as well as for evolving a new business model for the wine trade and playing a substantial role in raising the profile of English wine.

“I opened the envelope from the Cabinet Office the evening I got back from the Vintage Festival. I had to read it several times – but then a lot of Wyfold Vineyard and other wines had been consumed that day!” she said.

Laithwaite later discovered that the application had been supported by other women in the wine industry, including those within her own company. “This gave me great pleasure,” she said. “I accepted it for them but also for everyone at Laithwaites.”

Formerly Barbara Anne Hynds joined her now-husband Tony Laithwaite in his start-up wine business, Bordeaux Direct, in 1970 to “help out over Christmas”, before subsequently becoming managing director at the company – a post she held for more than 20 years. Within the first 15 years of working together the pair succeeded in growing their turnover to £17 million.

Bordeaux Direct was bringing wine from France into the UK at a time when wine was largely only sold by wine merchants and not enjoyed nearly as regularly by UK consumers as it is now. The couple changed the name of the business to Laithwaites Wine in 2000.

Barbara Laithwaite looked after the financial, legal, duty, paperwork and technical side of the business and catapulted what was a small venture, operating from underneath a railway arch in Windsor, to one with national prominence.

A series of media and sporting partnerships have continued to raise Laithwaites’ profile, including tie-ups with ITV drama, and most recently English Cricket, for whom Laithwaites became official wine partner this year.

Not content with simply selling other people’s wine, in 2003 Barbara planted one hectare of vines in Wyfold Lane in the Chiltern Hills, Oxfordshire, just outside Henley-On-Thames, putting her chemistry degree and viticulture studies use to release Wyfold’s first commercial vintage, the 2006.

Wyfold’s English sparkling wine scores consistently well and is available for home delivery via Laithwaites, along with its rosé. The Wyfold vineyard has since been expanded to two hectares.

Tony Laithwaite was awarded a CBE in 2019.