The de Burgh team

Wine quite literally fuels everything we do! We love finding it, buying it and selling it!


We started our journey in late 2013 with an empty barn, no wine and a Land Rover Defender but quickly established ourselves as one of Scotland’s leading wine merchants. Our aim has always been to offer a unique range of wines that are a true reflection of the people that made them and the land they are from. We simply sell wines that we love to drink ourselves, all delivered to you in a personal and reliable fashion.

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Tarquin de Burgh

Tarquin de Burgh


Almost 30 years in the wine trade, wow that’s a long time and it’s just as exciting as it was when I first dipped my toe into the trade as a van driver for Justerini & Brooks all those years ago.

When I was 23 I was told by an MD of a Royal Warranted Wine Merchant “Where ever you get to in the wine trade, MD, CEO or MW you will always be carrying a blooming box!” Pretty much 3 decades on and those words ring true today.  The boxes in question are full of wines I and all the team have bought and love to drink and know you will too.  I am blessed to work with brilliant people who really do know their onions; wine & great people is a powerful mix!


Will Nicolson

Will Nicolson


I always said I wanted a job that I loved.

As my wife will tell you, I have a very low attention span, so I needed a job that would be both interesting and enjoyable. Financially, it’s a shame that I wasn’t interested in banking during my two week work placement at RBS back in my high school days but c’est la vie! The wine bug it was and after various stints with a variety of merchants I find myself a joint owner of one. I’m a great believer in simplicity and still love the simple pleasure that wine gives. My love now is with accessible and affordable wines, Cabernet Franc, Gamay, my log burner, lesser known Bordeaux and wild accumulator bets.


Christine Nicolson

Christine Nicolson


I took a part-time job in Oddbins when I was at University, and the rest is history. The wine trade has fundamentally shaped my life in every respect, including meeting my husband Will, having some of the best adventures, and learning so many aspects of the trade. That amazing path has led me to work at de Burgh.

I look after the marketing side of things and love being creative, but still enjoy the odd wine sale thrown in for old times’ sake. I am a self-confessed wine geek and really enjoy cooking – even though with two young sons, it’s not particularly exotic food these days! My favourite wines tend to be northern Italian reds, white Burgundy, and mature Bordeaux and you can’t beat a glass of bubbles on a Friday evening after a long week!


Ross McKenzie

Ross McKenzie


After studying Film and Media and Philosophy at University I made the natural progression into the wine trade. 8 years spent on the retail coal face with a UK wide company then led me to the wonderful world of de Burgh Wine Merchants. As Office and Warehouse Manager (now Director) you will generally find me on the other end of the phone, or indeed your emails. I can also be found chucking boxes around in the warehouse and in turn cleaning up the mess from the breakages!

In my free time I enjoy exploring new and interesting wines, eating shellfish, watching high-quality American TV drama, swimming, and reading multi-volume biographies of major American political figures.


ross@de-burgh.com

07732614300

Fiona Holt

Fiona Holt


A unifying trait of our team seems to be a great love of good food and booze.  I am no exception! My husband and I own a beer shop ‘Beer Zoo’ and my role running the finances at de Burgh is a perfect fit.

My other passion (along with my two children of course) is music and before joining the team in 2016 I spent ten years working in finance and management for the music and arts industry.

You’ll find me listening to music while sending you cheerful invoices, eating excellent left-overs for lunch, and with a bag full of socks and toys.


Alasdair Carnie

Alasdair Carnie


Alasdair Carnie has been with us a few years now and is an important support in the office and warehouse. He is a keen ultra Marathon runner, a fluent French speaker and dabbled in the world of Cognac making for several years before settling back in Scotland to work in the Whisky industry. We were pleased he finally decided to come and join the Wine Trade. With a history like his, he fits in nicely here at de Burgh!


orders@de-burgh.com

01875595100

Tom Hyde


Tom is one of our newest and has now become one of the most integral members of the team. His extensive experience in hospitality serves him extremely well at de Burgh.

Michael McClintock

Michael McClintock


Michael is the youngest member of the de Burgh team. He can be found out in our vans delivering wine and also in the warehouse. Michael is an avid whisky man, enjoying a variety of whiskies from all around the world and is keen to learn all aspects of the drinks and hospitality industries.

Michael also enjoys trying to keep Scottish Gaelic alive and well, so you may hear an occasional madainn mhath (Good Morning) or feasgar math ( Good Afternoon) from him. He was formerly training to be a Pro wrestler, however now instead of flinging people around, Michael now flings (gently of course) around boxes of our delicious wines.

Richard Tucker


Richard is an Italian wine, German and Belgian beer enthusiast with a keen interest in cooking. 

He has a love of traveling, cars and driving, as well as outdoor pursuits. He also has a big interest in music with a regular radio show. 

Niina Cunynghame-Lang


Wine has been a part of my life since I was small as my father was a wine merchant and dragged us round various vineyards on family holidays. This must have made an impression on me as after dabbling in travel and art, I finally went into the wine industry working for a French Burgundy specialist in London for 5 years whilst doing all my WSET studies.

In 2017, I moved up to Edinburgh and started working at wine bar Smith and Gertrude in Stockbridge eventually working my way up to Events Manager and running their tastings and private events. I took a year off wine in 2024, working at a bakery, but after partaking in my first Fringe show with the wine comedy ‘In Pour Taste’, I realised wine was my calling and jumped ship to de Burgh Wines.

My free time is spent running after my 2 children and trying to cook nice food and find a decent matching wine!

 

Claire Stevens


“I have been in the amazing hospitality industry forever and even when I was looking for a part time job, I still wind up back in it!

 

Along with busy family life and my day a week supporting Fiona in accounts at de-Burgh’s, I manage apartments in the Alps and a large holiday house in central Scotland.

 

A real treat for working with this great team is the recommendations of a delicious wine which I take home and enjoy at the end of the week”.

Murphy

Murphy


Possibly the best looking of the team you will regularly find Murphy in the footwell of the defender as he hates being left at home. His main role is to keep moral up and ensure that members of the team are kept fit during his daily walks around the farm; mostly however you will find him fast asleep next to a radiator.