Company

About Martinez

Famously independent wine merchants since 1979, with shops and wine bars in Ilkley, Bingley and Haworth.

Our story

Martinez Wines are recognised as an Ilkley ‘institution’, having been in business on The Grove, Ilkley since 1982.

John Martinez and his wife Christine opened the first Martinez Wines shop in 1982, next door to that other Ilkley institution, ‘Betty’s Tea Rooms’. (We moved to our current premises at 35 The Grove in 2000.)

John’s son, Julian, became involved in the business in 1984 and continued to build upon his father’s reputation for sourcing wines of unstinting quality and value for money at all price levels, right up until his untimely death in 2008.

Famously independent

Since 2005 Martinez has been under the leadership of Jonathan Cocker and his junior partner Chris Wood. They continue to build on the ethos established by Julian and his father: sourcing unique and individual wines of honesty, character and integrity at all price levels. No wine makes it onto the shelf unless the team have tasted and approved it. We are ‘famously independent’ wine merchants – there is no faceless central buying department making financial decisions at the expense of quality.

This enables us to sell everything we stock with confidence, as we have the product knowledge and tasting experience. So you, our customers, can be assured that whichever wine you select has been carefully chosen with only quality and value in mind.

Martinez Wines also has a strong environmental ethos, working with producers and suppliers to reduce the impact on our environment – from reducing packaging to transport miles and energy usage throughout the business.

The team

Special mentions go to Phil Sutcliffe, who was with Martinez from 2005 to 2017, and John Trobridge, who started at Martinez in 1999 after 33 years at Tetley’s. John is still trying to retire!

What we do

Over the years the business has grown to embrace all aspects of the wine trade. Martinez now has three shops, in Ilkley, Bingley and Haworth, each with its own adjoining wine bar. The wine bars serve over 50 ever-changing wines by the glass, with a further 400+ by the bottle, washed down with simple, authentic tapas. The bars are under the watchful eye of general manager Adam Robinson (Ads), who has been with Martinez since 2016.

• Our shops are open up to seven days a week.
• A fully informative website is online.
• A mail order and bespoke gift service sends wines to customers and companies nationwide.
• We host corporate events and tutored wine tastings.
• We provide consultations on private wine cellars.
• Our wholesale business has gone from strength to strength, providing the individual and unique Martinez level of service to a wide range of customers, from local pubs to Michelin-starred restaurants.
• Our annual Wine Extravaganza is held in November at the King’s Hall & Winter Garden, Ilkley, usually showcasing over 200 wines.
• Many tastings are held throughout the year, both in our shops and elsewhere.
• The wine bars offer simple, authentic tapas, live music, paella nights and wine and cheese matching.