Adam de la Falaise Brett Brett-Smith is the managing director of one of the UK’s oldest independent wine businesses, Corney & Barrow – but this wasn’t always the case. When Jancis interviewed him for this episode of Vintners’ Tales in 1998 he discussed his difficulty in breaking into the wine trade and considered what he would have done if he hadn’t managed to gain a foothold. Brett-Smith extols the merits of Bordeaux and the timeless qualities of the wine industry and comments on the rising demand for luxury wine in Asian markets. We’re given a glimpse of an office lunch, the company’s warehouse in Essex, and the roaring business being done at Corney’s testosterone-scented wine bars (now defunct).