Verity Sessions launched Palate in Shoreham, West Sussex, between Covid lockdowns. Now the shop has turned five and Sessions has been awarded Sustainable Buyer of the Year at London Wine Fair. She talks about her focus on sustainability, local brewers and organic wine.

I opened Palate at the end of November 2020 after it had been my dream for a few years. The government had just announced another lockdown where shops with an off-licence could remain open. Having worked in the wine trade in numerous roles, I always knew I wanted my own shop. When the right space in the right place came along, I had to jump at the chance – despite being in lockdown and having a six-month-old baby.

We are very community based with lots of lovely regulars. Sometimes it’s like a village hall in here. We have a wide range of ages from early 20s to 80s, with our core age range being 30-50. People come in after work and know they will bump into a neighbour or friend. Lots of friendships have started in Palate. On weekends we get more out-of-towners coming in from Brighton and the surrounding areas, as well as from London.

I’m big on sustainability here, so we have a lot of organic/ biodynamic wines as well as natural/low-intervention wines. Most wines we have are from Europe, with an ever-growing and evolving British selection. One of my friends imports wine from his home country of Bulgaria and now has wines from Romania, Greece and Slovenia in his portfolio that are just excellent. Pét nats and orange wines are growing categories, and everyone always wants a good crémant. Lots of customers are also asking for low-sulphite wines.

For wine, organic practice is a priority for me and if growers work biodynamically then that’s even better. I’m not too concerned with certifications as many of the growers/makers I sell are so tiny that it’s not always feasible to be certified – as a small business myself I get that. I love to hear about what vineyards and producers are doing to promote biodiversity and improve soil health and how they run the production side of things to reduce their carbon footprint.

As for beer, I prioritise local breweries, and luckily in Sussex we are blessed with many great ones. Beak, Abyss, Burning Sky and Unbarred are favourites and I have a rotating selection of beers from further afield such as Azvex, Verdant, The Kernel, Deya and Vault City. We stock Harvey’s for the traditional ale lovers and a small selection of European beers. I love beer, so I mainly buy what I like to drink, but I make sure there’s a diverse range of styles to suit all tastes.

At London Wine Fair I won Small Business Sustainable Buyer of the Year. I was quite blown away by the win. As a tiny business in a small town, to get that kind of recognition means a lot. I feel very proud.

Looking to the future, I’m really excited about growing our online sales this year. We’ve always sold online but the bricks-and-mortar store has always come first. We’re starting to get some very exciting and rare wines in stock, which is helping wine lovers from all over the UK discover us. Of course, we’d love another site or bigger premises in the future, but I still have so many plans and dreams for our little Shoreham spot that I’m pretty content for now.