About Us

"Our mission to help wine drinkers discover wines that are from sustainable sources, well-balanced and have a sense of place."

In the 1990’s Paddy O’Flynn had a dream, he would import wines directly from Bordeaux to Ireland, where he moved to in 1988, and distribute directly to Irish customers. Only the best quality/priced wines would be selected, often from the lesser known appellations of Bordeaux. The dream became reality and The Wine Buff opened its first outlet at 17 Mallow Street, Limerick, in December 2000.  Locals quickly got used to popping into the shop for a browse, a chat, and some friendly guidance from Paddy, Daragh and Mike.

The year Paddy moved to St Emilion, Paddy's father-in-law Rene Baylet received the prestigious award, best wine-producer in France for quality/price. Paddy finds the best quality/priced wines throughout the wine growing regions of Europe and further afield, guaranteeing consumers real value for money.

The Wine Buff started as a single wine shop and has grown and sprouted into a nationwide team, in 2014 we opened in the wine capital of the world, in the historic center of St Emilion where you will get to meet Paddy O' Flynn at The Wine Buff St Emilion.

WE ARE ADAMANT THAT WINE SHOULD BE AN EXPRESSION OF THE GRAPES FROM WHICH IT IS MADE.

This means we only source wines from growers who practice good viticulture, integrated farming and traditional wine making methods. Whilst the quality of our wine is our main focus, many of our wines are (or are in the process of changing) to organic or bio-dynamic viticulture.

WE BELIEVE THAT WHERE YOUR WINE COMES FROM MATTERS.

We believe in growers that are able to transfer a sense of place to their wines and in the process are adding life to their soil and vineyard environments to sustain future generations.