Jeroboams dozen

Jeroboams in Elizabeth St, London

See this guide to our survey of dozens selected by independent UK wine merchants.

Jeroboams with its eight shops in smarter districts of London traces its beginnings back to 1934 when the eccentric Tommy Layton opened a wine bar opposite the British Museum.

T A Layton evolved into a rather smart wine merchant in Duke Street, Mayfair, where one Michael Broadbent was given his very first job in the wine trade, in 1952 – his mother having been an avid reader of what Tommy Layton wrote about wine. According to Broadbent, when he wasn’t delivering wine or taking orders, he...