Back in 2010, Andrew Azzopardi, now General Manager of No12 Fine Wines and Provisions, and Karl Aquilina CEO of Salvo Grima & Sons Ltd got into a wine-induced discussion about a passion they both shared – their love for food and wine. A few years (and a couple of bottles of wine) later, No12 Fine Wines and Provisions came to fruition as an international company who specialise in fine wines and spirits to superyachts in the Mediterranean. The company quickly roped in the experienced Charlotte Painter who helped the company become one of the leading suppliers of wines and spirits in Mallorca Malta and eventually Barcelona. Hungarian wine specialist, Bence Szabo also joined the team shortly after, bringing more knowledge and passion to the team.
However Karl and Andrews’ vision of supplying the full food and wine spectrum to superyachts was not fully realised yet, and that’s when in 2018 Luisa Galea, an experienced Chef on board many a superyacht, joined the team in Malta to offer their clientele the food & interior provisioning, over and above the already established wines and spirits section. Luisa rapidly gained a reputation for providing superior quality and service with a smile and she was shortly being recommended to some of the largest and most reputable vessels in the world. Her reputation preceded her due to her love for the job, in-depth galley knowledge and a contagious can-do attitude.
The expansion into food is no easy feat but Luisa’s success has given the company courage to further expand the food provisioning in Mallorca. Newly recruited gastronomy graduate Santiago Salas Acevedo, who has experience working with some of the top chefs in the world, including Albert Adrià, is spearheading the food provisioning department in Palma de Mallorca. Together with the rest of the team, Santiago has already been working tirelessly to source the perfect products for superyachts. He has been seeking out the best chocolatiers, butchers and fruit and vegetable merchants on the island and further afield. He has been testing and tasting the best shellfish and micro herbs he can get his hands on and is constantly seeking to source the best produce for knowledgeable chef.
‘The whole No12 Fine wines and Provisions team have a passion for both food and wine. To us, food and wine not only complement each other, but are important to a complete dining experience. it was always part of the plan to offer the full provisioning service to our clients’ Andrew explained. ‘I think passion and teamwork are the reasons the company has been successful so far. We have just returned from a short trip to Bordeaux where it was amazing to see how well the team get on with each other. We spent 4 days eating, drinking, learning and discussing some of the best food and wines available and we are now so excited to use that knowledge to offer the best to our clients’
No12 fine wines and Provisions can be contacted on info@no12wines.com.
