About Us

Vino Fino is a privately owned, wine specialist, liquor store. Since opening in 1993 Vino Fino has become the largest single retailer of Fine Wines in Christchurch, specialising in wines from New Zealand, Australia and around the world.

When we started out in 1993, the wine scene was vastly different to what it is today. Marlborough was an emerging region, with Sauvignon Blanc only making its mark. It was around this time that many wineries which are now household names, made their first appearance. The very first North Canterbury and Central Otago wines were only just appearing in the market. As a business we have grown alongside those same wineries establishing firm relationships along the way. Nowadays, far from being at the ‘end of the world’ for wine, we are at the centre of some of the world’s most exciting wine regions right here in the South Island.

Our philosophy has always been to offer both wines of distinction and those that offer outstanding value, backing it up with ‘good-old-fashioned’ service. We are a proud, local, independently owned business and we will always try to keep things real. We have no ambitions to be the Biggest, Fastest, Flashiest… just to be very good at what we do in an honest and sustainable manner with our customers, suppliers, and staff.

With the vast array of wines available in the New Zealand market today, it is important that you, the consumer, have some guidelines on which to make your purchasing choices. We are continually tasting and evaluating wines to make our stocking selection. We are very proud of our ability to be able to identify wines of distinction and especially those wines that offer outstanding value.

Vino Fino specialises in wines to suit everyone with a wide range of products in all categories. We offer advice and recommendations to suit everyone’s budget and requirements. We hope you enjoy your shopping experience with Vino Fino – either on-line or in person in our ambience filled shop.

Of course, none of this would be possible without a great team. Vino Fino is owned by the Ormandy family, headed by Rex Ormandy who has 40+ years’ experience in Liquor retail. Over this time Rex has been involved in all aspects of retail, beginning his career with Waikato Wines and Spirits before moving to Christchurch and joining Wilson Neill in the mid1980’s before setting up Vino Fino in 1993. Over this period Rex has also been involved with wine education and judging and his passion and interest in wine has continued to grow.

After working many school and university holidays, gaining a marketing degree followed by a stint in wine sales and marketing in Melbourne, Michael Ormandy returned to Christchurch and is now an integral part of the family business. His focus is on IT development and marketing and is excited by the new trends in wine such as natural wines. In 2021 Michael was part of the winning wine options team competing at the National Wine Sommeliers Wine Tasting Competition.

Richard Sherriff joind the team in 2022. Richard has an extensive liquor retail management background starting in Christchurch before roles in Auckland, Wellington, and Queenstown. Over the years Richard has absorbed a vast amount of knowledge and there are not many questions he won’t be able to answer. Richard also curates our diverse range of spirits and liquours.

We bumped into Ollie Robinson at trade shows and his passion and thirst for knowledge impressed us so much we decided to offer him a job. He has become an integral part of the team providing wisedom beyond his years.

Drew Mathison is our longest serving team member having been with us nearly 10 years. Joining us young, Drew is now a familiar friendly face for many. He has a keen passion for craft beer and has an extensive understanding of all the best value buys in the shop.

If you receive deliveries in Christchurch, you are likely to have met our youngest team member Toby Beresford. With a keen desire to work in the industry, Toby reached out to us after leaving school wanting to learn everything he can about the world of wine! We look forward to nurturing and growing with Toby on this journey.

The team is supported by part-time and casual staff and of course holding it all together is Judy who looks after the accounting side of the business.