Maldon Nub News aims to be supportive to EVERY element of the community from business and shops to people and charities and clubs and sports organisations.

Everyone is finding it tough at the moment and wants life to get back to normal.

We will be profiling some of these local businesses and groups regularly over coming weeks in a feature called UP CLOSE IN MALDON in the hope that we can be a supportive springboard for your full return to business as usual.

Today we talk to Sam Morris and Amy Leite, owners of new business Corky Winers, which they are running from their home in Tolleshunt D'Arcy. During an in-depth Q and A session the couple reveal why they have set up business in Maldon district as well as what they love about the local community and their gratitude for its support during the current crisis.

A Tolleshunt D'Arcy couple who love good cheese and wine had a business idea based on supplying high quality produce to the local area. Sam Morris, 28, and Amy Leite, 36, put it to one side and carried on with everyday life, thinking they might give it a try some time in the next five years.

And then along came 2020.

When Sam was furloughed in March he realised his job in aviation was under threat and the couple's need to progress their business idea became more urgent. After months of importing unique wines and sourcing fine local produce, Corky Winers was launched just before the start of lockdown two.

"I feel as though our hand was forced by the pandemic," Sam says, "and with people following the new trend of eating and drinking at home, I knew we would provide something different."

Travel helped inspire the couple's business idea

The couple enjoy travelling, particularly to France, and food and wine have always been something they have especially enjoyed.

Sam explains: "We can provide unique wines that you can't find elsewhere in the UK straight to people's doors – and with same-day delivery. We have taken the trouble to import fine wines ourselves rather than just rely on a wholesaler. That's been a lot more expensive for us to do but we want to offer customers something that's different."

Amy adds: "We realised that there's very little we can get delivered to our home here that has that kind of quality. Some of the villages are quite remote and we knew we could provide a service to change that."

"Working in this area is amazing as there are so many farms for cheese and other local produce, as well as smokehouses for charcuterie. We get fresh fish from Mersea. It's very rural and there is so much fresh local produce we can source."

"The small businesses in Maldon help each other out."

Sam grew up in Cornwall and moved to the area after meeting Amy, who has lived in Tolleshunt D'Arcy since a child. They both love the area and Sam feels that Maldon has great similarities with the West Country. He loves sea fishing and has found the district suits him very well with its mixture of sea and rural landscape.

"And the community here has been so supportive and helpful since we started up. The small businesses in Maldon are really supportive of other small businesses and help each other out," Amy says.

They are both very grateful for the help and advice they have received from Allison Gray, chair of Maldon Business Board, who has been on hand to bring them into the local business community.

It's an exciting time for this entrepreneurial couple as the strangest of years moves towards an end, but they both know there will be hard work ahead to reach their goals.

And what are their goals?

"My dream is to have a shop with a bar area, "Amy says, "where we could serve people and I could talk about the different cheeses – but of course I know that's a big step and there's a lot to do and learn first."

Corky Winers offer free same-day delivery for orders placed and accepted before 8pm and deliver right up to 9pm most nights for all wine emergencies. Delivery postcodes are CM1, CM2, CM3, CM8 & CM9 as well as CO1, CO2, CO3, CO4 and CO5.

The Corky Winers website is available here or you can find them on Facebook.