About 9Vines

who we are

A neighbourhood wine bar & wine shop, firmly rooted in Hove & the Hove Park community

Tina, Owner of 9 Vines

I volunteered at 9 Vines to start learning about the wine trade when I first moved back to Hove in 2021. A couple of years later, I left corporate life for good, and went to work for a fine wine company in Brighton. In 2024, Marc asked me if I’d be interested in taking the 9 Vines baton from him, and in October 2024 my dream of owning my own wine shop became a reality!

To win a place in my heart forever, buy me a bottle of: Any Côte-Rôtie from the Côtes du Rhône
My favourite thing about 9 Vines: Our fantastic customers, and their four-legged friends!
When I'm not at 9 Vines, you'll usually find me: Seeking out cheap but quality places to eat and drink cocktails in the city, or at the gym trying to work it off!

Tom, Manager

Tom joined 9 Vines in May 2026. He has worked as a sommelier, including at some Michelin-starred restaurants around the UK, but he’s also helped set up a couple of places similar to 9 Vines in Sheffield, so he’s equally at home right here with us.

To win a place in my heart forever, buy me: A good Loire Valley Chenin Blanc or a decent Islay dram and I'm anyone's!
To get me talking: Let's compare the similarities and, more importantly, the differences between champagne and English sparkling
In my free time: I'm often watching old Italian movies or spinning vinyl records
My favourite thing about 9 Vines: The incredible characters I've met. I can't wait to get to know our lovely regulars more and to really tailor our selection around all of them... If they ever want to get on my good side, those salted butter-flavoured crisps are true gastronomy 😂

OUR TEAM

Alex

Alex

Ben

Ben

Jayen

Jayen

Joe

Joe

Matt

Matt

Mia

Mia

Tara

Tara

Tom

Tom

Tina, Owner of 9Vines

I stumbled into the world of wine relatively late in life. I was always one of those people who enjoyed drinking it but would say ‘I know nothing about wine’. That was until we moved to London from Switzerland in 2013 and discovered an amazing wine shop and wine bar in Acton owned by a couple who would become great friends, Paola Tich and Mike Taylor. Not only was Paola determined to uncover great value, delicious wines, but her passion for introducing customers like me to what I considered ‘new things’ was an inspiration. As I started to experience and understand new aromas and flavours, I was fascinated by the subtle differences that could be made by a vine being planted on a slightly sunnier slope, or by a winemaker’s choice of ageing their wine in old French oak barrels vs. new American oak ones. The possibilities were endless and mind blowing.

Before their wine adventures, Paola and Mike had ‘proper jobs’, as I did at the time. For over 20 years I’d been a corporate investigator, including for Diageo and the International Federation of Spirits Producers, then I worked for a small company which created training for customers like Google. But I wanted to leave corporate life, so I started studying for my WSET wine exams, with a plan to eventually work in wine and maybe even own a wine bar & shop of my own.

When I moved back to Hove in 2021, I volunteered at 9 Vines to build on my wine knowledge, and to learn about the wine trade from Marc. In 2023 I left corporate life for good, and went to work for a fine wine company in Brighton. In 2024, Marc told me he was thinking of selling 9 Vines, and asked if I’d be interested in taking it on, and in October 2024 my dream became a reality!

I stumbled into the world of wine relatively late in life. I was always one of those people who enjoyed drinking it but would say ‘I know nothing about wine’. That was until we moved to London from Switzerland in 2013 and discovered an amazing wine shop and wine bar in Acton owned by a couple who would become great friends, Paola Tich and Mike Taylor. Not only was Paola determined to uncover great value, delicious wines, but her passion for introducing customers like me to what I considered ‘new things’ was an inspiration. As I started to experience and understand new aromas and flavours, I was fascinated by the subtle differences that could be made by a vine being planted on a slightly sunnier slope, or by a winemaker’s choice of ageing their wine in old French oak barrels vs. new American oak ones. The possibilities were endless and mind blowing.

Before their wine adventures, Paola and Mike had ‘proper jobs’, as I did at the time. For over 20 years I’d been a corporate investigator, including for Diageo and the International Federation of Spirits Producers, then I worked for a small company which created training for customers like Google. But I wanted to leave corporate life, so I started studying for my WSET wine exams, with a plan to eventually work in wine and maybe even own a wine bar & shop of my own.

When I moved back to Hove in 2021, I volunteered at 9 Vines to build on my wine knowledge, and to learn about the wine trade from Marc. In 2023 I left corporate life for good, and went to work for a fine wine company in Brighton. In 2024, Marc told me he was thinking of selling 9 Vines, and asked if I’d be interested in taking it on, and in October 2024 my dream became a reality!