Supermarkets may be squeezing off-licences out of the high street, but one Oxfordshire merchant at least appears to be beating them at their own game. The Oxford Wine Company, which employs 16 people at its out-of-town warehouse near Standlake, stocks more than 1,500 products and now turns over about £3m a year.

Managing director Ted Sandbach, who gave up his job as a sports teacher at Magdalen College School to go into the wine trade 17 years ago, reckons that the secret of the firm's growth lies in the sheer variety on offer.

And he should know a thing or two about trading as an independent merchant in a very competitive market. The company has won the Regional Wine Merchant of the Year award, for England West Central, from the International Wine Challenge.

Last year, it was named one of the top five independent UK merchants by The Daily Telegraph.

Mr Sandbach said: "I like nothing better than to see someone come in here, perhaps for a tasting, and then to see them discover interesting wines. It's fun."

Mr Sandbach worked for Grape Ideas, in Hythe Bridge Street, Oxford, when he left teaching. Then he set up in business on his own from his garage in Longworth, before starting a shop in Lechlade with a cafe upstairs and a wine shop downstairs.

The next move was to Woodstock where he set up delicatessen Hampers, in Oxford Road, before concentrating all efforts at the Standlake warehouse he now runs.

He said: "All three premises were successful but it was too disjointed trying to run them all at once."

Some might think it a strange strategy to set up an independent off licence in more or less open country, but Mr Sandbach was tempted there by the quality of the premises.

"We have plenty of cellar space here, as well as a big showroom and offices. Customers simply arrive by car and load up."

In any case, two thirds of the company's trade is wholesale - though of course that still leaves about £1m worth of business simply walking through the door each year in the shape of private customers.

And there is a misconception concerning independent wine specialists - not all sell only expensive wines, or indeed, only wine by the case. Prices at The Oxford Wine Company, for instance, start at £3.95 a bottle for a French Vin de Pays.

Mr Sandbach said: "But obviously, most customers coming here back the car up and buy a case or two. For one thing they receive five per cent discount that way."

He added: "We really want people to come across the threshold, then they can find out about the benefits of buying wine here."

One benefit, both he and manager Theo Sloot maintain, is the expertise on tap. I put that to the test myself by coming out with a question that has puzzled me for some years.

I launched the query at Mr Sandbach: Why is it difficult to buy Alsatian wine made with Tokay grapes these days?' I well remember drinking such wine years ago, but it has certainly vanished from the supermarket shelves I usually frequent.

Mr Sandbach admitted he did not know the answer but Mr Sloot went off to do a little research. He said: "Alsatian growers were calling their Pinot Gris wine Tokay, which made it sound like the original Hungarian grape of that name. So now they have dropped the name Tokay."

Now how would I have learned that in a supermarket? However, what about all those special offers at the supermarket?

"Beware of some of those - they are not always what they seem," said Mr Sandbach.

Beware, too, of another aspect of the wine trade - the investment potential of liquid assets which, in theory at least, enables clever connoisseurs to drink the best wine free.

Mr Sloot explained: "Customers buy cases of wine en primeur - which means when it is still at the chateau and before it has been released.

"The idea is that it should then increase in value in such a way that by the time it is ready for drinking, you can sell half of your wine for twice what you paid for it and drink the rest free."

Mr Sloot, son of a connoisseur, who remembers savouring Bordeaux's finest at the age of five, is certainly the man to introduce you to all the intricacies of fine wine.

I felt that after a few tastings at this warehouse, my appreciation of vintages, and the different weather conditions that contribute to subtle differences in taste, would improve - even if my wallet became lighter.

The faintly clubby atmosphere at the warehouse is enhanced by the Oxford Wine Company's own magazine - in which Mr Sandbach, who admits that "it is only a matter of time before he is invited onto Grumpy Old Men", lets fly his opinions.

For instance, on binge drinking, he said: "The trouble is that children are encouraged to grow up far too quickly these days. If anything, I would raise the drinking age (and driving for that matter) and leave us good middle-aged folk to afford and enjoy civilised drinking."