Our History
Our doors opened on Friday, May 15, 1992, two-and-a-half years before the provincial government fully privatized the sale of alcohol. Local businesswoman Nancy Carten, with the help of her investors, formed the partnership which became the Kensington Wine Market.
Nancy, an experienced retailer, gathered together our first small but eager staff and began to establish the level of knowledge and service which has made the Wine Market an award winning retailer. The ensuing years have been both challenging and rewarding as we grew from a small family of 4 employees to a larger one of 20 dedicated beer, wine and whisky experts. Our Wine Market has evolved from a modest neighborhood corner store to one of the most dynamic and unique stores in the country. The addition of our e-tail website (we were pioneers in web design and service for wine, beer and spirits in Canada) has added another milestone to our growth.
On April 1 2015 Nancy sold KWM to long time employee Andrew Ferguson. Andrew is KWM’s Scotch expert and has been an integral part of the business since arriving in 2003. Andrew has built Canada’s best and most interesting collection of single malts and has a reputation as one of Canada’s most trusted whisky experts. We welcome Andrew and look forward to many, many more years of offering Calgarians our award winning service.