A young wine enthusiast is tickling taste buds at some of Britain's leading restaurants after establishing her own Internet-based wine merchant's.

Gemma Crangle, 26, counts some of London's trendiest eateries among her clients just six months after starting to trade wines from the Languedoc region.

Gemma, of Skipton, decided to specialise in the region after developing a fondness for the area on French holidays there with her family.

Now she counts style icon Terence Conran among her customers after he snapped up her wines for his chain of leading restaurants. Outside the capital, clients include the Devonshire Arms in Bolton Abbey and leading restaurants in Edinburgh.

Gemma, who runs the business - known as Terroir - on her own, is delighted with the growth of the firm.

"I have seen the development and evolution of the wines from the region every year and there have been more and more producers popping up and more quality rather than just bulk production," she said.

"It is hard work on your own, trying to juggle selling, buying and administration work, but I have had a lot of support from my family and, if it continues to grow, we might have to expand a bit."

Gemma said the UK market for fine wines was growing and she hopes to build on her private client base.

"We have really grabbed the market at the right time and there seems to be a growing number of French restaurants where the owners really know about this region," she said. "It used to be very London-based but now it is becoming more regional."

Gemma will be showcasing her wines at a Languedoc food and wine matching luncheon at the Angel Inn at Hetton, near Skipton, on Saturday, March 20. For more details, call (01756) 700512 or visit her website at www.terroirlanguedoc.co.uk