Best of new order
Yorkshire’s independent wine companies have been doing well recently thanks to loyal customers and the fact they offer something for all tastes and budgets.
Julian Kaye, of the Wright Wine Company in Skipton, had a special word for his customers when I eventually got him to stop packing boxes and come to the phone. “The support we have had from them has been fantastic,” he said. To demonstrate just how busy he has been, Julian is now, apparently, a lot trimmer. “One week my phone registered that I had done 150,000 steps. It has been tiring but the most rewarding experience.” He has been consigned to the warehouse since lockdown, organising stock and packing boxes which are delivered free within a radius of 20 miles.
“The mixed cases have been very popular, but customers have also been very open to trying new wines. Some just tell us what they liked from previous orders and we find new wines for them to try. And we are still acquiring new customers which is wonderful. There is one street in Skipton where we used to have just one customer and over the weeks their neighbours all started ordering – and that is the way it has been during this period. In the past, people used us for their special occasion wines, but now they realise that we have decent kit at all prices. We have also had great success with a five-litre bag-in-box beer from the local Lamb Brewery Company.”
Over at Chez Vin in Otley, David Lawson has also been extremely busy. “We never really pushed the home delivery side of things before, but now most of our customers prefer to buy that way.” Chez Vin does not have a website but if you register for David’s regular emails, he sends you a list of everything in the shop. “This is much easier to keep up to date, and I also add my delivery schedule to the email so customers know when I am in their area.”
He’s found that he has an adventurous set of customers. “They tell us what styles they like and ask for recommendations.” He is also planning a set of online gin tastings in collaboration with local distilleries. The plan is to send out miniatures of gin, then arrange a Zoom online tasting with the distiller. So far, he has two local distilleries signed up, so if you are interested, contact Chez Vin. The shop is open on Saturday mornings mainly for order collection, but you can ring between 10am and 1pm each day to place your order, for collection or delivery.
The shop at York Wines in Sheriff
Hutton is also open but you can’t go in. “We put the shop counter across the doorway so when customers order their wine, we pack it up and they tell us when they are outside,” said co-owner Alex Edwards. “That way contact is kept to a minimum. Although we don’t actually see our customers much, we are talking to them a lot. If people like a particular wine, we put a note in their cases with suggestions of the wines they might enjoy. Often, they will ring up for a chat and we can talk about new additions to the range. We have a new Chardonnay from Domaine des Tilleuls in the Loire that is going down extremely well and there is a shipment of new Riojas on their way.”
The lease is up on Hoults Wine Merchant shop in Castlegate in Huddersfield but it is not going far. The past couple of weeks has seen Rob Hoult and his team fit out the new shop which is in the railway arches just across the car park from the old shop. The entrance is on Viaduct Street, but if you forget it has moved you just have to turn around from the old shop to see the new shop sign. “This move has given us the chance to reduce the number of lines we are listing, which makes them a lot easier to move but we still have plenty of stock,” said Rob. The current shop is closed, but if you order wine you can still come and collect it, and it will be the same for the new shop for the time being. “We expect to open by August 7, although if you normally phone your order through you really won’t notice since the phone number will remain the same.”
Meanwhile, home deliveries are continuing with free delivery for orders over £75 in HD and HX postcodes and frequently into LS and BD postcodes too. “We have found that our mixed cases are tremendously popular but if you want to try something new, we are always happy to suggest wines. We have built up a terrific level of trust with our customers and they really seem to like our suggestions. Wine retailing has changed dramatically over recent months, but we have grown closer
Paul Mas Jardin de Roses 2019, Languedoc, France, 12.5%, Waitrose, down from £ 13.49 to £ 9.99 until August 25: Delicate in colour with a surprising amount of flavour. Bags of red fruit flavours with a savoury, food-friendly background.