|
A Taste of Issue: 11 / Sunday 4 February, 2018   Giving up alcohol for the whole of January is my idea of hell and certainly something I would not consider, but a staggering number of Brits (including some of our own customers) kicked off the New Year with a month of sobriety. Interestingly, a poll commissioned by the charity Alcohol Concern found that those aged between 35 and 54 were most likely to give up drinking for the month and those in full-time jobs were more likely to do it than those who work part-time, are retired or studying. Based on the above statistic, The Vinorium clearly enjoys a customer base which is predominantly part-time, retired or studying as our website sales for the month of January have hit an all-time record high. Keeping to the statistical theme – Only the Christmas trading months of November & December 2017 outshone January 2018 website sales, which is quite extraordinary. The press is touting that Brits are drinking less but better quality, which we can indorse as our average online order value for January stands at £243.81 (December ’17 stood at £332.50). January 2018 sales increased by 50% (number of online orders) over 2017, meaning that abstinence for those who appreciate great wine is (thankfully) off the New Year agenda. Of course this leaves the issue of informing Alcohol Concern that all is well within the fine wine world! My team and I have spent much of the week preparing a twenty-five page brochure containing one of the shining lights of the Barossa, Hentley Farm. Unfortunately, the knock-on effect being a reduced version (in terms of variety) of our Weekend Read however, please do take the time as Hentley Farm and The Vinorium have prepared something special for you all... Enjoy the remainder of your weekend and here’s to a February Stu .png)  A Very Special and Personal Offer from Keith Hentschke to Vinorium Customers “Producing what is as close as you’re ever going to find in Australia to a grand cru Burgundy or first-growth Bordeaux. It hardly needs to be said the emphasis is on quality.” James Halliday  Last year, we thoroughly enjoyed the company of founder Keith Hentschke at our HQ, resulting in Keith purchasing all our ’05 Clos Otto (A great deal for him given we were selling six packs for £510.00 against his cellar door price of close to $800 dollars per bottle!). Towards the later part of the year, I sampled Hentley Farm’s latest vintage release (a mix of 2015 & 2016) with Keith’s super-talented winemaker, Andrew Quinn. Hentley Farm has struggled to find traction in Europe, which is a little odd given their star status back home. James Halliday, the world’s most revered Australian authority and palate describes Hentley with the ultimate tribute “Producing what is as close as you’re ever going to find in Australia to a grand cru Burgundy or first-growth Bordeaux”. Keith and Andrew’s wines now sit firmly amongst the elite with Halliday awarding a ‘red’ five-star rating – A mere 239 producers can lay claim to this award. Furthermore, Hentley Farm has joined the cream of the crop (101 wineries out of the 1,233 wineries which featured in Halliday’s 2018 Wine Companion) as generally acknowledged as providing a long track of excellence in the context of the region – “truly the best of the best” to quote Halliday. Keith as one simple aspiration - To firmly establish Hentley Farm in the UK and preferably through The Vinorium. Their offer is generous and their collection incredibly exciting with some wines being offered to our customers in the first instance. This is an En-Primeur offer with all wines being delivered to the UK, April 2018.We have listed both under bond prices and prices which are inclusive of UK duty and VAT – The choice is yours.There is a minimum order of one (unmixed) case of six bottles.As I have penned, Keith would like us to succeed with our private clients however, we have also been asked to offer this collection to our trade clients too. We will set to this task on the morning of Monday 19 February when this offer will be removed from our website and general sale.We have a prepared a 25 page online brochure which covers Hentley Farms history, the estate, their winemaking, the philosophy, a Q&A with Andrew to a detailed look at each and every wine available I believe these are some, if not the best wines coming out of the Barossa today. We also carry mature vintages which can be found by using this link... Please do not hesitate to contact Magda or myself directly with any questions you many have. |
