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Whilst Oddbins may not quite fit the image of the image of a specialist independent wine merchant, they do however tend to stock some interesting and lesser-known wines:
It is a unique concept – take six of the UK’s top wine bloggers and ‘let them loose’ in the Oddbins flagship branch to select a case of wine. The fruits of several hours of tasting, debating and comparing have led to the Oddbins Wine Bloggers case.
It has caused a bit of a stir online with commentators talking of bloggers selling out and being compromised. “Far from it” said Andrew Barrow (http://www.spittoon.biz) one of the blogging six, “it is all about finding the best wines, at a price point, that we think offer great value, interest and drinkability”
Emma Nichols, Head of Buying at Oddbins, said: “Many wine bloggers see themselves as informed consumers, who want to share their expertise with drinkers in an unstuffy way. We loved the idea of a case selected by wine bloggers, this approach fits perfectly with the Oddbins philosophy of making wine as accessible as possible for our customers.”
The bloggers case idea was conceived by David Lowe and Tara Devon O’Leary, who approached Andrew Barrow, Tom Lewis, Belinda Stone and Paola Tich for the project before taking the idea to Oddbins.
Each blogger selected a red and a white wine straight off the shelves. There was a price limitation as the aim was to create a case of 12 wines at under £100. Emma Nichols advised on which wines were readily available rather than small parcels that would quickly run out and, as Andrew Barrow explained, many wines were rejected, not because they were bad but simply because we wanted a diverse, wide reaching selection. “We are very pleased with the result”, he continued “there are some great wines there and feedback, an important aspect of being a blogger, has been fantastic”.
The Oddbins Bloggers Case White Wine Selection
- Casa Lluch Verdil 2010, Valencia, Spain
- Raimat Abadia White 2010, Costers del Segre, Spain
- Sal’mon Groovey Grüner Veltliner 2010, Kremstal, Austria
- Domaine la Condamine L’Evêque Viognier 2010, Côtes de Thongue, France
- Stone Rock Sauvignon Blanc 2010, Bordeaux, France
- Porter Mill Station Chenin Blanc 2011, Svartland, South Africa
The Oddbins Bloggers Case Red Wine Choices
- Domaine de l’ Arnesque 2009, Côtes du Rhône, France
- Alma de Tinto Mencia 2010, Galacia, Spain
- Henry Fessy Morgon 2009, Cru du Beaujolais, France
- Chateau Haute Galine 2009, Minervois, France
- Terre di Sava, 10 Nero Salice Salentino 2010, Puglia, Italy
- Fully Loaded Grenache-Shiraz 2008, McClaren Vale, Australia
The other bloggers are:
- Belinda Stone – www.missbouquet.com
- Andrew Barrow –www.spittoon.biz
- David Lowe – bigpinots.com
- Paola Tich – www.sipswooshspit.com
- Tara Devon O’Leary – winepassionista.com
- Tom Lewis – cambridgewineblogger.blogspot.co.uk
