THE WINE MERCHANT. An independent magazine for independent retailers
Issue 104, July 2021
Dogs of the Month: Hilda & Daisy Seven Cellars, Brighton
Tasting organisers work hard to tempt back nervous indies Trade calendar is gradually being populated with events, but some merchants remain keener than others to go along
T
rade tastings are slowly returning to the calendar – though the
approach from organisers and
merchants alike remains cautious.
Despite the vaccine roll-out, Covid looks
likely to remain a worry for the foreseeable future. A wider problem for event planners is that for some merchants, the past 18
months have become habit forming, and
travelling to tastings is no longer the ritual, or the necessity, it once was.
Yet many independents have missed
trade tastings and are eager to get back
scheduled to take place on July 13 and as
The Wine Merchant went to press, Arnaud Maltoff of organiser Sopexa UK was
working hard to make the event a success. “We have had to make adjustments as
lockdown restrictions initially should have been lifted further by July 13,” he says. “We are going ahead with the usual
tasting set-up with the wines on the tables
and the producer or representative behind the table.
“We will have a one-way system and we
have pre-booked everyone to make sure we don’t have too many people arriving at the same time.”
He has increased the number of
masterclasses running throughout the day in order to meet demand while staying Covid compliant.
“No-shows will be more problematic
Continues page 2
into the swing of things.
Wines from Spain recently held a tasting
at One Great George Street in London
after being forced into cancelling previous events due to Covid.
Charlotte Dean of Wined Up Here in
Norbiton, south west London, says it was
“wonderful to have attended my first trade tasting of 2021”.
She adds: “It was brilliantly organised
with the attendees sitting at a table and the wines being brought to us in sets of four, lending itself to a very quiet calm,
measured and focused tasting – brilliant for someone as scatterbrained as me.
“It was a little like a WSET exam room,
but hey – I came away with a very clear set of buying decisions.”
The Washington State tasting was
OenoGroup has opened Oeno House, a wine boutique at London’s Royal Exchange. It includes a private tasting room to accommodate up to 12 people and an outdoor terrace. Justin Knock MW has left Philglas & Swiggot to become the company’s director of wine. See pages 60-61.