www.findwine.co.uk puts the fun into choosing the right wine

findwine

 

They say that as the impact of the recession bites on budgets, staying in is the new going out. A new website launched by two wine-loving friends aims to support the trend for eating in, entertaining or just drinking at home by putting the fun back into choosing the right wine. It uses a novel format to match a carefully selected variety of wines with individual tastes and budgets.

With the UK now consuming 1.6 billion bottles of red, white and rosé each year, Mike Howes and John Critchley are confident they have come up with a different angle on the burgeoning on-line wine trade.

Although the impact of the economic slowdown caused wine sales to fall by 3.5% last month, the UK is still one of the world’s biggest markets, surpassing countries such as Italy and France.

The new website, www.findwine.co.uk, is very easy to navigate. It has quirky and colourful graphics coupled with simple, unpretentious and amusing descriptions to enable consumers to use price and style of wine to find precisely the right bottle.

Mike and John, from Harrogate and Leeds, met whilst working in a well known high street wine merchant. They decided to create a business from their shared passion.

Mike told us:

“  We have created our new website to operate like a friendly and knowledgeable assistant in a good quality wine merchant,  someone whose advice will help you find the right bottle every time,  be it a romantic dinner in for two or  a convivial supper party with friends or a cooling glass for a garden party.

And just like the shop you can choose mixed cases of either single or multiple bottles and get helpful suggestions for wines that accompany particular categories of food, all as part of the service”

His business partner John, who developed his passion for wine after working in a vineyard in Australia’s Adelaide Hills, added:

“ With the supermarkets offering ‘wine brands’ at cheap prices, they effectively encourage customers to purchase the same bottle over and over again without actually thinking of what they are buying. They are led by price and marketing - that week’s ‘special offer’ - and not by taste or quality.

“ We decided that there had to be a different and better way. By focussing on interesting, stimulating and definitely non-mass-produced wine and by offering a limited range at any one time, we could provide consumers with a service that gives a simple choice in price and style but with the reassurance of constant quality.”

Mike also said:

“ What we both love about wine is that each bottle is unique with its own potential and, once opened its life is short and eventful and can never be repeated in quite the same way. We believe that many of the on-line wine merchants and the big brand wines dissipate this magic so that the wine just becomes another price-driven commodity.

“ All the wine on our site comes personally recommended by us and is great quality at reasonable prices making it excellent value for money”.

When we visited the website for the first time, we thought that it was like no other. It was fresh and so easy to use. What we also like was the fact that there was something for everyone both in terms of price but also taste.

Try it for yourself!

http://www.findwine.co.uk