b'S PEC I A L I ST K N OW L E D G E N OB L E G R E E N W I N ESthe early days, who were passionateWe usually advertise these tastings a short ambassadors for the wine trade and introducedwhile before they take place, both in the shop itself it to a younger audience. Businesses such as oursand by e-mail. We usually charge between 30 have then benefited as these customers haveand 35.00 per event which seems to work well, grown up and become more affluent. largely because it attracts customers who are The other notable thing about our customer basegenuinely interested rather than those looking for a is how many regulars we have. An incredible 95% of our customers have a loyalty card.A large part of If theres one thing I can put this down to is trust! We have well educated staff who offerour success is good, impartial advice and I think our customers respect this. Once theyve tried the wines weveadding value to recommended and realise how good they are they tend to trust our advice and thats how weve builtthe wine by telling loyalty. Weve also been successful in attracting lots ofthe story behind new customers. The clear and accessible way in which we merchandise our extensive range ofit.wines, craft beers and specialist spirits, makes them very approachable and inviting which makes them easy for people to connect with. free drinkOverall this approach seems to be paying off.What wines are selling well at the moment and 2018 was our best trading year ever, and 2019 isdo you see any particular trends?shaping up nicely despite the challenges associatedAs a business we tend to sell more Old-World with Brexit and those of the retail sector in general. wines than New, and France still dominates. We just dont seem to have the type of audience that How important are customer tastings? are interested in cheap New world wines and I find These are really important to us. We run twothem difficult to sell them. Outside of the better-main programmes, one session in the Springknown regions we are seeing a growing interest in and one in the Autumn. Most of our tastings canSouthern France, Italy and particularly Portuguese accommodate 16 people sitting around tables inwines where sales have doubled, albeit from a the shop, but occasionally well have more informalsmall base. tastings where we can have up to 25 people standing. A large part of our success is addingHow important are gift boxed presentations, value to the wine by telling the story behind itandparticularly at Christmas?we focus on this rather than discounting, or priceThey are definitely important for Port and promoting. We therefore tend to have a wine makerChampagne, both of which are often purchased present at these tastings who can give an authenticas a gift. I would say that for every bottle of account of the region and what makes their wineChampagne I sell in a naked bottle, I also sell one particularly special.in a gift box. I stock many of Fells Ports, including 06 Communiqu - Autumn 2015 Communiqu - Autumn 2015 0736 Communiqu Autumn/Winter 2019/20'