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You are here: Home / Featured Post / Introducing Waitrose Cellar

Introducing Waitrose Cellar

June 1, 2014 by Fiona Maclean 9 Comments

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Last Updated on April 7, 2019 by Fiona Maclean

Waitrose Cellar Event – and a trip on a Canal Boat:

Waitrose Wine Event London Canal Museum

From memory, Waitrose was the first supermarket I used that offered a great choice of wines.  Probably about twenty years ago now, I worked for Vodafone in Newbury and tried moving out of London to a tiny village near Marlborough and Waitrose became my local supermarket.  Up until then I’d spent my adult life in London and Brighton – and my wine buying experience had focussed on specialist shops.  The Waitrose in Marlborough was an eye-opener for me, with a great selection of wines that I could buy with my groceries, all labelled up so that I could pick the right bottles.  Of course this was before the internet.  A year or so later, I can remember my boss demonstrating the wonders of internet shopping and logging into buy wine online.  As he tried to tell us he was buying a single bottle of chablis – we watched and attempted to alert him to the fact that he was actually about to purchase 12 bottles at £20 or so a bottle.

If I end up with a case, you’ll all get a bottle…

THE BOSS.

 

Needless to say we were all soon gifted a very nice bottle of chablis each.

Waitrose Wine Event Canal Boat

It’s all too easy to forget that the internet really didn’t exist that recently.  It has changed the way we shop – it is easy now to be an informed and educated shopper – and products that might have been hard to find are now accessible to all.

So what does Waitrose Cellar have to add.  Well, for a start it is very comprehensive, but there are a good range of filters to help you find what you are looking for – including price range, grape and country of origin.  There are over a thousand bottles to choose from and each one is beautifully categorised and explained.  Many have video reviews too.  There are special selections if you want someone else to do the legwork – and there is even a very ‘retro’ telephone helpline if you are planning a special event and need help choosing your wine!

We went along to the London Canal Museum to find out more and, of course, to try some of the wines.

Waitrose Wine Event - Xenia

Meeting wine specialists Xenia Irwin MW and Stephane Sanchez, it was clear that these are people with a real passion for what they do.  Their enthusiasm for wine and for helping to educate us and other customers was quite clear

Waitrose Wine Event Stephane

On the boat, we tried various wines that Waitrose were recommending.  Comparing Waitrose Blanc de Noir champagne with Cave de Lugny Sparkling Burgundy Blanc de Blanc sparkling wine for example – both delicious, but the champagne of course has a higher price tag.  Serve the latter as an aperitif at a party and my guess is everyone will be perfectly happy – it’s slightly softer than the champagne but still has all the characteristics of a good fizz.

Waitrose Wine Event - Canal Boat 2

Then, back at base we set to work trying to use the website to determine the best selection of wines for each other in a kind of speed-wine event.  Of course by then we’d all had quite a few glasses of quite a few different types of wine – and a great selection of cold meats and cheeses.

Waitrose Wine Event - Food

The result – some rather haphazard guesses at what our opposite numbers might enjoy…

Wine Event - Evidence

I know at one point I sat down opposite the lovely Denise from The Wine Sleuth and was trying to ask her what her taste in wine was.  I seem to remember her saying ‘Champagne – good Champagne’.  I can’t honestly remember which of the bottles I picked for her – but I know I had an excellent selection to choose from.  There are also a range of spirits on the site, though I am not sure who was busy picking gins!

Waitrose Wine Event - Gin

It is a very easy way to buy wine.  Dangerously easy in fact.  I now have a collection of six bottles to try over the next few months – including an Amontillado sherry (already open), which makes a lovely aperitif with olives and chorizo, two bottles of fizz and a very special bottle of red wine, Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste Grand Cru Classé, Pauillac that I am definitely saving for an occasion (perhaps when I finally sell my flat?).

With many thanks to Waitrose for a superb evening.  You can find out more about Waitrose Cellar on their site and I hope to be including some tasting notes from the wines as I try them!

 

All photos copyright Emma Gutteridge

 

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Featured Post Tagged With: london, wine

About Fiona Maclean

London based freelance writer and marketing consultant. I edit London-Unattached.com and write for a number of other publications. With a music degree and a background in marketing across many sectors, my passions include all types of music, food, restaurants, wine and travel

Comments

  1. Pamela Morse says

    June 7, 2014 at 6:59 pm

    What a smart way to get everyone in the mood with a cruise!! Drinking and boats always go well together. Again, I think the expert knowledge helps people feel good when they buy.

    Reply
  2. Jess @UsedYorkCity says

    June 3, 2014 at 12:16 am

    One of my favorite topics and tastes, wine!:-) And p.s., I want your boss!

    Reply
  3. Chris says

    June 2, 2014 at 6:35 pm

    Another great tip for my next trip to UK. Thank you for sharing

    Reply
  4. Alison says

    June 2, 2014 at 11:26 am

    What a lovely way to try wine.

    Reply
  5. Stevie Wilson says

    June 2, 2014 at 4:26 am

    This not only looks like a great event, but also a great store. Can one order online or not?

    Reply
    • Fiona Maclean says

      June 2, 2014 at 8:05 am

      you can definitely order online – the telephone helpline is there in case you need a little personal support

      Reply
  6. Barefoot Mahala says

    June 1, 2014 at 11:11 pm

    sounds like a great event. I would love to know more about wine, good wine.

    Reply
  7. Laura Huggins says

    June 1, 2014 at 8:29 pm

    I’m not a wine drinker, but this looks like it was a fabulous event to attend. The story about your boss did make me chuckle

    Laura x x x

    Reply
    • Fiona Maclean says

      June 1, 2014 at 10:05 pm

      I seem to remember we were just delighted!

      Reply

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