Yapp Brothers wine has to be the marketers dream ‘product’ – once people try wine from the list they tend to come back for more and we do have a very loyal following of converts. The key to this of course is getting new wine lovers to try the wines from our list.
To this end, we always enjoy getting out and about – and recently we were delighted to be showing a selection of autumnal wines to the Kington Langley Wine Appreciation Society (KLWAS). A favourite Aunt of mine (aka ‘Aunty Di’ or the ‘Mighty Min’ – a long story) is also a member of a Wine Appreciation Society in the Northern Home Counties (Potters Bar to be precise). She always insists that the difference between wine appreciation and wine tasting is that the “appreciators” consume as well as taste. They reckon on 20 tasting glasses from one bottle, so there are 20 members in the Society – so no one gets half measures.
Myself and our intrepid Shop Manger, Mei Williams, hosted (although I have to say more hosting was done by Mei as he is the font of all oenophilic knowledge) the recent KLWAS gathering. Mei had selected nine wines that were showing particularly well and, although working at Yapp HQ I think I know the wines pretty well, Mei still has the knack of adding to my knowledge. The wines shown were all personal favourites that I’m rarely out of stock on the domestic front. But I did discover that the label on the Pic Saint-Loup: l’Arbouse 2009 Mas Bruguière represented the slopes of the valley. The Pic Saint-Loup is one of the peaks – the other being the Montagne de l’ Hortus.
The KLWAS have a great, friendly format where after tasting the wine members all try and guess the price. Looking down a list of what sells best certainly gives a nod to what moves out of our cellars the quickest. The Côtes de Thongue: Tradition 2010 is always a favourite, I know it’s one of the few wines we stock that has 50% Merlot (backed by Rhône staples 25% Grenache Noir and 25% Carignan) but it’s forward drinking and a real crowd pleaser. The ‘bidding’ by the KLWAS for this wine was all above £10 a bottle, a few members suggesting £15 a bottle would be right. So when we revealed the price at £8.50 a bottle I think we may have won a few more converts.
All wines did show well – the Domaine Maby La Fermade Blanc 2010 was a huge success and with a few eyes focussing on the Christmas period, the last wine (Domaine la Tour Vieille: Banyuls Réserva) got everyone talking about Christmas Puddings and various festivities
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As we drove back on a typically wild and wet Autumn night, we both had enjoyed the night, hopefully won over a few new Yapp converts and we hope to return to the KLWAS soon.
If you would like to talk further about what we do ‘Out and About’ or if you’d like us to get involved with your Wine Club, please do drop us a line to sales@yapp.co.uk – or if you are a oenophile living in the SP15 postcode, looking to join a friendly and relaxed Wine Society here’s a link!
http://www.kingtonlangley.org/Community/KLWineAppreciationSociety.htm
