The Wine Society’s top 10 best sellers

As many as nine of The Wine Society’s top 10 best selling wines are its own-label offerings, proving the high level of trust in the buyers at this mutual mail-order merchant.

Its 120,000 members have fairly traditional tastes however, and head of wine buying at the company Tim Sykes says the best-selling region is Bordeaux, while the top three most popular countries among the merchant’s members are France, then Italy, followed by Chile.

The co-operative retailer is always evolving its list and has recently added to its “Society” range of own-label wines with an Albariño and Vinho Verde, reflecting the increasing demand for unoaked, moderately low-alcohol and lightly aromatic whites.

Sykes also told the drinks business that The Wine Society was thinking of augmenting its range of Society own-label lines with a Gavi and a further Italian red.

The merchant’s to 10 best selling wines are featured over the following pages.

1. The Society’s White Burgundy

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Priced at £7.95, The Wine Society sells over 15,000 cases each year of this Chardonnay from the Mâcon, which is blended by Marcel Orford-Williams.

2. The Society’s Claret

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The Wine Society’s second best-selling wine is a light red Bordeaux costing £6.25 a bottle. It is made at Cave Bel Air in Verdelais, near Langon in the Premières Côtes de Bordeaux.

3. The Society’s Rioja Crianza

Made for The Wine Society by Bodegas Palacio in the Rioja Alavesa, this Rioja has spent 12 months in American oak and costs £6.95.

4. The Society’s French Dry White

In fourth place is a Sauvignon dominant wine from the Languedoc-Roussillon, which uses grapes from vines owned by the Bésinet family. The wine costs £5.95 and comes closed under screwcap.

5. The Society’s Full French Red

Made mostly from Carignan and Grenache grown in the Agly Valley in Roussillon, this full-bodied red costs just £5.95.

6. The Society’s Côtes-du-Rhône

A Grenache-dominant red from the Jaume family in Vinsobres, this wine costs £6.75.

7. The Society’s Côtes de Gascogne White

This Colombard dominant wine with just 11.5% abv is made for The Wine Society by the Grassa family and costs £5.75 per bottle.

8. The Society’s Montepulciano d’Abruzzo

Made at the Roxan co-operative with the help of winemaker Vincenzo Fiore, this Montepulciano costs £6.50

9. Domaine Labourie, Vin de Pays d’Oc

Coming from two cooperatives, one in St Chinian and one in Minervois, this wine costs £5.50 and is the only wine in the top 10 which is not a Wine Society own-label.

“The south of France at £5-6 is pretty much unbeatable for bang for buck and wines of character,” comments Tim Sykes, head of buying for The Wine Society, explaining the success of this wine.

10. The Society’s Chilean Sauvignon Blanc

In tenth place is The Society’s Chilean Sauvignon Blanc from the Leyda Valley costing £6.75.

Chile is The Wine Society’s third best selling country category after Italy, with France unsurprisingly in first place.

And finally…

Coming just after the Chilean Sauvignon in terms of popularity is The Society’s Malbec – the merchant’s 11th most ordered wine.

The wine comes from Argentina, costs £6.95, and is made for The Wine Society by Susana Balbo.