RETAIL / PROFILE: Try before you buy

Innovative Islington wine retailer The Sampler gives customers the opportunity to taste their wines, without having to buy a full bottle. By Patrick Schmitt

Imagine you are five years old, with 50 pence in your pocket, surrounded by giant jars filled with colourful boiled sweets and sugary delicacies such as pink shrimps, sherbet fountains, pear drops, flying saucers and flumps – those twisted marshmallow tubes. Now place yourself, card with credit in hand, among an array of famous first growths, super Tuscans, obscure Austrians and aged Sherries, not forgetting crystal glasses and gleaming machinery reading to dispense these tempting drinks. Any similarity? Both have you clenching with excitement. However, the latter is a reality and can be easily experienced should you find yourself on Upper Street in London’s Islington.

Aptly called The Sampler, this six month old outlet is the first of its kind in London, and aside from making a wine enthusiast feel like a kid in a sweet shop, it proves two important points in wine retailing. One, it is possible to sell wine without using money-off deals – not a single price promotion clutters The Sampler’s shelves. “If the wine doesn’t sell, we drink it ourselves,” says Dawn Mannis, co-founder of the independent merchant. Secondly, it is possible to taste wine before you buy without incurring wastage or crippling the consumer with terrifying prices. For example, you can “sample” Domaine Armand Rousseau Chambertin 1996 for £15.60. The bottle costs £360. Petrus ’99 was on offer in early May for £32.50 a go – an accessible price if you remember it is £750 for 75cl. On the other hand, for 28 pence you can savour a few sips of Fino.

How does it work? Surprisingly simply and with little need for staff assistance – all you have to do is buy a card for a minimum of £10, grab a tasting glass, slot the card into one of the 10 sampling machines, select one of the eight wines in each machine, press a button, and the wine is dispensed into the glass as a 25ml sample (although you can choose a 50ml or 75ml portion). The price of each sample is displayed on a small screen on the stainless steel machines – manufactured by Enomatic – which work by automatically replacing the released wine with nitrogen to prevent oxidation. Theoretically, an open wine will stay fresh for up to three weeks. In practice, due to demand, they last less than two – “and if it’s not popular, we remove it,” adds Mannis.

The machines are far from cheap, costing approximately £5,000 each, excluding installation, meaning the set up cost for The Sampler must have been high despite the simplicity of the interior. Running costs aren’t low either due to the rents that come with the outlet’s affluent location. Nevertheless, Mannis insists the shop is hitting targets.

And why north London’s Islington? After all, both Mannis and her partner Jamie Hutchinson live in Clapham, south of the river. “We chose Upper Street because there is no independent wine shop,” says Mannis – a situation in stark contrast to Clapham which has several, especially on the Northcote Road.

Broad appeal

Stereotypical shoppers don’t exist, but The Sampler’s cross section of consumers appears especially broad. Mannis reports anything from “wine anoraks” to mothers with young children, as well as the odd Wine & Spirit Education Trust pupil (it must be the cheapest way to practice your tasting technique).

There’s a surprising peak of activity on Monday mornings, although most of the business is done between 6.30 and 8pm on weekdays and all day during weekends, when no doubt young and middle-aged professionals flood the shop floor.

The sampling machines are having an interesting effect on demand. Put a wine in the Enomatic and expect it to sell four times as much as it would on the shelf. The chance to “try before you buy” is also encouraging people to purchase less fashionable wines. “We get a lot of people coming in and saying they like Pinot Grigio but we sell more Pinot Gris,” says Mannis, “and we sell even more Riesling”.

Of the 800 wines in the shop, 80 can be found in the 10 machines at any one time. Presently, three of the Enomatics are devoted to white wine, six for red, and one for “wine icons”. The latter has included the likes of Petrus ’99 and Penfolds Grange ’98, both of which disappeared in a matter of days.

The other machines are arranged by varietal, and brief tasting notes can be found by each bottle. Stock is stored directly beneath the wine on sample.

Bordeaux and Burgundy are strong sellers, as are Spanish and Italian reds, and of all the wines that have been available to taste, only Barolos have struggled to shift – “they are too tannic”.

Wild Earth Pinot Noir from New Zealand’s Central Otago is a top seller, ensuring its persistent presence in the Enomatics. At 78 pence a shot, it certainly delivers classic Pinot characters at a low cost. A bottle of the 2004 will set you back £17.99.

Wine detective
It should be noted that The Sampler is not a fine wine outlet. Mannis’ partner and co-founder Jamie Hutchinson does love to track down old and famous wines from the likes of Bordeaux, Burgundy, The Rhône, Alsace, Austria and Germany, but most of the labels littering The Sampler’s shelves are more mainstream in price, and start at £5.99. “My passion in wine is to find bottles at around £15 and under that are brilliant,” says Mannis, “while Jamie adores introducing people to high-end wine; he’s a sort of wine detective.”

Interestingly the pair are struggling to shift Shiraz from Australia. We sell famous names from Australia such as St Hallett, D’Arenburg and Tapanappa and we do sell Shiraz from the south of France but New Zealand Pinot is selling better than Australian reds.

Overall, the classics sell best, perhaps a reflection of the shop owners’ tastes and Islington’s conservative customer base, or perhaps these wines’ ability to excite as soon as they are sipped. Schlumberger’s Riesling Cuvée Ernest 1999, Sélection des Grains Nobles is a prime example. At £2.17 a shot, it must be one of the most sensual experiences you can have for the money. If you’re quick, you might still be able to sample it.