Harrods wine shop to double in size

The world’s most famous department store is expanding its wine shop to accommodate a larger range, allow more space for displaying its impressive collection of large format fine wines and incorporate a tasting room.

“Work will begin next year,” Alistair Viner, wine and spirits buyer for Harrods told the drinks business in an interview at the monument to luxury shopping.

The need to refurbish the escalators leading into the basement-based wine shop has given Viner the opportunity to expand and update the drinks department.

Added space will result from moving the downstairs Harrods pharmacy elsewhere and combining the cigar area with a similar outlet in the menswear department.

Although still early days in this project Viner is already excited by the freedom it will allow.

“We will double the space of the wine shop,” he explained. “We will be expanding the range, although not proportionately, and we hope to have a dedicated tasting room, a spirits room, and possibly something on glassware with Riedel as well.”

The tasting space, Viner explains, “will be a private room for up to 12 people allowing us to put on winemaker evenings, do corporate events and hold wine courses.”

“The concept,” Viner says of the new layout, “will be about education, lifestyle, making wine more approachable and fun, so people understand why something is more expensive or tastes different.”

The extra floor area will allow Viner a greater quantity of fine wines from the same producer, ensuring he avoids disappointing shoppers looking for multiple bottles of rare wines and spirits.

It will also give Viner a “dedicated space for large formats, and we’ll be able to display everything a bit better.”

The wine shop currently displays 2,100 different lines.

For more information on the wine shop and its expansion plans see September’s drinks business.

Patrick Schmitt, 03.09.2009