Ten the magic number for new wine website

Brighton-based wine merchant Ten Green Bottles launched a new website last night comprising a selection of just 10 white, 10 red, 10 rosé and 10 sparkling wines.

The new site also offers a selection of 10 spirits, sweet and fortified wines and is designed to be extremely simple to use according to Simon Broad, a former Bistro manager for Hotel du Vin, who founded the wine business with Sam Devaney.

Speaking to the drinks business at the launch yesterday evening, Simon said, “A lot of wine websites are too busy or chaotic, and most are organised by wine region – but what if you don’t know about wine regions?”

Instead, www.tengreenbottles.com lists the 40 core wines according to colour and style and promises users next day delivery for £6.95 in mainland UK for a minimum order of six bottles.

He described the range as “limited but really good,” and said that the website includes technical information on the wines for those that want it.

As for the cost of the new site, Simon explained that a friend of his business partner Sam – a graphic designer based in California – did the design.

As a result, Ten Green Bottles has kept the cost down to around US$15,000 according to Simon.

He also commented that Ten Green Bottles had begun by selling wine to the on-trade before opening a shop in Brighton two years ago.

Speaking of the new website, he said it was important to have a strong presence online to “get noticed”.

Concluding, he said of tengreenbottles.com, “It’s about making wine simple and less elitist, about being friendly without being patronising, because I’m all for making wine accessible – sometimes when I’m in the shop people apologise for their lack of knowledge, and I’m afraid that wine is still tied up with status and class.”