New company to target consumer at tastings

A new UK company has been set up to target the consumer at both trade and private wine tastings.

The Drinks Sampling Company, launched this week, will present wine, beer and spirits to consumers at exhibitions, wine events, festivals and road shows.

The aim, say the founders of the company, is to fill a niche in the market for a specialised wine sampling company that can cover any event from private corporate tastings in the city of London to large-scale wine fairs such as the annual London International Wine & Spirits Trade Fair.

The new company is a joint venture between wine PR company CUBE and wine logistics specialists Sensible Wine Services (SWS).

Wine industry heavyweights such as Charles Metcalfe, Chris Mitchell and Joe Wadsack have been named as potential wine educators, presenting wines to the consumer.

‘It will be more consumer-focused. Nobody actually specialises in wine sampling,’ said Peter Franz, head of SWS.

Franz told decanter.com that he expected the company to move into Europe and cover France, Germany and Scandinavia.

Written by Oliver Styles