THE CURIOUS QUAFFER
ATLAS WINES
We are living in very strange times. Times that we have never
experienced before. Times that we will undoubtedly continue
to experience for some time to come. Our lives, our everyday
movements, are restricted as never before.
When the Covid-19 situation started to affect our lives, in the
many ways that it has, there were undoubtedly serious concerns
as to whether the wine industry was going to become yet
another victim of the pandemic. Many businesses and venues,
including pubs, wine bars, restaurants and other hospitality
venues at which we might usually consume wine have been,
and remain, closed. Yet off licences and licensed shops selling
alcohol are, and remain, exceptions to this rule. Yes – it seems
that wine is viewed, by the powers that be, as an ‘essential item’.
I am pretty sure that many of us would say that, currently, wine
comes very much at the top of our list of ‘essential items’!
The truth is that the wine industry has not become a victim of
the current pandemic. To the contrary, it seems to be thriving as
a result of it. Some simple facts, that prove the point:
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In March sales of wine in the UK jumped sharply –
according to data by 22%, with an extra £199,000,000
spent on wine, beer and spirits compared to the same
period in 2019.
At the beginning of April it was reported that UK wine
sales in supermarkets, off licences and particularly online
sales had again risen sharply.
In the US, shortly after the lockdown measures came into
force there, reports indicate that wine sales rocketed by
66% compared with the same period the previous year. In
March it was reported that an eyewatering $423,000,000
was spent on wine orders alone.
In April it is reported that Americans were drinking
a record amount of wine during lockdown, with sales
rocketing by 441% - a figure normally only seen during
holidays.
I am also reliably informed, by someone well placed in the
wine trade, that since our lockdown started UK sales of
sherry have also gone up by a staggering 114%.
34 wirrallife.com
What has clearly driven the massive surge in wine sales during
lockdown, both here and across the Atlantic, is the fact that
many of us are stuck at home. However, an equally important
factor is the ability to order wine online with delivery to your
doorstep within a day or two of pressing the checkout button.
Buying wine is now so easy that you don’t even have to leave
your own home. In the US data indicates that online deliveries
of wine to the consumers doorstep, following lockdown,
jumped quickly from 5% to 30% . I suspect the figure is, almost
certainly, higher now.
Ideally you should not leave your home to buy wine. Whilst
off licences and supermarkets are still open to buy wine, the
message is still to stay at home when you can. The fact is,
though, that you don’t need to leave your home to buy wine. But
it is not just online purchasing that, whilst in lockdown, people
may want to explore. I suspect most of us like drinking wine
and, probably, buy wine on a not infrequent basis. Yet I suspect
few of us take professional advice about buying wine, and even
fewer of us about buying wine for investment purposes.
As such a recommendation for you during these strange times
- Atlas Fine Wines. They not only can sell you wine, but can
advise you on buying wine, can advise you on investing in wine
and, frankly, can help you with just about anything you want
to know about wine. They, through their team of experts, serve
private clients seeking advice on buying fine wine for their own
personal consumption and for investment purposes (as well as
providing broking and reserves management services for their
clients). The bottom line is simple. If you want to explore the
world of fine wine, want to buy some decent wine for your own
consumption, or want to look into the fascinating world of wine
investment, then Atlas is for you. Contrary to popular belief in,
it doesn’t have to cost a fortune to purchase fine wine either!
Atlas are based in London, with an office in Switzerland, and so
are not exactly geographically local for those of us who live on
the Wirral or in the North West of the UK. However, they are
not a wine shop or an outlet that you have to travel to, to either
buy wine or to seek advice. In today’s world of technology, they
may as well be next door to you. They are run by people with