Laithwaite’s Wine

“Laithwaite's

In 1969, in order to earn a little bit of extra cash during a holiday, Tony Laithwaite took a job washing bottles at a winery in Bordeaux. So began an obsession with both wines and the people who make them. He hired a van in order to take some wines back to share with his friends and a small business was born on the back of it.

Fast forward nearly fifty years and you can now be a beneficiary of the same business venture, now transported to a much greater scale. Laithwaite’s Wine subscription gives you a chance to sample delicious, boutique wines from across the world. You can develop your palette whilst also helping small vineyards and wineries spread the word about their amazing product. Wine not?

At A Glance Info
What's in the box? Boxes of wine from family run wineries
How often does it come? Every 12 weeks unless requested sooner
Sent from UK
Options Choose whites, reds, or mixed boxes and replace wines you don’t like
Website www.laithwaites.co.uk

How Does It Work?

Subscription boxes are an easy and convenient way to get things delivered straight to you door, cutting out the need for a middle man or for you to go trawling through the shops in order to find a unique product. In this case, that unique product is boutique wine. You sign up to receive crates of it for a set period of time and pay a set amount of money for the pleasure. In return, you get bottles of wine delivered regularly until you decide you no longer want them. It really is that simple.

What Do You Get?

You get wine. Lots and lots of delicious well crafted handpicked wine. This isn’t wine that is being picked because of some snooty reputation given to it by sommeliers in 5-star restaurants, either. Laithwaite’s taste over 40,000 wines per year to make sure that the wines they send to you are the very best on the market. It’s a testament to the company’s desire to ensure they only pick the cream of the crop that just 800 wines make the grade.

Anybody can go to a supermarket and pick a tasty looking wine based on the fancy nature of its label. That’s why all wines chosen by the company are picked after a ‘blind’ tasting. There are no labels or clues of any kind as to where the wine has come from. The tasters are not influenced by names or reputations, just taste. The wines are sent through from family-run wineries, too, so you know you’re getting genuine quality rather than anything mass produced.

As well as the twelve bottles of wine, you’ll also get three free bottles of Rioja with your first order. On top of that you’ll receive tasting notes that will tell you everything you need to know about your latest tipple. What type of grape is it? Where in the world is the wine from? What should you be looking out for when you have a sniff or take a sip? What foods will your wine be best paired with? All of these answers and more can be found in your tasting notes. You’ll also get information on the wines you can expect to receive with your next delivery, so you know what you’re looking forward to.

Options

There are three main cases to choose from and they’re all reasonably self-explanatory. The Discovery Dozen Mixed Case will contain twelve wines of different varieties. Expect to fine reds, whites and rosés in here. If you’re more of a red wine drinker then the Discovery Dozen Reds Case should tickle your fancy. All you’ll find in there are sumptuous reds to enjoy to your heart’s content. Finally, the Discovery Dozen Whites Case contains, you guessed it, twelve different white wines that promise refreshment and succulence.

You’ll not only know what’s coming in your next box but you’ll be able to go online and change them, should the wines not be of interest to you. If you’re not a fan of a Malbec, for example, or Sauvignon Blancs really aren’t your thing, then pop online and remove them from your box.

Examples

Previous red wine boxes have contained such treats as a La Pouladière, which is a Côtes-du-Rhône with flavourings similar to a Châteauneuf, The Forefather Malbec and Dark Corner, an Australian red from the company who produced Black Stump. White wines boxes have included Gooseberry Bush from South Africa, La Belle Saison from France and Farinelli, a dry Italian that has nods towards a Pinot Grigio.