Wine Poole Ltd supplies wines to local wholesale accounts and to retail customers through its website. It was set up in 2012 and the wine merchant has been operating in Warwick ever since.
We caught up with owner Lindsay Poole as part of the Warksmas campaign.
Why did you set up Wine Poole?
I had worked in the wine trade for many years and decided that I wanted to take the plunge to run my own company. I set up as a sole trader in 2008 and then we became a limited company in 2012 when my husband Barry joined the company full time. Last year we were joined by Nathan, a graduate keen to learn the trade. Mike is the other member of our team who works as a driver making local deliveries to trade and private customers.
What do you think keep your customers coming back?
We believe that they keep coming back as we offer interesting wines which are competitively priced. We have frequent tastings both open and tutored (when permitted!) and Zoom ones currently. We also offer an entirely bespoke ‘Wine Plan’ service for local customers.
What is your best-selling product?
That’s a hard question as we have more than 900 wines in our portfolio many of which are very strong sellers.
What do you think is your best product / service, and why?
For retail customers I would say the range of our portfolio and the fact that orders can be as small as one bottle which can be shipped anywhere in the UK. For our trade customers there are several useful aspects of our service for them – our expertise at the end of a phone, wine listing service, staff training and tutored wine events on what might be otherwise quiet nights to give them incremental business.
What are the most unusual items you stock?
We stock wines from some of the more esoteric producing countries such as Georgia, Turkey, Uruquay, Croatia, Japan and India. One of our more unusual wines is a dessert wine from Uruguay which tastes like Tirimisu in a glass!
Have you had any unusual requests from customers? What were they and were you able to deliver them?
We have one regular customer who lives in a lock cottage which is best accessed by walking across the lock gates, which is what we do, but preferably when it is not wet and slippery!
How important is the Christmas period to you?
It’s massively important as not only do our retail sales soar but our trade accounts requirements also increase enormously. The retail sales are helped by our Christmas Tasting to which we usually have about 150 attendees, though clearly we cannot hold one this year! Last year the Christmas period constituted 21% of our sales.
Who would be you ideal (dead or alive) four guests for Christmas lunch and why?
My husband and two daughters as they are the most important people in my life!
What would be your own personal ultimate Christmas present?
An all expenses paid 6-week trip to Australia and New Zealand! Chance would be a fine thing…