Supermarket promotions Q4 2021

Tom Cannavan

Tom Cannavan

Administrator
I don't actually think wines hang around on supermarket shelves for any longer than your average wine merchant's, and probably for less time. Plus big supermarkets tend to be air-conditioned/temperature controlled, so are possibly offer better short to medium term storage conditions than in small shop units.
 
Nigel Lierop

Nigel Lierop

Location
London
Chris Davies said:
Is light strike an issue for sweet wines?
They’re often in clear glass bottles and sometimes look like they’ve been sitting on the shelf for a while so I’ve been reluctant to buy them from the supermarket.
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I can see no reason why it wouldn't be - the chemistry relates to light interacting with Riboflavin (vitamin B2) and no obvious reason why this wouldn't be present in sweet wines. Tannins and colour give some protection to reds (as I recall). N.B. Lights, not just sunlight can cause it!
 
Steven Pritchard

Steven Pritchard

Location
Herefordshire
Nigel Lierop said:
I can see no reason why it wouldn't be - the chemistry relates to light interacting with Riboflavin (vitamin B2) and no obvious reason why this wouldn't be present in sweet wines. Tannins and colour give some protection to reds (as I recall). N.B. Lights, not just sunlight can cause it!
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The sugar may act as an aroma suppressor though, but the bouquet itself will surely be modified even if not as negatively as a sparkling wine.
 
M

Michael Sheridan

Location
Bexley, SE London/Kent
good to know, thanks Ray.

On the topic of Waitrose, has anyone else experienced significant delays in cellar orders placed this week ?
I placed an order on Monday and still haven't had a confirmation email. my account has shown status "being prepared" for the last 3 days.
Tried customer services - only successful on 3rd attempt having been on hold each time for over 30 mins, the first 2 times they cut the call off :mad: When I did get through they weren't much use and said they can see the order but couldnt give an eta on eitherorder confirmation or shipping.

I'm assuming its due to the increased demand because of the 25% off, but I would have thought they'd have caught up with the backlog by now....
 
Paul Anderson

Paul Anderson

Location
Scotland
Fairly similar experience for me, Michael. I ordered on 3rd November but received the confirmation email immediately. It was then in the "being prepared" status for several days, so I emailed them on the 9th (Tuesday) to find out what was causing the delay and when I could expect delivery. No reply until the next day and it had amazingly changed to "despatched" and it arrived on Wednesday. They responded to my email on Wednesday to tell me it was now ready to be despatched, but it had already arrived by then.

Overall, Waitrose have a lot to do to even provide an adequate customer service. During lockdown we got some home deliveries of groceries and it was almost impossible to book a delivery slot (and we had an additional week allocated as I was on the Covid shielding list). In one delivery my wife had ordered a bottle of Grand Marnier and it arrived with the security tag still attached. Obviously we returned it with the delivery driver, but my wife phoned the delivery store to complain and was told that we could have just broken the neck of the bottle (because her boyfriend had done that)!!! An alternative suggestion was to use a screwdriver to remove it.

Anyway, I shouldn't complain as, technically, I shouldn't be enjoying these multi-buy wine discounts as I live in Scotland, but it works if I order through the Cellar, rather than locally :rolleyes:
 
M

Michael Sheridan

Location
Bexley, SE London/Kent
It’s goes from one extreme to the other.
Like Bryan, I placed an order on the first Wednesday and it was on my doorstep 24hrs later. I was very impressed.
For some reason they even threw in a miniature of Vecchia Romagna Italian brandy with the case.

They’ve responded to my latest email enquiry at least:

“I am sorry you did not receive an email confirmation due to there being an issue with our automated email system.

I can confirm that we do have your order and it has been acknowledged by our suppliers. Due to an extremely high order volume I am unable to confirm a delivery date as the orders are taking longer to process than the usual 3-5 working days.

Please accept my sincere apologies for any inconvenience caused.”

so guess it’s just a waiting game now. Not that I’m in any particular rush anyway
 
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Andrew Bajorek

Andrew Bajorek

Location
Caversham, Berks
Yes I got the rum too, and very fast delivery, day after the order (or maybe 2), but I put mine in on the day the offer opened I think. Horses for courses it seems.

Whilst I'm here - anyone got any thoughts on readiness (and base vintages) of Vilmart Grand Cellier NV, disgorged January 2019?...
 
Raymond Tilney

Raymond Tilney

Location
Northampton
Andrew Bajorek said:
Yes I got the rum too, and very fast delivery, day after the order (or maybe 2), but I put mine in on the day the offer opened I think. Horses for courses it seems.

Whilst I'm here - anyone got any thoughts on readiness (and base vintages) of Vilmart Grand Cellier NV, disgorged January 2019?...
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Andrew,
I think Mike Humphreys wrote up the Waitrose Vilmart last week in the drinking thread.
I know he thought it was fair enough for the promotion price, but not wouldn’t write home at full money.
……Enjoy
 
P

Paul Benny

Location
Cheshire
Paul Benny said:
Tesco 25% off 6+ 18-29 November - current approach suggests Clubcard will be requiried. At present, there are no individual promotions visible.

I've seen rumour of Asda 25% off from the same date - on recent form their deal excludes Champagne.
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Asda 25% off 6+ in England. 18 Nov -12 Dec. Does include Champagne, giving
- Lanson £19.50
- Moet £24
- Bollinger £32.75
- Tattinger £22.50

At present, the offer doesn't show online, so be cautious if ordering online and be prepared to cancel should the offer not materialise.
 
D

David Bywater

Location
Leeds
My recent experience of Waitrose - order some Champagne and Beck sparkling wine. I agreed to pick it up from the store in Leeds as it close to me. I get a text saying that it is in store so I turn up. Sadly only the Champagne had arrived - they did have Beck in the store but not only where they not going to replace the 6 bottles of Beck despite it being in stock in the store but they weren't going to allow me to take the Champagne until the Beck appeared!! Given that I had paid for both I was less than pleased.

For a top end retailer their behaviour leaves much to be desired
 
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