Oddbins....

Peta Radford said:
The Highgate branch had a sign the other day indicating everything was 20% off and I feared this might be the situation.

Sad for those who have lost their jobs who are often passionate about wine. I hope something new with a different wine proposition can pop up in some locations.

Wishing you all the best Louis
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Yeah we had a 20% off sale,I was able to snag a St Aubin Premier Cru before shutting down. Thank you Peta. Much appreciated.
 
A shame - even though the final incarnation was a shadow of its former self. I bought a lot of wine there in my early days of exploration - mostly N. Rhône and Australian wines at first, but also Alsace, Loire, Greece, and even Bordeaux. I don't remember buying much burgundy there, but some Jaffelin wines stick in the memory. I think my most memorable purchase was a case of Moulin Touchais 1959 - nectar of the gods in about 1988.
 
What a deeply sad bit of news. Oddbins holds a fond place in my heart due to the great experiences with super enthusiastic and knowledgeable staff, some slightly eccentric offerings and a significant part of my wine journey. Interesting question Alex poses, where has that market that they serviced so admirably gone. It's hard to believe that it has disappeared, not sure it is served by Majestic, has it migrated to independents?

The demise of Oddbins was definitely sad to watch as increasingly the stock on offer lost its lustre and interest over the latter years
 
End of an era. One of the names that evokes memories for alot of forumites. My passion for wine was prompted by the lack of a decent pint when I moved to Belfast some 28 years ago, bringing it together with my passion for cooking.

Back then Oddbins website was one of the more interesting and it helped filling my first real cellar.

Best of luck for the future Louis.
 
I think it was a few factors working in harmony that made it successful:
1) A really good range of wines compared to anyone else.
2) Fantastically enthusiastic and knowledgeable staff
3) A brand with a great newsletter (the Ralph Steadman thing) that one could pore over.
I suspect much of this was down to great vision and management at the top.
I did wonder if part of the cause of its demise is "The Internet" (which competes as an information source as well as providing community) but wine confers an advantage on high street retailers that it's best sampled in reality and chatted about. Something that Majestic have always tried to do, but with no great style.
 
Yes, it is very sad. I had read with extra sadness of the last remaining Glasgow branch closing a couple of weeks ago, Glasgow having been a bit of an Oddbins stronghold. The Fine Wine Store and the tastings there in the 80s and 90s really were fabulous - first growths and Grand Cru Bugundies, et al. It and the equivalent in Edinburgh were *very* regular haunts.

It all went wrong with the sale to Seagram, but even wronger with the sale to Castel I think. Why it couldn't survive when good independent wine shops seem to be doing pretty well against the odds, I do not know.
 
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Tom Cannavan said:
It all went wrong with the sale to Seagram, but even wronger with the sale to Castel I think. Why it couldn't survive when good independent wine shops seem to be doing pretty well against the odds, I do not know.
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I suspect that corporates will always struggle to keep top management of such outfits happy. Who was it before Seagram? ISTR they were owned by the same company that owned Perrier-Jouet at one point in the 1990s.
 
Alex Lake said:
I suspect that corporates will always struggle to keep top management of such outfits happy. Who was it before Seagram? ISTR they were owned by the same company that owned Perrier-Jouet at one point in the 1990s.
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That was Seagram. I thought they did pretty well under Seagram's uncomprehending and hands offish ownership. Between 1987 and 2000 they were WMOTY 10 times and introduced Chile, Greece, Argentina. They had an amazing commitment to staff training too.
Given why Seagram bought them Oddbins achieved a quasi- if mega-independent status.
 
My (now) wife bought me my introduction to proper wine from Oddbins Keddies branch in Southend way back in 1989. A mixed case of Penfolds reds in a wooden case.

She followed it up a couple of years later with another wooden case of six bottles, this time a mix of Billecart-Salmon’s that were put together as a Christmas selection.

I bought my second ever case of wine from them too. Grand-Mayne 1989.
 
Sad indeed.

I guess us "of a certain age" learned much from the very knowledgeable staff.

I think I first visited the Sunningdale store and purchased Cru Classé clarets (not firsts) 1977 vintage at £4.99 a pop. That was the start!!!!
Probably 1982/3.
Followed up a few years later with a similar range of 1980's at (I think) £5.99 a pop.
Lots of Australian reds. First taste of NZ Sauvignon blanc!
In 1989 I managed to get voluntary redundancy and with some of the proceeds my journey down the vortex accelerated. Full cases of

1983 Leoville Lascases - built for the long haul - have a few left
1985 Lynch Bages - truly delightful and have a few left
1986 Ducru Beaucaillou - turned out to be a dodgy vintage. Have been lucky with most of these. One was DNPIM...

Can't recall prices (and have lost the list) but I believe they were high teens low twenties a bottle ('t was a long time ago).

Definitely fond memories....
 
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