Deliveroo offering doorstep sommelier service on Valentine’s Day
If you don’t know your claret from your Beaujolais, Deliveroo is here to help, having launched a doorstep sommelier service for those keen to impress their beloved this Valentine’s Day. Lucy Shaw finds out more. The post Deliveroo offering doorstep sommelier service on Valentine’s Day appeared first on The Drinks Business.
If you don’t know your claret from your Beaujolais, Deliveroo is here to help, having launched a doorstep sommelier service for those keen to impress their beloved this Valentine’s Day. Lucy Shaw finds out more.
Called ‘Decanteroo’, the free service for lovebirds lucky enough to nab a slot will see a trained sommelier come to customers’ homes and give them a 30-minute tutored tasting.
Working with the Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference range, the Decanteroo tasting includes three wines, with a full bottle paired with your takeaway free of charge for couples having a cosy Valentine’s at home. Glassware and tasting notes will be provided by the sommelier.
For pepperoni pizza lovers, Gilbey recommends Taste the Difference Conegliano Prosecco, whose zing and freshness cuts through the spice and richness of the dish, while a peachy Pays d’Oc Viognier “works wonders” with Wingstop’s boneless garlic Parmesan fried chicken.
“You don't need a fancy restaurant to enjoy these food and wine combinations; just an appetite to discover the pairings you never knew existed,” Gilbey said.
“We’ll take care of presenting the best selection and matching you with the perfect tipple, but when it comes to a love match, we’ll leave that to you,” he added.
“The new generation of sommeliers in the UK is much more humble and engaging than in the past,” he told db.
“I hope this initiative will change the public’s perception of wine experts and encourage more people to interact with sommeliers and explore wine further. It’s all about speaking the same language and making wine feel accessible.”
Limited Valentine’s Day slots will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis via Eventbrite. The Decanteroo tickets go live at 4pm on 13 February.
If you’re not able to bag a free wine tasting slot, Deliveroo is offering up to 30% off select Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference wines from 10-14 February.
Called ‘Decanteroo’, the free service for lovebirds lucky enough to nab a slot will see a trained sommelier come to customers’ homes and give them a 30-minute tutored tasting.
Working with the Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference range, the Decanteroo tasting includes three wines, with a full bottle paired with your takeaway free of charge for couples having a cosy Valentine’s at home. Glassware and tasting notes will be provided by the sommelier.
The man of the moment
The food and wine pairings were chosen by wine merchant Tom Gilbey, who made a splash last April when he blind tasted a different glass of wine at each mile of the London Marathon. Keen to make wine more accessible to a broader audience, Gilbey (pictured) has paired a selection of Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference wines to some of the nation’s favourite takeaway dishes. Among them is a Five Guys cheeseburger paired with Viñedos Barrihuelo Rioja Crianza, whose “hint of smokiness carries the burger's juiciness”, according to Gilbey. Also in the line-up are chicken nachos from Taco Bell paired with a “vibrant” South African Chenin Blanc “bursting with orchard fruits and honeysuckle” that can stand up to the spice of the dish.
For pepperoni pizza lovers, Gilbey recommends Taste the Difference Conegliano Prosecco, whose zing and freshness cuts through the spice and richness of the dish, while a peachy Pays d’Oc Viognier “works wonders” with Wingstop’s boneless garlic Parmesan fried chicken.
“You don't need a fancy restaurant to enjoy these food and wine combinations; just an appetite to discover the pairings you never knew existed,” Gilbey said.
“We’ll take care of presenting the best selection and matching you with the perfect tipple, but when it comes to a love match, we’ll leave that to you,” he added.
Making wine accessible
Vincenzo Arnese, director of wine at Raffles London at The OWO, believes Gilbey has been smart in keeping things simple with his food and wine pairings. “Introducing new consumers to wine through the basics is a smart way to engage a broad audience. The wines Tom has selected may seem a little understated, but they’re widely available, offer great value and respect the identity of the grape variety and region they come from,” Arnese told db. “It’s an exciting concept and a great step forward. A lot of people, for various reasons, have moved away from drinking wine. The rise of food delivery at home is likely playing a big role in that shift, as people aren’t as influenced by the dining out experience as they used to be. The way Deliveroo has approached food and wine matching feels relaxed and inviting,” he added. The Decanteroo service is available in select postcodes in London, Manchester and Brighton. Every order comes with a £40 Deliveroo food credit to use ahead of the sommelier’s arrival. “Sommelier pairings shouldn’t be exclusively for ten-course haute cuisine, so we’re excited for Brits to be able to enjoy the brilliant wine and takeaway pairings Tom has curated to make Valentine’s at home even better,” Deliveroo’s head of comms, Arabella Jenkins said.Avoiding the 'ick'
The initiative was launched in a bid to take the snobbery out of wine, as recent Deliveroo research found that 36% of Brits would never order an untraditional wine pairing at a restaurant for fear of being judged or appearing like they know nothing about wine. Over a quarter of those surveyed found traditional sommelier services to be exclusive, pompous and snobby, but the same number said they wished they knew more about wine, and 25% confessed to getting the ‘ick’ when their date chooses the wrong bottle of wine. While Arnese admits that sommeliers can sometimes be perceived as “a bit aloof or distant”, he feels stuffy stereotypes no longer reflect the reality of what’s going on in the UK on-trade.
“The new generation of sommeliers in the UK is much more humble and engaging than in the past,” he told db.
“I hope this initiative will change the public’s perception of wine experts and encourage more people to interact with sommeliers and explore wine further. It’s all about speaking the same language and making wine feel accessible.”
Limited Valentine’s Day slots will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis via Eventbrite. The Decanteroo tickets go live at 4pm on 13 February.
If you’re not able to bag a free wine tasting slot, Deliveroo is offering up to 30% off select Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference wines from 10-14 February. 
