We are Italian Wine Merchants and the First ever recipient of the London Wine Fair "Wine Buyers Award" for UK Online Specialist. Bat and Bottle are Rutland’s only specialist importers of Italian ...
Tel: 01572 759735
Website:
https://bat.wine
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Article by Amander Meade The summer of 2020 will go down in history as one of the most challenging ever for the hospitality industry, but one Rutland based family business have bucked the trend and are raising a glass to a spectacular story of success. Ben Robson, Independent Wine Merchant and co-owner of Italian wine import business, ‘Bat and Bottle’, is delighted to announce that he has won the inaugural UK ‘Online Specialist Wine Buyer’ award at this year’s London Wine Fair Awards - the UK’s largest wine trade event. Usually held at Olympia, due to the effects of Covid 19, this year the competition was judged ‘virtually’ although rivalry in all sectors remained fierce with businesses competing for awards in multiple categories. The Online Specialist Wine Buyer award was highly coveted by a wide-ranging set of UK wine businesses but Ben took the title for what the judges described as his “Obvious warmth, sincerity and very evident people skills alongside the fact that he continues to push innovation and drive sales.” In addition to his London Wine Fair triumph, Ben has been honoured with an invitation to become one of the head judges at the Decanter World Wine Awards 2020 - the largest wine competition in the world. Over 16,000 wines are judged by an international panel including some of the most highly qualified and respected individuals in the wine industry. Ben will step in to cover as the Regional Chair for Tuscany which involves seven days of tasting every single wine entered from that region. Ben’s proud wife Emma, and co-owner of Bat and Bottle, commented: “Usually this position is taken by a ‘Master of Wine’ or a senior critic or writer. It is very unusual that a self-taught wine merchant is trusted to be totally impartial and reliable. It turns out that Ben’s good humour and his pure, innocent passion for wine has served him well.” In a hat trick of good news, Ben and Emma celebrate 25 years of their artisan wine merchant company this year - although their grand plans have been tailored to fit a new direction thanks to CV19. Ben said: “We are thrilled that our ethos of staying true to an unfashionably idealistic view of wine, has been recognised and helped us gradually turn Bat and Bottle into one of the country’s leading importers of Italian wines. We began with a classic kitchen table and van operation in 1994 and have jointly run the company ever since. Quite simply we specialise in importing carefully selected, sustainably farmed Italian wines. We buy directly from the farm, or cellar, and mostly from small, artisan producers, delivering wine directly to our customers’ doors. Our aim has always been and remains to help our customers enjoy a glass of well-made, delicious wine at home. The past 25 years have been an incredible journey of discovery, teamwork, love of wine and a dash of good fortune. We do not buy wines for our customers – we find customers for our wines. We try to be serious when buying but are never too serious when you are buying from us. We are humbled, honoured and thankful to have reached this 25 year landmark with the industry endorsements that the London Wine Fair award and the invitation from the Decanter World Wine Awards have brought.” Bat and Bottle are trading as usual online with a click and collect system in place. The company offer free delivery for orders of £55 or more within a 10 mile radius of Oakham. The warehouse/shop is open between 1.30 and 3.30pm until further notice, operating on a one-in-one-out basis with local deliveries made between 3.30 and 7pm. Outside of these hours, customers are invited to call 01572 759735 to arrange being met - an informal ‘Rutland by appointment’ operation proving well worth a visit for wine lovers. The diary page of the website at www.bat.wine is updated daily for customers to check that the 'shop' is open. If you would like to see the London Wine Fair Awarding Ben UKs "Online Specialist Wine Buyer of the Year" this is the link to the virtual award ceremony on Youtube: https://youtu.be/GBpuM01aIr8
We are Italian Wine Merchants and the First ever recipient of the London Wine Fair "Wine Buyers Award" for UK Online Specialist.
Bat and Bottle are Rutland’s only specialist importers of Italian wine. Truly multum in parvo, our small warehouse on Oakham Enterprise Park is packed with artisan wines. You can buy wine online from us, over the phone or by email - or you are welcome to drop in whenever we are open; we sell directly to the public and there is no minimum purchase. Our wine club was shortlisted by the IWC as one of the UK’s top two wine clubs, we have even represented UK small businesses at Downing Street in our 25 years of trading… You can be assured that though serious when we buy our wines, you will never find life is too serious when you shop with us.
More here: https://bat.wine/pages/about-us
