September 1 • 2019 The Mail on Sunday^A
NYONE returning to the
UK from a summer trip
abroad will be cheered to
know that the wines they
enjoyed on holiday can be
bought for a good price
once they are back home.
A growing band of wine clubs
with promotional offers, reduced
costs and flexible plans offering
popular wines from overseas, are
available to help recapture a
moment of fun in the sun.
Justin Howard-Sneyd, a qualified
Master of Wine, says: ‘So many of
the countries that we like to visit for
our holidays make cracking wine.
‘It can be tricky to track down
good bottles when back in Blighty,
but the best places to look are rov-
i n g w i n e m e r c h a n t s l i k e
Laithwaite’s who are particularly
strong on Portugal, Spain and some
of today’s on-trend destinations like
Moldova and Hungary.’
Laithwaite’s and Virgin Wines
both offer flexible plans where
customers can swap bottles before
delivery if they fancy something
different from the standard selec-
tion. Plans cost from around £121
and £129 respectively, charged
every three months. However,
there are striking deals available
on first cases – with more than 50
per cent off the price, working out
at less than £5 a bottle.
Regular deliveries can also be
delayed or skipped if family
finances are under pressure, or
plans cancelled after one order.
Alternatively, you can arrange
for the wine club to get in touch
when they have good deals.
Both Laithwaite’s and VirginWines offer money-back guaran-
tees for corked bottles or those
that are simply not to a custom-
er’s taste.
Many of the clubs offer refunds
when customers aren’t happy with
a bottle. This includes The Wine
Society, which charges members a
one-off £40 to join, though this
gives £20 off first orders.
Its Wine Without Fuss plans let
members choose the frequency of
their deliveries, paying by the case
rather than for a monthly or quar-
terly membership.
Its deals cater for people who
want lower alcohol bottles, oldworld wines specifically from
France or worldwide cases.
Monthly memberships are avail-
able for people who want the soci-
ety to store their bottles too.
Meanwhile, Winebuyers is a novel
take on a wine club. It launched
just over a year ago with free mem-
bership and no minimum orders.
Customers pay the same price as
they would by going direct to the
vineyard. Suppliers pay a subscrip-
tion fee to sell their wines through
the website. The company trades
more than 50,000 wines from 40
countries. Members also get special
offers and advice from wine experts- including information about new
grape trends that often cost less
than the usual suspects, like a stand-
ard Sauvignon Blanc or a Merlot.
According to Winebuyers, Croatian
wine is the big hit of the summer
and sales increased by 144 per cent
among its members in July and
August. The country’s indigenous
grape is Plavac Mali – a full-bodied
red – which is selling well.
Travellers who returned home
from Croatia, Spain and the Pied-
mont region of Italy that borders
France have successfully sourced
wines from their trip through the
website. Founder Ben Revell says:
‘Whether you’ve been holidaying in
the Tuscan countryside or basking
in the Croatian sun, opening a bot-
tle or two you shared while on holi-
day can evoke memories taking
you right back to that moment.
‘Customers returning from their
vacations now are favouring
Croatian and Italian wines over
their usual choice of French.’
Alternatively, Naked Wines
recruits so-called ‘angels’ into its
club. These are customers who
fund their accounts with £25 a
month, to be redeemed against
future purchases. They also get a
third off orders, plus a free pre-
mium bottle every month if they
order a case of wine. Its upmarket
club option sends a box of six fine
wines every quarter for £100.
Other clubs include Wanderlust
Wine – with plans priced between
£30 and £90 a month for between six
and 12 bottles each quarter, the
option to buy a reduced-price box of
best-selling wines and ongoing dis-
counts. Customers are free to can-
cel and are refunded any unused
portion of the membership.
Online retailer Vin Cognito is also
worth a look for pay-as-you-go
wines. It has a list of ‘volcanic
wines’, including options from Ten-
erife, Sicily and the Azores.
laura.shannon@mailonsunday.
co.ukCraving a glass of that red you
found on holiday? Join the club
By Laura Shannon
PERSONAL FINANCE 103
FIRMS THAT OFFER A TASTE OF YOUR TRAVELS
CLUB DEAL COSTLaithwaite’s 12 bottles every 12 weeks £120.88 (Save £60 on first case)
The Wine Society 12-bottle case from £85 a case
NakedWines 6 bottles of fine wine a quarter £99.99
Virgin Wines 12 bottles every quarter from £128.88 (Save £69 on first case)
Winebuyers Any number of bottles from less than £10
Wanderlust Wine 6 bottles every quarter £30 a month
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PCF Bank Term Deposit – Issue 17 5 years £1,000 2.40%Marcus Online Savings Account – £1 1.50%
Shawbrook Bank Easy Access Account Issue 15 – £1,000 1.48%
Chorley BS Postal and Branch Accessible Saver – £500 1.45%
Virgin Money Double Take E-Saver Issue 11 – £1 1.43%Nationwide BS FlexDirect Current Account – £1 5.00%
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or term deposit AER allowed Savers can put £20,000 into
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BEST RATES FOR
YOUR CASH ISACharter Savings Bank Easy access £5,000 1.44% Yes
Shawbrook Bank Easy access £1,000 1.43% Yes
Virgin Money Easy access £1 1.43% Yes
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Hodge Bank 5 years £1,000 2.00% YesCoventry BS Age 18 £1 3.60% Yes
NS&I Age 18 £1 3.25% Yes
TSB Bank Age 18 £1 3.25% Yes
Darlington BS Age 18 £1 3.25% Yes
Tesco Bank Age 18 £1 3.15% YesJUNIOR CASH ISAsVARIABLE RATE CASH ISAsSource: FAIRFXAustralia
Canada
Czech Rep
Egypt
Eurozone
Hungary
Iceland
Mexico
Norway
Poland
South Africa
Switzerland
Thailand
Turkey
UAE
USdollars
dollars
koruny
pounds
euros
forint
kronur
pesos
kroner
zloty
rand
francs
baht
lire
dirhams
dollars1.765
1.576
27.68
19.17
1.081
354.0
143.2
23.39
10.79
4.685
18.12
1.173
36.13
6.785
4.353
1.193The rates shown are
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Coventry BS 2.25% Fixed to 30/9/24 90% £999 Yes £654.20
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HSBC 1.34% Base rate +0.59% for 2 years 60% £999 None £588.69
HSBC 2.09% Base rate +1.34% for 2 years 90% £999 None £642.37
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BUY-TO-LET MORTGAGES
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rate Type and duration loan-to-value Fee penalty costNOTICE ACCOUNTSFIXED-RATE BONDSCharter Savings Bank 95-day Notice – Issue 25 95 days £5,000 1.81%
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