Incredible new tech allows Brits to enjoy fine wines loved by celebs for a fraction of the price – but there’s a catch

ARMCHAIR wine enthusiasts can sample the greatest and most exclusive wines in the world for the first time – thanks to a revolutionary new way of bottling them in smaller quantities.

Tiny Wine, which launched this month, promises to democratise the world of ultra fine wine by finally making it accessible to people who aren’t celebrities or the super rich.

The key to their offering is tech which allows smaller 100ml bottles of legendary wine brands in optimum vintages, to be delivered to wine enthusiasts as an affordable treat – in cellar condition – straight to their front door.

The company will also be running a series of prize draws, the first of which will see a magnum bottle of renowned Pétrus 1988 guaranteed to be won and enjoyed by one lucky Brit, for just a fiver.

Pétrus is perhaps the world’s most renowned wine label – enjoyed by VIPs from John F Kennedy toasting his election win and the late Queen on her wedding day to David Beckham and even Hannibal Lecter.

It’s so iconic that Gordon Ramsay named his flagship Knightsbridge restaurant after it.

And the 1988 vintage – described as “reassuringly outstanding” by the world’s best known wine critic Robert Parker – is drinking perfectly right now.

It’s so sought after that it’s both eye-wateringly expensive – a single glass could cost you well over £1,000 – and very hard to source.

Tiny Wine have chosen it as the arresting top prize in the first of their regular draws – for which entry costs just £5.

The draw is in addition to Tiny Wine’s main offering – which is ‘tasting boxes’ of six outstanding wines in perfect vintages.

These are decanted from properly cellared full bottles into 100ml sample tubes using tech developed by world-leading wine innovator Coravin, to ensure no degradation in quality during this process.

Tiny Wine is the first company in the world to offer this level of fine and rare wine using Coravin’s new tech, directly to customers.

The six taster sample bottles are beautifully labelled, so the box looks just like a classic half case – only on a smaller scale.

All this allows the user unprecedented tasting access to wines they could never otherwise afford.

Tiny Wine is launching with the world’s most famous wine region: Bordeaux.

Three mixed taster kits are available, each covering the main grape varieties and sub-regions of the region.

Tiny Wine want to showcase the diversity of each wine region, covering a range of styles and price points.

Prices start at £72.99 for their ‘Select’ box, featuring two white and six red tubes, or you can get a £116.99 ‘Explorer’ pack containing one white and five reds.

For £374.99, their outstanding ‘Somm’ contains a tube of Margaux 1990 (full bottle is £1200).

The wine received the rare and coveted 100/100 rating from infamous wine critic Robert Parker.

Tiny Wine co-founder Harry Crowther said: “There are a lot of wine enthusiasts out there who have enormous curiosity about great wines but limited budgets – so they simply never get to taste them. Our mission is to change all that.

“We have partnered up with Coravin, who are the global leaders in wine preservation, to use their Vinitas system to fractionalise rare and expensive wines into 100ml tubes, giving wine lovers the chance to taste and gift the world’s best wines – for a fraction of the cost of a full bottle.

“The tech used ensures perfect quality – but is currently only available in high-end restaurants where the markup, even if you just want to try a single glass of something outstanding, still makes it unaffordable to 99 per cent of wine lovers.

“We are removing that barrier for the first time.

“Through our extensive network of contacts in the fine wine sector, we are sourcing the best wines in the world directly from private collectors and the Chateaux producers themselves.

“It’s tremendously exciting to be able to bring wines of this extraordinary quality, to ordinary people who have never been able to taste them before – at a fraction of the price, through their letterbox.”

Harry has worked at the luxury end of the market at Hedonism Wines in Mayfair as well as in production, completing multiple harvests in notable regions in New Zealand and Portugal.

He added: “The prize draws are another way to bring exceptional wines to everyday wine fans – it’s a bit crazy to give away a magnum of Pétrus ‘88 for a fiver, but we want people to have access to the finest wines on the planet – for as little as £5.”

Prize draws will include one-off bottles, large format (Magnums etc) and cases of fine wine.

Each prize draw will have 7 lucky runners-up who will win fractionalised samples of outstanding wine and Coravin home preservation systems.

Tiny Wine keeps all wine with respected London City Bond (LCB) at their Dinton site, the ‘fine wine hub’ of the UK, where they are stored under perfect temperature and humidity-controlled conditions.

Prize winners will be offered the chance to have their winning wines delivered to their homes, stored at LCB until wanted – or Tiny will even sell the bottle on their behalf.

Entries for the ‘Pétrus 1988 Draw’ are available now at www.tinywine.co.uk.

The draw closes at midnight on Friday January 31.

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You no longer need to buy the whole bottle to indulge in a glass[/caption]

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The ‘select’ sets start at £72.99[/caption]

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Pick and choose which wines you’d like to try[/caption]

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