Accolade Wines has launched an online direct-to-consumer retail service to meet increasing demand for its premium Hardys wines.

The Hardys 1853 Club website launched last week with 13 wines available by the bottle. These range from £8.99 for Hardys Signature range to £150 for the Winemakers Rare Release 2008. Members can sign up for notification of new allocations of rare and premium wines from its collection, and the first chance to buy direct from the website. Membership is free, with delivery at £7.99 or free for orders over £50.

“There are a number of premium Hardys wines that come in very small allocations and can be difficult to buy,” said a Hardys spokeswoman. “We wanted to reward people to seek out top-end wines,” she said, adding that the service enabled it to communicate directly with consumers. Accolade has set up a dedicated warehouse and pickers to process orders at its Bristol bottling plant.

Drink suppliers already offering direct to consumer services include Diageo and Pernod Ricard, which both sell spirits online in the UK.

Topics