Partner Guidance
Thank you for agreeing to partner with the Horspath Wine Club.
Below is explanation of the format of each tasting and how we work with partners.
The club runs for 9 months of the year, avoiding January and the summer months of July and August.
Partners present at most tastings, but we do sometimes have a member host.
The format of the event is a face-to-face presentation of wines, based on the topic of the night, in the form of a two-hour tasting, with the talk-track consisting of some history of the wines, regions and growers, plus some reasoning for their inclusion.
Cheese & biscuits is also provided by the club for each tasting.
The idea is that we, the club, buy the wine for use at the tasting from the partner. As part of their presentation, the partner then gets the opportunity to sell more wine to the members and guests. The club does not sell wine itself and does not get involved in any commercial dealings between a partner and the members.
Registration for each tasting commences 3-4 weeks before the event. Members only pay if they register. Today, the group consists of around 70 members. In addition to members, 25% of each tasting often consists of guests and non-members trying out the club.
The number of registrants each month is usually approaching 40 members and guests.
For each tasting we seek to include six wines, with one being a sparkling wine and the rest being a mix of whites, reds, rosé etc.
Additionally, we often include a seventh wine, usually a fortified wine or something to finish off the evening.
This inclusion is dependent on the how the budget is spent and what the presenter wishes to include in order to provide a great tasting for the members.
Calculations are based on multiples of 10 - being the smallest number of members that makes a tasting viable.
The maximum wine budget for 10 people should be less than £170.00 max.
On this basis, 10 attendees and an even price for each wine, results in a maximum unit budget of £24 per bottle.
It is rare that we hit this ceiling, but it’s important for you to be aware of the constraint.
We then multiply the count depending on how many people register.
As an example, for the last 4 monthly tastings we have had over 40 people registered each time, meaning 4 bottles of each wine and 8 sparkling wines - a total of 28 bottles. The wine budget for each of these events was £680.00
Once registrations are clearer (usually one week before the event), we determine if we need more, or less, wine. For example, if we had 14 attendees and had 1 bottle of each, we would be fine. But, if we go over 4 (i.e. 15 registrants), then we usually add another bottle.
We seek to buy this wine from the partner at whatever discount they are kind enough to provide, and on the night we would hope for a similar incentive for the members. Of course, the greater the discount, the more budget is available for the inclusion of better wines and, the more chance that people will buy on the night.
To provide some guidance, in our first tasting of the year, with 42 members present, the reseller sold a total of 210 bottles.
when people buy from a partner, the club does not get involved in the commercial agreement. The partner would work with the member directly for payment. Once all orders are taken, all bottles are delivered to my location for members to collect, making transportation costs less for the partner.
The group is very varied in terms of taste, but they are now well versed in establishing value for money. When they do like wines, they are generally quite spontaneous on the night. They do like a personal touch. They warm to people that have personal experience of the region and winemakers.
My hope is that they receive you well, enjoy the wines, buy generously, and then want you back again another time.
What I will need from you one week before the event are whatever slides you wish to show. We use PowerPoint. The venue houses a good quality projector and I will set everything up for you on my pc before we get there. We have our own glasses and will have a new glass per wine, so if you want them to keep a small amount of a wine to compare with another, that’s easily done. We also have sherry glasses and shot glasses, should they be preferred.
If you have any questions at all, please get in touch via WhatsApp or email, and thank you again for partnering with our group.
Below is explanation of the format of each tasting and how we work with partners.
The club runs for 9 months of the year, avoiding January and the summer months of July and August.
Partners present at most tastings, but we do sometimes have a member host.
The format of the event is a face-to-face presentation of wines, based on the topic of the night, in the form of a two-hour tasting, with the talk-track consisting of some history of the wines, regions and growers, plus some reasoning for their inclusion.
Cheese & biscuits is also provided by the club for each tasting.
The idea is that we, the club, buy the wine for use at the tasting from the partner. As part of their presentation, the partner then gets the opportunity to sell more wine to the members and guests. The club does not sell wine itself and does not get involved in any commercial dealings between a partner and the members.
Registration for each tasting commences 3-4 weeks before the event. Members only pay if they register. Today, the group consists of around 70 members. In addition to members, 25% of each tasting often consists of guests and non-members trying out the club.
The number of registrants each month is usually approaching 40 members and guests.
For each tasting we seek to include six wines, with one being a sparkling wine and the rest being a mix of whites, reds, rosé etc.
Additionally, we often include a seventh wine, usually a fortified wine or something to finish off the evening.
This inclusion is dependent on the how the budget is spent and what the presenter wishes to include in order to provide a great tasting for the members.
Calculations are based on multiples of 10 - being the smallest number of members that makes a tasting viable.
- We allow 10 servings per bottle.
- For sparkling wine we allow 6 servings per bottle.
The maximum wine budget for 10 people should be less than £170.00 max.
On this basis, 10 attendees and an even price for each wine, results in a maximum unit budget of £24 per bottle.
It is rare that we hit this ceiling, but it’s important for you to be aware of the constraint.
We then multiply the count depending on how many people register.
As an example, for the last 4 monthly tastings we have had over 40 people registered each time, meaning 4 bottles of each wine and 8 sparkling wines - a total of 28 bottles. The wine budget for each of these events was £680.00
Once registrations are clearer (usually one week before the event), we determine if we need more, or less, wine. For example, if we had 14 attendees and had 1 bottle of each, we would be fine. But, if we go over 4 (i.e. 15 registrants), then we usually add another bottle.
We seek to buy this wine from the partner at whatever discount they are kind enough to provide, and on the night we would hope for a similar incentive for the members. Of course, the greater the discount, the more budget is available for the inclusion of better wines and, the more chance that people will buy on the night.
To provide some guidance, in our first tasting of the year, with 42 members present, the reseller sold a total of 210 bottles.
when people buy from a partner, the club does not get involved in the commercial agreement. The partner would work with the member directly for payment. Once all orders are taken, all bottles are delivered to my location for members to collect, making transportation costs less for the partner.
The group is very varied in terms of taste, but they are now well versed in establishing value for money. When they do like wines, they are generally quite spontaneous on the night. They do like a personal touch. They warm to people that have personal experience of the region and winemakers.
My hope is that they receive you well, enjoy the wines, buy generously, and then want you back again another time.
What I will need from you one week before the event are whatever slides you wish to show. We use PowerPoint. The venue houses a good quality projector and I will set everything up for you on my pc before we get there. We have our own glasses and will have a new glass per wine, so if you want them to keep a small amount of a wine to compare with another, that’s easily done. We also have sherry glasses and shot glasses, should they be preferred.
If you have any questions at all, please get in touch via WhatsApp or email, and thank you again for partnering with our group.
