Nearly 700 venue owners and staff descended on the Assembly Rooms in Edinburgh last month for Inverarity Morton’s annual Explore. Taste. Love. wine show.
This year’s show – the biggest yet, both in terms of attendees and the 74 wine suppliers who attended to showcase their wares – included masterclasses as well as over 500 wines from across the world.
Speaking to SLTN at the event wine buyer Guy Chatfield said the wide range of wines – many of which were new to the show this year – reflected the company’s commitment to never resting on its laurels and ensuring its range is always relevant to the market.
“There’s more investigation into indigenous grapes. There’s more premiumisation.
“We’re investigating new things, we’re looking at the market, but understanding that our bedrock is supplying a great glass of wine to our customers at the price that they want.”
Chatfield said Inverarity works in partnership with its customers to find the best products for its customer base, at a time when they are under huge economic pressures.
The masterclasses, such as the More than Malbec session hosted by Chatfield along with the team from Rio Brazilian Steakhouse, are also designed to show how new and perhaps lesser-known wines (in this case the range of quality wines available from South America) can work in venues.
“In the very distant past we’ve had MWs (masters of wine) come to speak, which is brilliant, but what I want to do for our business is make it approachable for people,” Chatfield told SLTN.
“Because if you look at the vast majority of people who drink wine, they’re not interested in the terroir of Chablis or the soil of Bordeaux.
“They want to see something that’s live and real and applicable to their restaurant, their business.
“It’s making it relevant and not elitist. It’s making it for our customers and something they can take away as an idea.”
Attendees at the show were able to consult an AI booth, which provided advice on food matching for specific wines as well as the location of wines and producers at the show.
They could also access an app in order to keep track of the wines they had tasted and rate them.
The highest rated wines were a Pinot Blanc from Alsace from Lorentz Crustaces, Elefante Pisador – an orange wine from Pablo Fallabrino in Uruguay – and Mar de Pahla Red – a syrah and touriga nacional blend from Quinta de Chocapalha in Portugal.
The highest-rated suppliers were Domaine Bonnard from Sancerre, Maison Albert Bichot from Burgundy and Gustave Lorentz from Alsace.
Inverarity Morton commercial director Ian Cumming said the show evolves every year to keep it interesting for attendees.
“The premise doesn’t really change,” said Cumming, “in terms of it being about coming along and tasting great wine, but we just try and add something a bit more interesting every year.”
