Waitrose to take shoppers on journey from 'supermarket to vineyard'

Waitrose is planning to take consumers on organised wine tours in an attempt to educate them about their wine range. The initiative is in conjunction with the John Lewis Partnerships's Greenbee.com travel division and will involve six buyers and wine educators who will take groups of up to 20 people to France, Italy and Spain from March 2010. During the five-day tour the groups will visit Waitrose wine suppliers and learn about food and wine matching at local restaurants. All the wines tasted will be available in-store or via Waitrose Wine Direct.

The buyers include Ken Mackay MW (Bordeaux tour), Nick Room (Rioja), Julian Brind MW, former head of wine buying (Champagne), Dee Blackstock MW (Burgundy) and Tim Syrad, a wine educator who organises tours for the John Lewis wine club (Tuscany).

The retailer will launch a promotional booklet next week, available on checkouts and in John Lewis department stores.