For reasons best forgotten I recently underwent a personality test. ''Impatient but lazy'' was the general verdict, describing it as ''a troublesome combination''. My life, it seems, is spent in the grip of a Manichaean internal conflict: I want things now (or at least very soon), but can't bother myself to jump out of my chair to get them. Which makes me the ideal customer for bring-a-bottle.com.
Louisa Buller noticed a gap in the market catering to the eagerly indolent and set up her Edinburgh-based website with an emphasis on service. Delivery is in 24 hours (even I can wait that long) to most of the UK, and two to three days to the Islands, a considerable improvement on the service normally offered to Island drinkers. And, unusually, there is no extra charge for delivery to the Highlands.
Set up in mid-June the website has already had strong reviews for its layout and usability. It's possible to search for wines by grape, country, style and food match. Payment feels as secure as it gets with the Royal Bank of Scotland's credit card payment system. And useful gizmos like the ''your case'' page keep you up to date with what wines you've chosen and what they'll cost you.
The range of wine of offer is short, but sweet. Very short. All the wines are from the New World (Australia, South America, South Africa, New Zealand) and priced between #5 and #10. There are few wines that you'll find in multiples (although one or two do crop up). But on the whole they are the better lines and brands.
Louisa explains that her philosophy is based on buying wines that she likes herself. ''I know it sounds self-indulgent,'' she says, ''but I used to see offers where I liked one or two of the wines, but not all the others that came as part of the case.'' So, instead, here you can choose your own case and there are none of the bottles included just to pad out the list.
I went for a case (that, despite the fuel crisis, arrived in the promised 24 hours) containing several wines from the strongly represented McGuigan Estate, including their weighty Shareholders' Shiraz (#8.50), dinner-party favourites Black Label Red and Chardonnay (both #5.00) and a refreshingly different Bin 6000 Verdelho (#6.50). A white and a pink sparkler from Lindauer in New Zealand (each #7.50) are ideal for impromptu celebrations, while silky Ninth Island Pinot Noir (#7.99) makes for more intimate evenings in.
Among other interesting bits we found were the distinguished Constantia Uitsig Chardonnay Reserve (#8.50) and the bitter berries of Clos Malverne Cabernet Shiraz (#6.50) from South Africa. Pepperwood Grove Cabernet Franc (#5.99) is a welcome outing for a little-favoured varietal, whilst Las Casas del Toqui Semillon (#5.50) is good value for this increasingly fashionable variety and Weinert Carrascal White (#6.99) is a superb food-complementing Sauvignon/Chenin blend.
Finally, this weekend net-heads and wine collectors alike might enjoy a visit to www.phillips-auctions.com before Monday's sale of five bottles of Heidsieck Monopole Vintage 1907, recovered from the wreck of the Jonkoping, sunk in November 1916 in the Baltic by a German submarine. The ''aromas of toast and roasted lamb'' will cost bidders
#850-#1200 a bottle, which can be viewed on the website.
bring-a-bottle.com
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