Vinappris Wine Shopping Channel  Add/Read Comments

Now the sales patter may grate and differs little from the dirge spouted for jewelry, clean products or whatever rubbish they try and flog. (You can perhaps tell I am not a fan of home shopping channels).

But the two presenters I have just been studying actually appear to know what they are talking about. Get through the 'selling out now' and 'how do we offer it at this low price?' and a few snippets about the producer, region or vineyard are provided. Quite entertainingly provided at that. They pull a cork, talk like they have actually been to the vineyard and, poor quality sound quality and live studio stumbling apart, do appear quite passionate about the bottle they are selling.

There is some scrolling red text along the bottom of the screen that I really couldn't decipher - health warnings perhaps or an 'over 18's' message perhaps.

They promise 5 working day delivery and offer a price promise of a double refund of the difference if you find the wine cheaper elsewhere. The accompanying website, where orders can also be placed, lists 155 wines although 300 or 400 is the eventual aim. Registered web-site users are encourage to enter their own wine tasting notes and scores for the wines they buy.

The mixed case of six - their Red Hot Spicy Offer - discussed during my viewing included a Ravenswood Lodi Zinfandel 2004, St Hallet Shiraz Grenache 2005 and a Chateauneuf Les Galets Roules 2005. Pricing had me a little confused though. The TV price stated £67 down from £92 but the on-line price clearly states £67 down form £108.

Vinappris states, even though they have just launched, that they were aiming at an average bottle price of £5/£6 but have found £8/£9 is turning out to be the norm. Shopping channels are notoriously difficult to make a profit from so it will be interesting to see how Vinappris develops and if it lasts.