PARCHED | HOW DOES VINOMOFO WORK?

Like all good ideas, Vinomofo started as a lark between friends and, before you know it, Justin Dry (yes, real name) and Andre Eikmeier had secured funding for their vision: to entice a new generation of wine consumers by removing the “bowties and snobbery” aspect of the elitist wine traditions. Wine is drinking, and drinking should be fun!

From their Adelaide garage, they have expanded throughout Australia, then New Zealand and now Singapore. With a recent round of another A$25 mil raised, they’re not gonna just stop on our shores. They have, you might say, grape expectations.

vinomofo

So what exactly is Vinomofo? In essence it’s an online wine retailer. But in experience, it’s a lot more. They source directly from the makers, and through their buying power, are able to sell premium wines at the best prices available. Basically, as Justin Dry admits, “we’ve taken out all the middlemen and now we are the middlemen. We do it on a large scale and because we’ve had such a head start, it’s hard for competitors to challenge us.”

The wines they have are focused/curated (no more than 100+ wines in the entire range), and there’s a team of people who taste and try everything sold – if they don’t love it, they don’t’ sell it. Sounds like good ethos to me. Yes, wine is still so subjective, but they’ve at least sorted out the variety, region, vintage, style and age, and presented it in a friendly, creative way that your decision process becomes easier. By comparison, a supermarket has thousands of bottles, and seriously, where do you start?!. (I start with a quirky label, but that’s me).

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On the site you’ll see deals according to varietal, region etc. And yes, everything is by the case. There are regular flash sales and promo codes (Use “ParchedMofo” to get S$25 off, you’re welcome). But there are two things to really look out for.

The ‘Black Market’ is a selection of wines by grapes (e.g. a case Pinot Noir) whose provenence cannot be disclosed… Because industry. But trust their taste and when you order the case, you’ll be getting a set of very special and premium wines. And who doesn’t like surprises?

vinomofo wines

Another to watch is ‘Mixed Cases’, where you might get a case of 6 bottles of Euro Wonder Whites, or their selection of Love Thy Chardoneighbour (above). The deals come and go, so there’s always something new to discover, especially the Vinomofo collaborations with known winemakers like Oakridge or Penna Lane. I like the Art of War range, but again, cool label. (If you find some wines with a better price elsewhere, contact their sales team and they’ll beat it.)

And if you don’t like your order, return it for credit or full refund, that’s how sure they are of their curation. Have to admit, when I saw the hype before they launched, I was a bit skeptical. Because when it sounds too good to be true, it’s usually too good to be true. But after speaking to the gang at Vinomofo, the business model makes sense.

And the numbers don’t lie: 450,000 Mofo fans around the world, and they sell 500 cases a day. So the question is, how come when I sat around drinking with my friends, we didn’t think up this idea?!

Like this? Here’s a wine tasting lab where you can try 50+ wines

*surprised handdrawn icon by Ariel Kotzer from the Noun Project.

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