Source: Benchmark Drinks

Botham launched the club at an event in London this week

The Sir Ian Botham Wines brand is launching its own direct to consumer wine club showcasing independent wineries from around the world, and plans to expand into spirits.

It will offer a mixed dozen of the cricketer’s branded bottles and wines from small, independent wineries, delivering four times a year (charging £95 with each delivery). Botham will host a yearly tasting for subscribers.

“This is about small quantities, but great quality with a genuine story behind it,” said Paul Schaafsma, MD of Benchmark Drinks, which distributes the Botham brand. “Sir Ian is travelling around the world and coming across small wineries that have fantastic wines but no route to market.”

An Ian Botham Gin is also poised for launch, The Grocer can reveal.

Called 22 Yards, it is a London dry produced for Botham by West Cork Distillers. An initial run of 1,981 bottles is set to hit the market over coming weeks.

The wine brand has won listings in Waitrose, Morrisons and Berry Bros & Rudd since its 2018 launch, and claims it is on target to sell a million bottles globally by the end of 2019.