You say Tiny Wine is all about “reimagining how wine is shared, sampled and sold” — what is it you are doing?
At Tiny Wine, we're building a new distribution model for the wine industry — one that embraces modern consumption habits, digital content, and sustainability.
Working in partnership with Coravin, we use its Vinitas technology to deliver premium 100ml glass tubes to 'fractionalise' fine wines, giving producers and suppliers a smarter, more efficient way to share their wines with trade and consumers alike. We use Ecosip our logistics partner to provide expert support to bottle and dispatch all Tiny Wine orders.
Tiny Wine is all about giving fine wine producers and merchants the chance to give consumers and customers the chance to taste wines that are usually not available in sampling sizes
It’s about unlocking access, reducing waste, and creating new sampling and sales opportunities — from influencer unboxings and tastings with key members of the wine trade to curated subscription experiences.
We saw a lot of test tube tasting kits during Covid — was that the inspiration for Tiny Wine?
Covid certainly showed the potential for sample-sized formats, but our ambition goes far beyond short-term tasting kits. Tiny Wine was inspired by what’s possible when you rethink wine distribution from first principles.
How can a £300 bottle reach not one customer but seven? How can wine sampling drive measurable digital engagement? How can we make fine wine more discoverable and shareable, without compromising quality? Our work is rooted in technology and brand partnerships, not just re-packaging wine. This technology just wasn't around. Now it is.
You are taking the tasting concept on and giving suppliers and wine producers a new way of getting their wines in front of consumers. How?
By re-imagining the sampling of full-bottle logistics, we’re making it cheaper and more targeted for producers and suppliers to get their wines into the right hands.
Through our B2B arm - Tiny Wine Trade - we help suppliers send beautifully branded tasting tubes to trade buyers, journalists, or influencers. The platform really comes into its own with more premium stock (+£10 LUC/around £13+ DPD), and it's a space where, coming from a buying background, I have seen a lot of wastage.
Tiny Wine Trade gives wholesalers the ability to get their premium wines in front of seven times more customers or leads, whilst going greener at the same time.
So from a consumer point of view, you can access a wide range of fine wines and get a chance to taste them? Any examples of the wine packages you are offering?
Tiny Wine is working with Coravin to use its technology to send out sampling kits to both the trade and consumers
Absolutely. For example, we’ve launched two prize draw campaigns, the first was for a magnum of Petrus, the second for a Jeroboam of Masseto that consumers could win for as little as £3. We’re also selling curated tasting boxes featuring legends like Sassicaia, Tignanello, Palmer and Margaux.
It’s an exciting way to taste these wines without the full price tag or the risk of opening a full bottle and the uptake has been great with positive sales from a standing start.
How involved has Coravin been in the idea and helping to structure the offer?
Coravin has been incredibly supportive. Whilst we operate independently, its been instrumental as a partner. We’re the first business globally to build a consumer-facing proposition using its Vinitas platform, and we hope we can continue to strengthen our relationship with the team.
You are also offering a B2B solution. How is that going to work?
Tiny Wine Trade helps suppliers cut sampling costs by up to 56% (depending on the value of the wine) and reach more targeted audiences. Instead of sending full bottles to individual buyers, they can now send 100ml tubes with branded inserts and digital support, making sampling more scalable.
Wholesalers can also use TW Trade to align with their marketing calendar. For example, World Malbec Day, English Wine Week and so on.
Any good examples or case studies so far?
We’re running pilots with importers as we speak. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, both in cost-effectiveness and storytelling. More on that soon.
What cost benefits are there for suppliers and producers to get involved?
One bottle can now serve seven potential customers. That’s a huge leap in ROI for sampling. You also save on shipping, reduce breakage risk, and gain marketing assets from every tube fractionalised as we can affix QR codes for tech sheets etc, directly onto the tubes, or on the underside of the packs that can link to tech sheets and any other info or marketing literature.
Financially, it's a 3-D model; initial cost saving per lead, amplified cost saving to the power of seven (seven tubes to a bottle), and then stock and revenue opportunity from bottles that you would have otherwise had to send to a lead or a buyer.
Effectively, now a case of six wines can service seven leads, whereas with traditional sampling, to service those seven leads with those same wines remotely, you'd have to send 42 bottles.
There are clearly also strong sustainability credentials with Tiny Wine?
Sampling usually means high carbon footprints and high wastage. Our format drastically reduces glass, packaging, and freight emissions. Plus, by reducing full bottle samples, we reduce the need for producers/suppliers to open and waste valuable wines for samples. It's a leaner way to operate.
Who do you think Tiny Wine is best suited for in terms of the wines and producers you most want to work with?
Tiny Wine is selling tasting packs of seven samples giving consumers the chance to taste seven different wines from a classic fine wine region
We’re best suited for producers of fine and boutique wines - those where storytelling, heritage, and quality really matter. If you have a wine that deserves to be discovered by the right audience, we want to help you make that happen.
From a supplier, wholesaler point of view, as mentioned, the financial gain really comes in at over £10 landed, meaning £13 (depending on margins) wholesale, making for a £20rrp bottle.
From this point onwards, TW Trade really starts to make sense.
For example, the £12 landed bottle sees a circa 26% saving per lead, which amplifies to approximately £152 per seven leads. Then, if you take in the stock and revenue opportunity (total cost saving per seven leads plus additional revenue from unsampled bottles to reach that many leads), the financial gain is over £700.
How are you promoting Tiny Wine and building up your profile?
Pretty much all of our sales so far have been 100% organic. We’re using a mix of social media content, strategic prize draws, and longer-form YouTube video interviews with members of the trade. We occasionally boost these content posts, which are in no way sales-driven, and from that, we are seeing traffic converting to sales online.
Our aim is to entertain and give wine enthusiasts a genuine insight into the world of wine and the influential people behind it and not just push product.
We have our ongoing 'Topjaw' style interviews with MWs, Master Somms, top wine buyers, directors and influencers, and we are just now releasing our 'Tiny Tasting' series that spotlights the efficacy of the Coravin Vinitas technology with some of the best palates around.
You also say there are lead generation and customer acquisition aspects to these competitions? How?
Tiny Wine is also running online competitions to win prestigious fine wine bottles and build up its customer leads and using interviews with leading hospitality and trade figures to drive good engaging social media content
Each competition entry is a chance to build a relationship and add to our community.
We have been running lead generation free giveaways to grow our community and build a warm audience. We collect first-party data which we then enrich with things like taste preferences and spending patterns, our funnels allow us to re-market to entrants with tailored tasting packs, offers, and more.
Are you looking to democratise fine wine and take it to a larger audience and open up more people to special wines?
Yes, 100%. Wine shouldn’t be locked behind price or tradition. We want to make the best wines in the world more approachable, affordable, discoverable, and fun - without losing their magic or quality.
You are now looking to raise money and take the business forward. Explain what you are looking for?
We’re currently raising to scale both the D2C and B2B arms of the business. Early sales are good and the traction has been encouraging, and we’re now looking for strategic investors who believe in our mission and can help us accelerate growth.
We have an investment deck and are SEIS approved, which many will know comes with benefits. This is a great, early stage to get involved, so if anyone is interested, please reach out to me.
Who is behind Tiny Wine and what are your backgrounds?
Harry Crowther, left, and his business partner in Tiny Wine Rob Ingram
I founded Tiny Wine with my business partner, Rob Ingram. I’ve worked in wine for over a decade — in production, as a consultant, educator, buyer and journalist. We have a saying at TW HQ “Insider knowledge, Outsider mindset”. I’ve seen firsthand how hard it is for great wines to reach the right audience, and that’s the problem we’re solving.
Rob has over a decade of building and scaling high-performing DTC brands. His expertise lies in digital strategy, conversion, optimisation, and customer retention. We also have experienced PR leads and CFO.
How do you hope the brand and what you offer can grow and develop in the years to come?
We want to be the go-to platform for fine wine discovery. Whether you’re a curious drinker, a top-tier supplier, or a retailer, Tiny Wine will help you taste, sample, and share fine wine in smarter ways.
What has been the biggest breakthrough so far?
Partnering with Coravin is a huge endorsement for us, and we are in advanced talks to launch a subscription platform with a major operator in the wine industry - watch this space.
The biggest challenge?
Naturally, growth and growing pains are associated with that. We're building for both D2C and B2B, which means wearing multiple hats and ensuring the platform serves both ends of the spectrum without dilution.
Anything else to say?
We believe this is an opportunity to change how wine is shared. If you love wine, or want to reach wine lovers in smarter ways come and join us. I am also very keen to partner up with regional marketing boards to help support them with their marketing activities in the UK. I believe that Tiny Wine can support these promotional pushes and amplify their reach.
* If you want to find out more about Tiny Wine then click here.
* You can follow Tiny Wine on Instagram at @tiny.wine.
* You can also contact Harry Crowther on harry@tinywine.co.uk.
