A wine drive-thru has opened in Norfolk to serve customers in need of their favourite tipple during the coronavirus outbreak.
Matthew Harowven runs Tap and Tipple, a wine delivery service which operates out of horse box which has wine taps – similar to beer taps – installed.
Mr Harowven said he got the idea from the nearby Grain Brewery, which launched a drive-thru service earlier in the week.
He said: “With a lot of people trying not to go out and into shops I thought it’d be a good idea to launch this service where people can just drive up and order, and have the wine in reusable bottles put into their boots.
MORE: ‘People still want beer’ – Coronavirus prompts brewery to launch a ‘drive-thru’ for ale-lovers
“We did the first one yesterday and it was okay. We did our usual wine delivery day on Thursday to all our customers though so a lot of our regulars wouldn’t have needed any yet.”
Mr Harrowven delivers wine to his customers in a similar way to a milkman – dropping it off in reusable bottles and picking the empty bottles up.
He said: “A couple of our customers are asking us if we can drop off other items so I’m talking to other businesses and farm shops to see if that’s something we can do.”
The wine drive-thru will be held at the Tap and Tipple site in Rectory Road, just outside Gissing.
The drive-thru opened on Saturday night from 5pm to 8pm, and again on Sunday.
Further dates and times will be announced via social media.
MORE: Personal finance: What happens if I can’t pay my car PCP because of coronavirus?It comes as the Norwich-based company Naked Wines announced it would not be taking further orders for the time being.
A spokesman for the business, which is based on Chapelfield Road, said: “We’ve seen a surge in orders meaning delivery times are much longer than usual. Given that the current situation is changing so rapidly we’ve made the decision to temporarily pause accepting any more orders while we work through existing ones.
“We hope you and your loved ones stay safe and healthy during this time. Keep smiling, wash your hands, drink wine. We are all in this together, and we will get through it together.”
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