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Any chance of getting Sebastian Payne to take part? I know there’d be plenty of questions relating to his current role as buyer of Italian wines, but there’s a wealth of wine knowledge to tap into there.
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I’d like an ama with a member of the Web team, lots of questions there!
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I think a renowned producer with a good relationship with the society - Someone who makes an exhibition range etc… it could be an AMA + a live tasting with their bottle
Edit: This could be a Rhone producer, hint hint 
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Marcel would be my No 1 pick, without doubt.
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That’s just what I was thinking but never got round to posting!
Now this takes it to a new level 
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I think getting paddy mcguiness to host a ‘take me out’ wine edition with 20 wine makers whittled down to just one would seal that.
“let the lasses, see your glasses!!”
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Toby’s AMA coincided with the burgundy en primeur offering and he was asked a lot of questions about the wines, so would it not be a good idea that whenever there is a major en primeur offering the buyer involved does an AMA on it. As the Bordeaux offer is open at the moment, it’s Tim’s turn to step up and explain / expand upon his choices.
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@wineintowater Absolutely! We tried but unfortunately Tim’s away on buying trips for most of the duration of the offer so it wasn’t possible this time - but we’ll be bringing him along for an AMA soon! 
A post was merged into an existing topic: Invitation to AMA: New Zealand wines with Sarah Knowles MW [20th July]
Did you want me to add this question to Sarah’s AMA topic so she can answer it next week or was this just a general wondering for a future AMA? 
thanks!Disappointed to see the Taittinger 2012 which I bought from the WS cheaper at Lay & Wheeler.
Nuff said, just disappointed that they could sell it cheaper to their customers and make a profit than the WS could to their members when “profit” was not our primary driver.
Lesson learnt, will not assume or trust…check elsewhere first!?!
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We’re not always cheapest, unfortunately - offering the wines we truly believe in at the best possible price is more nuanced than that. It’s more complicated than I can explain on a Saturday night but I’ll try and get a better explanation for you when I’m back in the office - just didn’t want to leave this unanswered.
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You took the time to answer my criticism, so 11/10 for that.
I look forward to your response.
so… when is the AMA with Marcel OW?
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Now that IS a good question?!?
Hiya @Taffy-on-Tour,
I’ve had a chat with our Merchandising team to get you some extra info about why we’re not always the cheapest.
The short answer is: that isn’t the primary aim of our pricing policy. Here’s an excerpt from our website about it:
Our pricing policy
While a Plc might use all manner of methods, such as discounting and advertising, to tempt its customers to buy more, we avoid such tactics. We aim for everyday low pricing and avoid the hype associated with a ‘hard sell’. From our analysis of members’ buying behaviour and analysis of prices across our key competitors, we know that members are very sensitive to prices and margins.
While we can’t always be cheapest (but very often are) we do always try to be in the lowest quarter of the market. But we can’t control what other retailers do - some might price a wine as a loss leader - we wouldn’t do that. On other occasions, a retailer might only have a small stock which they’ll price to clear. That’s just two examples of many!
That said, if we do spot any occasions where a retailer is selling a wine for a lower ‘everyday’ price i.e not an offer, we do like to hear about it and will make an effort to negotiate with our suppliers so we can be more competitively priced in future. I’ll let the guys know about this in case it fits into that category!
Hope this is a better explanation than my rushed Saturday response!
As for Marcel, @szaki1974 - he’s definitely top of our list of AMA candidates but we’ll need to check his availability… we’ll keep you updated!
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When is the next AMA?
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Good question! I’m just finalising details now - it’s a different format to usual… but I hope you’ll all like it! Should be at the end of this month. 
Will confirm later today hopefully!
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I’d like to hear from technical and operational staff. Karen, the head of IS would be an interesting one with all the plans for the new database and web systems she has. And people related to warehousing, ordering etc. Find out about the practicalities of running TWS, I’d be fascinated!
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