When I decided to create an exclusive series of wines for our friends at Oddbins that focus on the clear, crisp, vibrant flavours of the vineyard, I realised that I wanted to say thank you to all the members of the Oddbins family that made the original Bird Label such a huge success in the UK. As I thought about the various ways of saying "Thank You", it dawned on me that the best way was simply to do it in person – at every store – where I could give the Oddbins gang a chance to taste and discuss the new wines.

Oddbins has grown a lot since I did my last tour for the launch of the Bird Label Riesling, and with over 240 stores to visit, I knew I would have my work cut out for me. To make it all possible, I created the Bird Mobile – a state of the art, satellite navigated, almost all terrain, vineyard camouflaged, ambassador for a return to the simple pleasures of having fun with wine.

As you can see from these pictures, my Oddbins friends were as eager to have fun as I was! To everyone that posed with, climbed on, sat in, and played with the Bird Mobile, thank you for being such gracious hosts and good sports. I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as I had taking them.

Best Regards, Rainer

2005 Oddbins Vineyard Creatures Tour

The Vineyard Creatures Tour - Rainer’s quest to visit every Oddbins branch in the U.K. to say thank you for making the Lingenfelder Vineyard Creatures wines such a big hit in the U.K. - is rolling along nicely.

In August, Rainer and the bird-mobile travelled over 4,000 kilometers, visiting Cornwall, East Anglia, Wales, Liverpool, and even Ireland! If you would like to see pictures of Rainer at your local Oddbins branch having some fun with our Oddbins friends, select an area and browse our photo gallery.

Note: Unfortunately, the pictures from the second leg of the Tour were stolen by someone who obviously wants us to return to the dark ages of over-oaked, bland wines that lack and varietal flavour or character. But don’t worry, we will never go back! The Vineyard Creatures revolution that has ushered in a renaissance of pure vineyard flavours lives on! Wine drinkers of the world unite! You have nothing to lose but your buttery, vanilla oak flavoured alcoholic drink products! To see a momento of our struggle, click here…