Recession-Beating Lazy Lounge Shortlisted For Wine Awards

A Yorkshire wine bar is celebrating the fact that is has been in the running for two prestigious industry awards this year, an achievement which is almost unheard of for drinking establishments outside London.

 Lazy Lounge in Leeds has been included on the shortlist for Imbibe magazine’s inaugural Louis Roederer Greatest List On Earth competition, as well as being nominated in the Best Newcomer category of the Drinking Out Excellence Awards sponsored by Harpers Wine & Spirits Trade Review.

 These major accolades have come just as Lazy Lounge is celebrating two successful years in business, despite launching at the start of the recession and being located next to the ill-fated Lumiere mixed-use building development which is currently on hold; proof indeed that it has filled a gap on the Leeds scene for a bar offering a really interesting selection of wines from around the world.

 The Lazy Lounge is owned by Kristian and Nicola Jordan, whose serious but relaxed approach to wine has proved to be a big hit with the discerning drinkers of Leeds. Their globally-inspired list is the result of several years of research, during which time the couple travelled extensively and immersed themselves totally in the world of wine.

 Kristian says “Starting up any new business is a risk at the best of times – but launching Lazy Lounge in the face of the worst recession in recent years did make it that bit more challenging! Things could have been very tough, but because we’re passionate about what we’re doing here we persevered, listened to what our customers wanted and adapted our offering which enabled us to be successful. We’re absolutely thrilled to have been nominated for these two awards. It’s a great to be recognised by experts for what we’ve aimed to achieve here and makes the hard work of our whole team worthwhile”.

 The Harpers Wine & Spirits Trade Review Drinking Out Excellence Awards were held in January, recognising the restaurants, bars and pubs with the best wine and spirits offerings in the UK. Lazy Lounge was the only bar outside London to be nominated in the Best Newcomer category.

 The Louis Roederer Greatest List On Earth competition aims to identify the UK bar with the best wine list. A shortlist of 25 was drawn up from literally hundreds of entries, with Lazy Lounge being one of only two bars in the north of England selected. The winner will be announced in the autumn. Competition is fierce, and the best list will be judged by a panel made up of top buyers and sommeliers from across the wine trade. Sponsor Imbibe magazine has described Lazy Lounge’s list as “a good choice, but never intimidating” and said that it “fitted its audience perfectly”.

 Lazy Lounge has developed a loyal clientele that appreciates its chilled atmosphere, unstuffy approach to wine and knowledgeable staff. Its most appealing feature is that, thanks to the installation of a high-tech preservation system, it is able to offer a selection of over 30 wines by the glass, which gives customers the opportunity to try something new without having to buy a full bottle.

 Over the last two years the Jordans have broadened Lazy Lounge’s offering in response to customer demand by establishing monthly wine-tasting evenings and a wine club, as well as creating lunchtime and evening food menus which complement their wines. Their original aim was to make great wine accessible to the people of Leeds; not only have they achieved this but, despite the best efforts of the credit crunch to defeat them, they are now looking forward to a very bright future.

ENDS

 For further information on Lazy Lounge visit www.lazy-lounge.com

 For further information on the Louis Roederer Greatest List On Earth competition visit http://imbibe.com/article/greatest-list-on-earth

 For further information on The Harpers Wine & Spirits Trade Review Drinking Out Excellence Awards visit www.drinkingoutexcellence.co.uk

 For further editorial details please contact Angela Shepherd at CopyCat on 07885 207212 or email angela@thecopy-cat.co.uk