Guess the code to a safe and you could win the keys to London wine store Shop Cuvee

Win a SHOP! Wine store puts its 2021 Beaujolais Nouveau in a safe – and if customers guess the code they get the samples AND the keys to the business

  • The stunt was dreamt up by Brodie Meah, co-founder of Shop Cuvee in London
  • The Beaujolais Nouveau samples are inside safes in the brand’s two outlets
  • The publicity stunt is being billed as a ‘modern-day sword in the stone’ 


The co-founders of a wine shop in London have put a remarkable prize up for grabs – their business.

Brodie Meah and Max Venning are co-founders of renowned Shop Cuvee, and are willing to hand over the keys to the customer that correctly guesses the code to either of the safes they’ve put in each of the brand’s two stores.

The stunt – billed as a ‘modern-day sword in the stone’ – was dreamt up by Brodie in a bid to generate publicity around this year’s stock of Beaujolais Nouveau wine. Shop Cuvee’s samples for this year, which arrived four days ago, are inside the safes and are part of the prize.

Brodie Meah and Max Venning are co-founders of Shop Cuvee, and are willing to hand over the keys to the customer that correctly guesses the code to either of the safes they’ve put in each of the brand’s two stores (the safe at the Bethnal Green outlet is above)

Shop Cuvee's Beaujolais Nouveau samples are in the safes. Retailers are forbidden from selling each year's batch before the third Thursday of November

Shop Cuvee’s Beaujolais Nouveau samples are in the safes. Retailers are forbidden from selling each year’s batch before the third Thursday of November

There is a very strict embargo surrounding the selling of Beaujolais Nouveau, with retailers forbidden to sell each year’s batch to customers before the third Thursday of November.

Brodie, 33, said the logic behind the stunt was that by letting a customer get their hands on Beaujolais Nouveau early would mean they’re no longer fit to run their business.

And so it would only be right to give it all up.

But are the pair being serious? Would they really hand over the keys?

Brodie told MailOnline Travel: ‘We’ve done the maths. There’s a one in ten million chance that someone’s going to guess it. I’m a gambling man… We would give up the business. I’m a man of my word. We’re hoping that we don’t have to. We’re nervous. But we will.’

Brodie, 33, said the logic behind the stunt was that by letting a customer get their hands on Beaujolais Nouveau early would mean they're no longer fit to run their business. And so it would only be right to give it all up

Brodie, 33, said the logic behind the stunt was that by letting a customer get their hands on Beaujolais Nouveau early would mean they’re no longer fit to run their business. And so it would only be right to give it all up

And how have customers reacted?

Brodie said: ‘For such a stupid idea, it’s been pretty well received. But some of them think we’re crazy.’

Beaujolais red wine comes from the Beaujolais region in France and is made from the Gamay grape.

'The Beaujolais Nouveau wines we're serving are delicious. So absolutely worth the wait,' said Brodie

‘The Beaujolais Nouveau wines we’re serving are delicious. So absolutely worth the wait,’ said Brodie

Beaujolais Nouveau is the very first wine released from the newest vintage and is normally bursting with fruit.

Publicity around its release was first generated in the 1950s when producers ‘raced’ to get it to the shops in Paris. The fervour and anticipation has been ramped up over the decades and the arrival of Beaujolais Nouveau is now a major calendar event for wine-lovers.

Its reputation taste-wise in past decades, however, was not great. Brodie said that it was seen as cheap plonk back in the 80s, for instance – ‘but there’s been a renaissance’.

‘The Beaujolais Nouveau wines we’re serving are delicious. So absolutely worth the wait,’ he said.

Max is also the co-founder of legendary London bar Three Sheets, currently ranked the world’s 34th best bar.

Shop Cuvee’s Beaujolais Nouveau this year costs £19 a bottle. Its two stores, which also sell cocktails and craft beer, are at 177B Blackstock Road, N5, and 250A Bethnal Green Rd, E2.   

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk