October 2011:

cleanskins.com are now on Facebook!

Friday 16th April, 2010:
"Bottoms up for cleanskins",
Financial Review article by Julie-anne Sprague.

Click on image to open larger image.

See full article, or download PDF copy, below.

If you live in Brisbane, this article "101 Ways to Save", was about local  or Australia-wide suppliers.
cleanskins.com was number 36...

34. Cheap fish and seafood: The Brisbane Fish Market at Colmslie now has a retail outlet. You don't need to buy in bulk, and you will save. Best buys vary, but savings can be as much as $10 a kilo. On this day, cooked Chinese pearl prawns were being knocked out at $16.50kg; frozen new season green banana prawns (suitable for stir fries etc) $10kg; sand crabs just $5.50 each. Raptis Fish Markets: 90 Colmslie Road, Colmslie 4170. Tel: (07) 3249 7800. Or try the stall at the Farmer's Market at South Bank first and third Saturday of each month. www.raptis.com.au.

35. Cut price organic produce: The Biological Farmers Association says consumers save up to 25 per cent by buying organic produce from markets rather than shops. Brisbane options include Northey Street Market, Northey St, Windsor, Saturday 6am-10am www.brisbaneorganicmarket.com and Mondo Organics Market, each Saturday at Hardgrave St West End 7.30am to noon.

36. Cheap wine: Consider cleanskins. Cleanskins are wines without labels and many come from top wineries. The firm www.cleanskins.com offers... might be worth a punt. There's also a money-back guarantee.

37. Cellar door bargains: When buying wines at the cellar door the same bottle can often be found cheaper at the bottle shop. The big chains tend to bargain hard, squeezing value from suppliers.

38. Cheaper supermarket bills: Avoid pre-packaged and processed foods. Unless you're earning mega bucks and your time is worth it, it makes good sense to invest in a salad spinner and wash your own lettuce, and chop your own vegies. Don't believe it? Compare prices of packaged and non-packaged goods by weight. The difference will surprise you. On this day, pre-packed bagged rocket leaves were selling at Coles for $3.49 for 70g. Loose leaves cost $15.99 a kilo.

39. Cheaper meat: The Brisbane Meat Market at Rocklea offers low prices for meat bought in bulk, such as chicken breast, $6.99/kg (over 5kg). It also has regular specials. On this day, fillet steak was on offer at a low $13.99/kg. Brisbane Markets, Sherwood Rd, Rocklea.

When it comes to wine tasting, the swirling, sniffing, sipping and spitting are all part of the decadent experience.
But then again some wines are simply too good to spit out -- that's the way it is with some cleanskins.
Whether you're after a good quaffer or a top drop to impress dinner party guests, these mystery bottles offer some of the best wine in the country at a budget price. In the past, cleanskins have only been available in boutique bottle shops, particularly down south where yuppies keep the market competitive. However, ask around and you soon learn that the quality can be variable and the choice often bewildering.

While Townsville has a reputation for lagging the southern city trends, one cleanskins merchant has found Queenslanders to be the driving force for his business.

Not to be confused with the generic term `cleanskins' (which means any wine bottled without a label), the wine from cleanskins.com is guaranteed to be a fine drop, and it's in demand.

Company manager James Horne is a self-confessed wine buff. "I wouldn't call myself an expert but I definitely like a good wine,'' he said.

He said while good wine had been sought after for centuries, the demand for cleanskins was a more recent phenomenon, with Internet marketing the most recent trend.

Launched barely a year ago, cleanskins.com is now a thriving business. "It's just gone crazy, mostly in Queensland", James said.

The reason Queenslanders are embracing cleanskins.com is a mystery, but an educated guess would be the lack of boutique bottleshops and retail outlets for such gems.

Cleanskins.com sets itself apart from other Internet cleanskin retailers with its one low price of $9 per bottle and a limited choice of five types sourced from small vineyards in the Barossa Valley, Clare Valley, McLaren Vale, Coonawarra and Margaret River.

All the guesswork is removed. Wine experts have chosen the cream of the Aussie crop, all you have to do is decide whether it's Shiraz, Cab Merlot, Bubbly or Chardonnay you want.

The cleanskin.com deal is this: you pay as little as $109 for one red, white, bubbly or mixed dozen which is delivered to your door within two weeks - that's it.

We found the service to be prompt and efficient, with delivery in less than one week, and the wine was top notch.
All up, cleanskins.com takes the guesswork out of choosing a good wine, removes the pressure to buy that is often associated with wine clubs and offers competitive buying in a convenient way.
For more information log on to www.cleanskins.com and those from North Queensland who join the free mailing list will go into the draw for a free case of wine.