A wine merchant who blindly tasted a glass of different wines every mile during the London Marathon says he feels “honored” after his challenge went viral on social media as he surpassed his fundraising target.
Tom Gilbey, nicknamed “The Wine Guy,” tasted 25 glasses of wine during the race, pausing every mile to guess the drink’s grape variety, country of origin and year.
One of his videos on TikTok has been viewed more than 3.2 million times. He took his first drink at around 9.30am shortly after the game started.
Gilbey said he was aiming to raise £2,000 for the Sobel House hospice charity in Oxford, which cared for his mother in her final days. His fundraising now exceeds £13,000.
On his JustGiving page, he said he was running the London Marathon “to raise funds for the wonderful team at Sobel House Hospice who looked after and cared for my dear mum in her final days” and that he hoped “Don’t die over this.”
Gilbey, who is based in London, said the marathon was “going really well” and that he was motivated by tasting wine after every mile.
He said that of the 25 glasses of wine sampled, seven were correct, two-thirds of the nine were correct, one-third of the five were correct, and four were completely correct. mistake.
He finished the race in 4 hours and 41 minutes, including a stop for a drink. “This is my first time going through this absolutely crazy experience and I feel very privileged,” he said.
“It’s incredible and great because that’s what it’s all about. It’s a great charity and they are one of many hospices doing their best to make a huge difference.
Wines range from petrol station bottles, mini bottles and cans to £40 Barolos.
“It’s funny because when you’re overtaken by refrigerators and Bactrian camels, you can get really frustrated unless you know there’s a good glass of wine around the corner and some friendly faces to support you,” he said.
Gilbey, who runs a wine business and events, said he took only small sips or spit them out after tasting to avoid feeling drunk.
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“If they’re good, I’ll probably swallow it, if they’re bad, they’re on their way,” he said. “I think the pain of running left me feeling nothing but the urge to finish the race. I thought it was a great way to stay sane.
After finishing the race, he celebrated his achievement with a glass of champagne.
Gilbey said: “I’m totally exhausted, totally cooked, but it was such a great day and the atmosphere was so wonderful that there are no words to describe it, so really, it didn’t matter how painful it was.”
When asked if he would take on a similar challenge again, he said: “100% no, but if you asked me if I would advise anyone else to do something like this, I would say, 100% yes.
“I think in life sometimes you get a stupid idea that resonates, but two stupid ideas rarely resonate, so I encourage everyone to come up with a stupid idea for a good cause, look See what happens.
