Independent wine shops and off-licences have been hit hard by the recession. Despite the increased excise duties, we are demanding cheaper and cheaper wine. The multiples, with their greater buying power and their ability to use alcohol as a loss leader, have prospered. Lidl and Aldi are making serious efforts to offer a range of fine wines. It cannot compare with that of our best wine shops, but it must have eaten into the turnover of just about every wine retailer.
In the UK, the independent trade went through a very rough period in the 1990’s and 2000’s. Most independents closed, and for a while high street chains seemed to dominate the market. Then many of them went to the wall faced with the might of the supermarkets and the hugely successful Majestic Wine Warehouses. Now, however, London and other population centres have seen the return of independent wine shops, many specialising in small producers who have no appeal to the multiples. A number of these are also doubling up as wine bars, and it looks as if the same is happening here too.
Some are wine shops with a serious food offering, in reality cafés – such as 64wine in Glasthule, Fallon & Byrne in Dublin, Greenacres in Wexford and the newly-opened Zamora in Cork. Outside of the cities, the Stuffed Olive in Bantry, Café Rua in Castlebar, Mannings in Ballylickey and others combine a deli, shop and café with wine. But others have simply set out tables and chairs and offer wines by the glass or bottle for consumption in house, accompanied by a few nibbles – a cheese plate, some toasted almonds or olives. The idea is to increase turnover without the expense of fitting out a kitchen.
“I always dreamt of having a wine bar” says Damian Sherlock of La Touche Wines in Greystones, “but with two huge duty increases and the recession, I needed to offer my customer something new. This allows them to drink really good wine at less than €6 a glass. Corkage is €6 which encourages them to drink better wine. We are open from 4pm to 9pm so people drop in for an aperitif before eating out, or for a nightcap afterwards. It helps me sell wine as they often buy a bottle to bring home.” Gabriel Cooney of On the Grapevine in Dalkey agrees; “the amount of wine we sell to drink on the premises is very small but many will go home with a bottle under their arm”, he says. “As a small specialist retailer down a side street, we have to innovate all the time. This has really worked well; we have lots of new customers coming in, asking if we are new – 15 years after we opened!” Possibly the longest in the field is Sheridan’s in Galway which offers their own excellent selection of fish, cheese and cured meats with their equally good range of wine.
Recently, David Whelehan opened Whelehan Wines on the site of the Silver Tassie pub in Loughlinstown. In addition to a large wine shop (stocked with a wonderful selection of wines) there is a café serving wine, craft beer and coffee. “It is an important part of the shopping experience”, says Whelehan; “We afford it the same care and attention that we do in sourcing our wines. We are unequivocally a wine store though, sourcing over 70 per cent of our wines directly from the producer. Food takes up 500 sq ft of our 3,500 sq ft store.”
Mitchell & Son has long offered wine and snacks in their Glasthule shop, but this has taken on an extra dimension in their new outlet in Avoca Kilmacanogue, where you can buy a plate of cheese, charcuterie, sushi, or a Poulet Bonne Femme sandwich to eat with your glass of wine. It is going well, according to Robert Mitchell; “it could be someone looking for a glass of Prosecco (for €4) as an appetizer before lunch in Avoca, or a post-lunch plate of cheese. We have hikers finishing off a walk, husbands whose wives have gone shopping, and friends meeting up to share a glass together.”
How do customers feel about walking into a wine shop and finding it full of people drinking wine? Go into La Touche or On the Grapevine most Friday evenings and they are buzzing. “People really enjoy it” says Sherlock, “our snug tends to keep things separate anyway, but people love the social aspect.” I am not sure what to call them, but it looks as if the wine shop/bar is here to stay.
