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Irish Times

Neighbourhood wine shops and bars are popping up everywhere. Who's behind them?

The decline of the high street has been well documented. In recent years, the suburbs of Dublin, as with many other cities, have seen a decline in traditional retail shops as consumers move online or to large shopping centres. Coffee shops and nail bars seem to benefit from changing consumer habits, but they are not alone. Another less obvious sector is the wine shop or wine bar. Over the past decade a number of independent wine shops have opened up, often in areas with more competitive rents, selling an eclectic range of wines, frequently low intervention and usually from small producers. Received wisdom has it that in order to survive, you also need to offer wine by the glass accompanied by a few nibbles. Thus you end up with part wine shop, part wine bar with links to the local community. Most of them seem to be doing very well. The originals in the genre include La Touche in Greystones, Co Wicklow, Grapevine in Dalkey, 64wine in Glasthule, Red Island in Skerries and Green Man in Terenure. Other newish wine shops in Dublin include The Wine Pair on Clanbrassil Street, Lilith in Stonybatter, Neighbourhood Wine, and Cooper's Bottleshop in Sutton and Clontarf. In addition, two older independents expanded recently, Mitchell & Son to The Vaults on Hatch Street and 64wine to Deerpark Road. [ Fancy a great wine bar with top-class nibbles? Here are 10 to head for around Ireland Opens in new window ] Many of these new shops are run by refugees from the high pressure and long hours of the restaurant business. Roger da Silva runs Pinto Wines in Drumcondra. 'I have three kids, and you can't work until four in the morning and go back at 12 the next day. I lived close to Green Man Wines in Terenure, realised there was no wine shop in Drumcondra, and just made the leap.' Da Silva trained as a sommelier in Portugal. 'I started bartending at 16 and then went on to one of the best hospitality schools in Portugal. I specialised in wine and had a passionate teacher. We are still in touch. I wanted to go to London or Paris, but I had a friend working in Dublin who urged me to come over here, telling me, 'People are very nice'. After 1½ years working in hotels and restaurants I met my wife, local to Drumcondra.' READ MORE Covid was a good thing for him, he believes, making him rethink his priorities. 'I have had amazing support from the local community from day one,' he says. He doesn't serve wine by the glass but does hold tastings every Thursday and Saturday. 'People know each other and see it as a night out. We are niche and people get that.' His palate has a preference for European wines, plus Lebanon and South Africa. 'Of course I am Portuguese, so we have 100-150 Portuguese wines. Maybe I am trying to be niche within a niche!' Seán Gargano of MacCurtain Wine Cellar Bottles at MacCurtain Wine Cellar Trudy Ahern and Séan Gargano are both veterans of the Dublin restaurant scene, having worked front of house in a variety of restaurants and wine bars around the capital. Three years ago they decamped to Cork and opened MacCurtain Wine Cellar on MacCurtain Street. Both are very happy with the move, largely driven by wanting to be close to Ahern's family, but Gargano says, 'I don't think that we could have found a shopfront with a similar style and location in Dublin for anything near the cost here in Cork.' The shop has an excellent range, including many organic, biodynamic and low-intervention wines. About 70 per cent of their business is the wine bar, with customers dropping in for a glass of wine and a plate of nibbles before going on for dinner or a performance in the nearby theatre. Balázs Rakamazi of BaRossa Wines Balázs Rakamazi is a Hungarian who started out in Ireland as a chef. He became more interested in wine and tried to cook in places that stocked good wine. 'It got so wine was giving me inspiration to cook dishes. I realised there wasn't a serious representation of Hungarian wines in Ireland.' So he set up Vinifinesse, a company that imports a portfolio of great wines from central and eastern Europe. Ross Turner, meanwhile, worked in Blackrock Cellar and Mitchell & Son. 'Blackrock Cellar was my local shop,' says Rakamazi, 'so we knew each other. He has the retail experience and has all the contacts. I worked part-time in Pinto Wines to learn a bit.' The two joined forces to open BaRossa Wines, a small, very narrow shop/wine bar in Sandymount, Dublin 4. It is crammed with of fascinating wines, mainly European and not surprisingly, with a sizeable selection from central Europe and what they call the Ancient East, which includes Armenia, Georgia, Greece and more. BaRossa does operate as a wine bar but soon discovered that customers want to book in for private tastings, with up to 11 people sitting at flip-up tables that double as storage areas during the day. 'And sometimes people just pop in for a glass.' Rakamazi and Turner run regular tastings and get a great response from locals. The riesling below is one of their best-selling wines, despite costing €35. 'People try a glass and then buy a bottle to take home', says Rakamazi. Sinéad McCarthy & Paul Gartland of Fíon Eile Fíon Eile ('Another Wine') is a brand new wine shop and event space on the North Circular Road in Phibsborough, Dublin. Sinéad McCarthy and partner Paul Gartland both worked in some of Dublin's finest restaurants for many years before opting for a change. They met while working in Michelin-starred restaurant Chapter One . More recently McCarthy was wine manager in Hawksmoor , Gartland in The Greenhouse and Chapter One again with Mickael Viljanen. Prices at the light-filled spacious shop start at €13.50 and there are a few bottles under €15, but they find customers prefer to pay €20-€21.50 for an interesting bottle of wine. 'Locals here are very adventurous and want to try something different. Ninety per cent of people want recommendations,' says McCarthy. One of their first customers asked if they could have a glass of wine, so they have installed tables and chairs and are offering a changing range of wines by the glass. They hope to run classes and possibly a wine school in a large room to one side of the shop. While the shop will require long hours of work, both seem delighted that there will be fewer late nights, and they may even manage to have dinner together. Shop owners pick their favourite wines San Lorenzo, 'Il Casolare' Rosso, La Marche, Italy, Organic San Lorenzo, 'Il Casolare' Rosso, La Marche, Italy, Organic €17-€19, 13% Selected by MacCurtain: this is vibrant and juicy with seductive dark cherry and plum fruits. Enjoy cool with everything from mixed antipasti, pasta dishes, red meats or firm cheeses. From MacCurtain, Cork; 64 Wine, Glasthule; Lilith, D7; Lennox Street Grocer, D8; The Food Store, Claremorris; Rua, Castlebar MOB Lote 3 Dão Red 2021, Portugal MOB Lote 3 Dão Red 2021, Portugal 13.5%, €21 Chosen by Pinto Wines: this is a lovely medium-bodied red wine with blackcurrant and plum fruits, balanced acidity and light tannins on a dry finish. A good all-rounder, but try it alongside grilled lamb chops or medium-firm cheeses. From Red Island, Skerries; La Touche, Greystones; Higgins, D14; Pinto, D9; McHugh's, D5; MacGuinness, Dundalk; Nolan's, D3; Shiels, Malahide; Martins, D3; Leonard's, Trim; Drinkstore, D7; Redmond's, D6 La Moto 2023 Mas Foraster, Montblanc, Conca de Barbera DO, Spain La Moto 2023 Mas Foraster, Montblanc, Conca de Barbera DO, Spain 12%, €23 Fíon Eile chose this lively, easy-drinking red from the hills of Catalonia. 'Bursting with bright summer berries, strawberries and redcurrants, with a touch of dried herbs and a gentle white pepper spice,' says Sinéad McCarthy. 'Light on its feet but full of flavour.' From The Drinkstore, D7; Pinto, D9; Fíon Eile, Phibsborough; Blackrock Cellar; Searsons, Monsktown. Riesling 2021 Világi Winery Terroir Selection, Slovakia Riesling 2021 Világi Winery Terroir Selection, Slovakia 13.5%, €35 From BaRossa, a beautiful complex full-bodied riesling with rich stone fruits, a lively minerality and a long dry finish. Enjoy with all kinds of seafood, white meats and cream cheeses. From Barossa Wines, Sandymount; Pinto, D9; Martin's, D3; Delgany Wine Cottage; Cooper's Bottleshop, D13 and D3