Wine bars appear to be springing up everywhere (which is no complaint) but an actual wine shop serving good food? That’s a bit more of a novelty. Here are five wine shops worth checking out that are shops first and foremost, and incidentally happen to serve good food …
MacCurtain Wine Cellar, Cork
A family-run, independent wine shop that doubles as a wine bar in the evenings, MacCurtain Wine Cellar is owned and operated by Trudy Ahern and Sean Gargano, both of whom have previously had lengthy careers in the restaurant industry; Trudy as a restaurant manager, Sean as a sommelier, drinks buyer and bar manager. Established in Cork’s Victorian quarter in 2022, MacCurtain Wine Cellar has proven a hit among locals and visitors alike and is the perfect pit stop to pick up a bottle of excellent wine and enjoy a nibble or two while doing so. The short menu of sharing plates and light snacks is designed to accompany a glass of wine and is created using the best produce Cork has to offer. www.maccurtainwine.ie
64 Wine, Glasthule, Dublin
64 Wine really has it all going on. A wine shop with an excellent selection of over 1,300 wines, there is also a range of food to buy from the deli, plus a selection of Irish cheese and charcuterie to pick up and take home. The in-house café serves breakfast Monday to Saturday and on Thursday to Saturday evenings, it morphs into a place to enjoy a glass of wine and some delicious food such as Wild Atlantic prawns on toast or pork rillettes. There are occasional pop-ups too, such as the upcoming oyster festival on September 1 or the tempting Burgundy wine and food tasting on September 11. www.64wine.ie
Ely Wine Store, Maynooth, Kildare
Primarily a wine shop, Ely Maynooth is located on the main street, just beside the Carton Avenue walk to Carton House Estate. The wine shop also operates as a wine bar and café with an intimate dining room on the first floor where breakfast, lunch, dinner and weekend brunch can be enjoyed. Choose any one of the 400 wines on sale to enjoy there or bring home with a standardised corkage fee of €15, regardless of bottle price. www.elywinebar.ie
Green Man Wines, Terenure, Dublin 6
An independent wine store, on weekend evenings, Green Man Wines (Thursday to Saturday), throws open the doors to the wine bar and it certainly appears to have tongues wagging – in the best possible way. The sample menus are more in the realm of high end restaurant than wine shop snacks. Think roast courgette with miso dressing, cured egg yolk and breadcrumbs and grilled squid with ajo blanco, chilli and coriander. There is a nice selection of wines available by the glass or bottle, plus a couple of aperitifs and non-alcoholic options. www.greenmanwines.ie
Whelehans Wine, Loughlinstown, Dublin 18
You could easily lose focus when visiting Whelehans Wine with distractions aplenty but up until now, food wasn’t one of them. Yes, the lovely Eleven Restaurant is upstairs, but if your mission is wine buying, the recent launch of Iciar (of Frascati Shopping Centre fame) is a distraction indeed. Rarely does a pairing as perfect as cheese and wine evolve but I think we can all agree, it’s a doozy. There are signature cheese boxes, hot coffee, fresh French bread, croissants, patisserie and sandwiches all for the taking. While shopping. For wine. www.whelehanswines.ie www.iciar.ie