Before you spend a lot of money on wine, why not taste it first? Joe Breen tries out the pay-as-you taste offerings of Enowine
Yvonne Connolly is dressed up for the birthday party. It's a celebration and lots of customers and friends are starting to mill around the sleek, impressive, Monkstown premises of Enowine, of which she is managing director. She and her husband, James, are all smiles. The birthday they are celebrating is that of Enowine itself, which they opened a year ago with a promise to deliver a new concept in wine-tasting and buying in Dublin.
One senses that it has been tough going at times, though both Connolly and her wine consultant Richard McMahon are in buoyant form. Asked have they built up a steady trade, she answers: "Yes, we have. But it is still very early days. It takes a long time for people to get know about you. But we have our website and we deliver free throughout Ireland."
"What we are very pleased about is that whereas at one end we are the Dublin wine-tasting centre, where people can come in and taste top Bordeaux and expensive Italians, at the other end we are also the corner shop, the off-licence for local people who do come in and use the system, but also walk in, pick up a bottle of wine and walk out [not before paying, of course - this is Monkstown]." McMahon says.
"The system" is a major wine-tasting operation that was brought over from Italy. It holds 104 wines, all of which can be "tasted" for a sum that depends on the wine being tasted. Customers buy a card which gives them credit for €10, €20 or more. They simply slip the card into the chosen slot, select the desired wine and - hey, presto! The system operates in the same way as James Nicholson Wines's pub wine-dispensing system - which was featured here recently - by covering the exposed wine with nitrogen and thus keeping it fresh.
By offering customers an opportunity to "taste" such a large number of wines, Enowine provides the platform for them to make personal judgments before they decide to buy. Staff are on hand should they need help. "People love to be able to taste wine," says Connolly, "and as a result they will buy more of it because they know that they like it. We've had situations where we've had wine on the shelves that just wouldn't move at all and then as soon as we put it on tasting, it sells." The wines on "tasting" are rotated regularly.
Connolly, a former financial services executive with retail drinks experience in her blood (her father ran a Monaghan drinks company, and Enowine has a shop in Cavan town), says that the shop stocks about 450-500 wines, the overwhelming bulk of which they source themselves. McMahon adds that in the last year they have noticed "a real swing back to European wines - lots of French, Italian and Spanish wines selling really well - not the Australian, New Zealand, Chile revolution that's been talked about for so many years. Whether this is because they can try the wines before they buy, I don't know, but Italy, France and Spain are our three biggest sellers."
Enowine now plans to expand its range of activities. This month they start their first wine courses, and following the completion of their spanking new tasting room at the back of the shop, they will be offering a range of tasting evenings aimed at clubs and corporate clients.
It is a fun-filled experience for most because, as Connolly says, "people are drawn to very expensive wine because they are dying to see what it tastes like". McMahon adds that with Christmas approaching, "we will have some really top-end Italians and top-end Bordeaux on tasting. They'll be expensive to taste, but for most of us, we are never going to buy a bottle of Château Palmer or Château Margaux, so to be able to taste it is really something special."
Enowine, 23 The Crescent, Monkstown, Co Dublin www.enowine.ie. Mon-Fri (12-9 pm), Sat (11am-8pm) and Sun 12.30pm-6pm.