The team behind award-winning Spanish delicatessan and wine merchant Ultracomida, Curado Bar and Vermut have opened up a brand new wholesale store in the Welsh capital, transporting the people of Cardiff to the Spanish coast with its vast selection of native wines, nibbles and more.
Spanish Wines, a wine cellar and pantry - or vinoteca y despensa in Spanish - whose first store in Aberystwyth on Glan Yr Afon Industrial Estate opened last year and spans 4,500 square feet, opened its doors in the Welsh capital on Tuesday, August 9.
The new location just off Penarth Road is a little larger than the original at 6,900 sq ft and will stock more than 500 different Spanish wines. These wines will shine a light on smaller producers, local grapes and lesser-known Spanish regions.
Read more: Cardiff pub landlord to open bottle shop, café and taproom in Newport
And it's not just wine that the store shouts about - although that is the main attraction. You can't have wine without cheese and nibbles and, thankfully, the pantry section in Cardiff's new shop offers delicious and typical delights like olives, crisps, tinned fish and olive oils to purchase.
They also have a chilled section with cheeses, charcuterie and other cold meats available to take away to make for the perfect wine and cheese party spread.
For those who want the full experience, small groups will be able to book tasting sessions and events on the mezzanine bar area which will also host an option to ‘try before you buy’. This section is set to open in the autumn.
Spanish Wines Direct was co-founded by husband and wife duo Paul Grimwood and Shumana Palit - read more on their journey here - who began focussing on wine retail during the pandemic while their other eateries and bars were closed and unable to trade.
As the world opened up, they found that the wine retail business wasn't set to slow down any time soon. This was supported by the launch of their Spanish wine subscription service of the same name, which began last year.
Of this second location for Spanish Wines, Paul said: “We saw our online wine sales increase by more than 50% during the pandemic, as people looked to drink better and more interesting wines at home. This gave us the push to open our Aberystwyth warehouse, which has since gone from strength to strength. We’re hoping to emulate that success in Cardiff – and increase the storage capacity for our online sales, too.”
Shumana also commented: “We import so much directly from the producers, which allows us to offer a more varied range than anyone else. We have used the last couple of years to focus on wines from under the radar regions in Spain - think Montilla-Moriles, Valencia, Catalunya."
She added: "We’ve deepened our connections to winemakers who have challenged themselves to look for new ways of reviving traditional grapes, and of using low intervention and more sustainable methods of farming. We can’t wait to share all of this with our Cardiff customers at the new warehouse this summer.”
For more information, visit the website or follow their social media
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