Wine couple delivering on grape expectations
It’s 21 years since Gabriel and Pam Cooney left their well-paid and secure jobs in marketing in order to pursue their love of wine. The result was their original south shop On The Grapevine in Dalkey, south Dublin, which opened in 1999. ‘It was an industry in which we had no experience but, after an intensive period of wine education, both formal and informal, we quickly got to grips with the basics and took it from there,’ says Gabriel. So much so, that they were soon importing directly while also working with many of Ireland’s best, small-scale and specialist wine merchants.
It was all wine until five years ago. In 2015, the original shop was rejigged so that customers could enjoy wine in the context of simple food, such as platters of cheese and charcuterie. So successful was this that the demand outgrew the space available and the business moved to 26 Castle Street, Dalkey’s main drag. The extra space meant a full wine bar with a proper menu of small plates. By early this year, it was decided to double the size of the kitchen and to employ someone to assist head chef, Luca.
The idea is simple. Pick a wine from the vast selection on display and corkage of a tenner is added to the retail price. So, if you trade up, you can drink serious wines for a great deal less than you would pay in a restaurant. This is a model that I have wished for years that restaurants would adopt. Restaurants may never be the same after the current crisis, of course, so such rethinking may become mainstream in time.
The wine bar is closed at present, of course, but there is a limited retail presence on Wednesday to Saturday, 4pm to 6pm. Most customers order by phone or online and Gabriel makes contactless deliveries to their doors. Nationwide delivery is also available.
So, what to expect? There’s a strong classical streak to the range, which is 80% to 90% European, with particular emphasis on France, Spain and Italy. But there’s plenty of quirky, offbeat stuff from unconventional producers.
‘I’ve wished that restaurants would adopt this model’