‘Despite the tastings and events – we have about 14 a month – we are a wine shop at heart, so the online wine store was a natural extension. We did a soft launch in September 2023 – around the time that we won the Decanter Retailer Award – and then properly opened it up in the new year. We offer free local delivery, but most of our orders are outside Balham (London SW12). We’ve even had orders from Liverpool!
‘People will mix and match in store, but we’ve found our online customers choose six or 12 bottles of the same wine.
‘This was already a successful shop when we took over [in April 2022], with a loyal fan base. We put a lot of pressure on ourselves wanting to change so much but we learned to take our time and understand the business, the neighbourhood and the customers before embarking on the renovations, website and now the online shop.
‘We’ve found that the business has naturally evolved more to the bar side. Two years ago, we thought we were buying a wine shop, but in fact we bought a wine bar with a shop attached!
‘You have to follow local demographic and trends. Balham is getting younger – lots of renters, young professionals. We are focusing on that under 35-year-old crowd. So our list of 400 wines has expanded to include more organic wine, natural wine, more low-alcohol stuff, and wines from less-familiar regions.
‘Cristi Dactu, our general manager
