Subscriber login Close [x]
remember me
You are not logged in.

D&D New Street Wine Shop, London

Published:  19 October, 2012

Former Sommelier of the Year Nicolas Clerc MS is heading up D&D London's newest venture, New Street Wine Shop.

Located in the Old Bengal Warehouse, it is trading alongside several of the company's new on-trade outlets - the Old Bengal Bar, New Street Grill and Fish Market. There is a particular emphasis on regions such as Bordeaux and Burgundy, with a number of grower Champagnes and new-region wines from Brazil, Croatia and China. "We aim to cover all bases and want to be really down to earth in our approach," says Clerc.

Philosophy

The aim is to focus on quality, rare and fine wines, while remaining accessible. There are three Enomatic machines holding eight wines each - one each for white, red and iconic wines. Prices range from £1.50 up to £50 and guests are given the chance to sample iconic wines from prestigious vintages. Customers can either take out or drink in at sharing tables that offer light bites to complement the wines (there is a corkage fee of £8, which has been lowered to £4 until the end of October).

"There's a lot of office space around, so customers include bankers and other city workers," says Clerc. "Plus we want to get as much general passing trade as possible, from people who just want to pop in for a bottle of wine to drink at home."

Range

The shop stocks 600 wines in total, including some of the best Bordeaux from vintage years such as 1959, 1982 and 1983, with the rare 1988, 1989 and 1990 vintages from Château Palmer, Margaux.

Champagnes are from both branded and grower producers, led by a unique collection of Krug, to grower Champagnes from Jérôme Prévost, Ulysse Collin and Cédric Bouchard. There will also be a selection of premium spirits including gin, vodka and vintage brandy such as Crystal Head and Oxley.

Trading in a recession

According to co-owners Des Gunewardena and David Loewi: "Our view is that recessions are good times to build businesses, as sites can be acquired at sensible prices. I think recessions are rather good times to launch new ventures. A number of our most successful restaurants - La Pont de La Tour, Butlers Wharf Chophouse, Blueprint and Quaglinos - were launched in early 1990s recession and 20 years on they are still very strong." Gunewardena adds: "Besides, there's nothing like a new venture to cheer us all up in these gloomy economic times and Old Bengal Warehouse has certainly done that."

16 New Street London, EC2M 4TR

newstreetwineshop.com

Keywords: