Fareham Wine Cellar hopes for a very merry Christmas as it marks 30 years in business
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Fareham Wine Cellar, in the town’s attractive Georgian high street, is busy preparing for the festive season.
Since opening its doors 30 years ago, Fareham Wine Cellar has built up a loyal customer base who know they will find not only a great range of wines, spirits and cigars, but also good advice from knowledgeable staff passionate about what they sell.
Manager Dominic Lockyer has spoken of his years trading as part of the Live Love Local campaign, which has been launched by Fareham Borough Council to encourage people to shop local.
Dominic, who has been at Fareham Wine Cellar for 25 years, said: ‘The main thing about us is we all know what we’re talking about and we’re always happy to talk to people if they want advice - what they like, what they need wine for, whether it’s a dinner party or a tasting, or if they want to pair it with a particular food.
‘We stock local wine, including three of the best sparkling wines in Hampshire from Hambledon Vineyard, The Grange and Raimes, and still wines from Titchfield Vineyard.
‘Customers also love the local gins from Portsmouth, Winchester, Clanfield and the Isle of Wight, as well as slightly further afield from Dorset and the Surrey border. We also sell rum made in Southsea; it’s important to support our local producers and our customers love that.
‘We import wine from all around the world, and the main thrust of our business has always been from smaller, quality producers, some of which you won’t find anywhere else in the UK.’
Fareham Wine Cellar also hosts wine tastings and wine maker dinners, many at the local independent Lysses House Hotel just three doors away.
‘People love getting involved with things locally and we can’t wait to start doing things again,” says Dominic.
‘We haven’t been able to do anything for nearly two years due to Covid.
‘We did very well in the first part of lockdown because people were drinking at home and buying online – we picked up a lot more local customers, particularly when the supermarkets sold out or were not able to deliver.
‘When things started getting back to normal people went back to their old routine, but we have retained quite a few from that period.
‘We are the perfect place to come to for presents. Everyone suddenly remembers we’re here at Christmas time! We see a lot more people buying port and sherry, and red and white Burgundy is also popular – it goes well with the turkey.
‘One area of growth for us has been cigars sales. They are popular all year round, especially when the weather is good, and make great gifts.
‘Whatever you buy from us, you know it will be a bit different, you won’t see it in the supermarket – it’s good quality, and it’s normally from a small independent producer. What
better reason to shop local this Christmas?’
For more go to farehamwinecellar.co.uk/