IF you thought wine bars went out with Sade and shoulder pads think again. Salut in Manchester city centre is an immediate hit, far divorced from the long-departed Eighties wine bar model and Spirited Wines expansion on Deansgate promises a similar 21st century take.
More true to the spirit may be Wine and Wallop, West Didsbury, due to open on Thursday, September 25. Its the brainchild of Justin Parkinson, owner of Burton Roads lovely Folk Bar, who has used his interior designer skills (think Lime Tree, Jem & I and The Led Station) to transform the old Blockbuster video store on Lapwing Lane.
He says he is inspired by that phenomenon three decades ago when old wine merchants added a basement bar to their shops with something to nibble on while you sampled their vintages.
In the new W&W incarnation expect deli-style food, cask ale to drink in or take away (the main bar has space for 13 handpumps) plus, of course, a fascinating wine selection. Beer and wine will be available in flights and the tasting agenda will be enhanced by visits from winemakers and brewers.
The hope is to boost the regeneration of the Lapwing Lane Arcade. Wine and Wallop, less folksy than Folk, is a step in the right decoration. Key features over three floors include a mirror ball, 300-year-old Canadian pine walling, up-cycled lights from old factories and Blackpool illuminations and a bar top made out of reclaimed panga-panga flooring.
Outside what strikes you is the gable end artwork created by Mark Jermun from Salford-based screen printers one69A, whose work features on floor borders inside. Wine and Wallop has been a long time in gestation, but promises to be much, much more than an Eighties retread.
Wine and Wallop, 97 Lapwing Lane, Manchester M20 6UR. @wineandwallop.
