Cork’s Victorian Quarter is the place to be these days.

And now foodies and wine lovers can look forward to having yet another great reason to #crossthebridge and hit MacCurtain Street; an intriguing new wine shop is preparing to open there this spring.

The eagle-eyed among you will have spotted the handsome gold window lettering by Laurynas Damijonaitis of Dami Designs on the corner of Harleys Street and MacCurtain Street.

So what can we expect from ‘MacCurtain Wine Cellar’?

“It’s a wine shop you can drink in,” says Trudy Ahern, who is almost ready to launch the new venture alongside her husband and business partner Sean Gargano.

 

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Both accomplished restaurant pros (Trudy most recently managed Dublin’s award-winning Etto on Merrion Row, while Sean was sommelier, buyer, and bar manager at The Legal Eagle and Winding Stair Group) the couple dreamed of opening a spot where people could taste and talk wine and buy bottles to take home.

“I’m from Cork and Sean is from Chicago. We met working in restaurants in Dublin and have been wanting to move down here for years to be near family and raise our kids,” says Trudy.

She’s had her eye on MacCurtain street for at least 15 years and always believed that it would be a great place to open a business.

Towards the end of 2021, the timing was right.

“We were incredibly lucky to meet our landlords Mick and Helen just when we were ready to make the leap. The welcome we have received from neighbouring businesses has been fantastic. There’s a really strong sense of community in the Victorian Quarter, people popping in to introduce themselves and offer help.

“We are really excited to be a small part of an incredibly vibrant neighbourhood with such talented neighbours.” Trudy adds.

With the finishing touches being put on the interior, the plan is to open MacCurtain Wine Cellar in March.

There will be an “ever-changing” list of wines by the glass and bottles for retail with an emphasis on natural, biodynamics, organics, and some classics too.

The pair hope to host regular tasting nights with visiting wine producers and importers too and a selection of cheese and charcuterie will make the shop a tempting stop on the way home after a long day.

“It will be a nice mix for us because we miss the buzz of restaurant service and meeting people,” says Trudy.

Something tells us they’ll be enjoying both in spades.