Bakers arms has a new shop, a shop that sells one of the best combinations known to human kind, wine and cheese. Gnarly Vines, which opened its doors just before Christmas, is a new venture from the team behind the Clapton Craft beer shops. Despite the fact that I filled myself to the brim with wine and cheese over Christmas, I wandered down Hoe Street on Saturday to have a nose around the shop and find out what the owners have planned for it.
It’s still very early days for Gnarly Vines, so early in fact that the shop sign hasn’t gone up yet. Only the A frame blackboard outside indicates where the shop is. Whilst the outside is still a work in progress, the inside of the shop is much more developed. This will come as no great surprise, being a wine shop and all, but most of the shop is taken up with shelving. Shelving that is stacked with wine from all over the world. Actually, they sell more than wine, they stock some beer, spirits, coffee, and of course cheese. It’s kind of the opposite of their Clapton Craft shop further up Hoe Street. That shop sells mainly beer but also stocks wine, this one sells mainly wine but also stocks beer.
The middle of the shop is taken up by a long high table, made from a single slice of a tree. Right now the table is used as a counter top and somewhere to rest your shopping as it’s being packed, but there are plans afoot. The guys running the shop intend to apply for a licence so that booze can be consumed in the shop, if that happens the long table will be joined by chairs for punters to sit at whilst they sip. The owners also hope, planning permitting, to open up the rear garden of the shop for customers to enjoy in the warmer months.
Gnarly Vines is definitely one to watch. Right now it’s a great place to go if wine and cheese floats your boat. But, if the plans all come off, this could become a nice little spot at Bakers Arms to go for a glass or two and a good old natter. If you fancy checking them out, you’ll find Gnarly Vines at 464 Hoe Street. Opening hours are on their website.
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