McNicoll and Cairnie

05/09/2024

As you might already have gathered, I have some news.

I’m making some changes to the business. Starting afresh, if you like. But not from the shop, and there are a few reasons.

Tastings, events, private parties, weddings, wholesale and ‘good’ retail are all doing well and I will keep those going. There are some details below. Also, let me know if you’d like a definition of ‘good’ retail! 🙂

In the past the shop building benefited from the Small Business Rates Relief Scheme. But the building has been revalued, and shortly it will be subject to a rates bill of £8,000 per annum. It used to be zero, so the massive increase is not sustainable.

Whatever you think of the old rates scheme - and I don’t think much of it, everyone should have been paying something all along in my opinion - zero to £8,000 is too big a jump for most small businesses. I imagine there will be a number of business owners in the Ferry who will be going through the same thought process as I have.

That was pretty much the final straw, but there is also the general decline in footfall in the High Street and you’ll have seen this for yourselves if you follow the news or even walk around the Ferry during the week.

More happily I have family reasons for not wanting to work every Saturday and I’ll leave that to your imagination! Some have asked why I don’t get a part-time Saturday person, but I’d refer them to the comment above about rates. That amount of money is a part-time wage.

I’ll still be selling wine, and more, so while I look around for other potential premises, you’re welcome to contact me on 07842 083898 (call, message, voicemail), message me your email address and I’ll contact you that way, or via Facebook. I’ll still have all your favourites, but I’ll also produce a regular catalogue so the range will change more frequently; you can request an email copy and I‘m thinking about a hard copy too.

And whatever you’d like to order, I’ll deliver along with an invoice so you don’t even have to leave the house and you can pay straight to the bank.

For those of you (both of you 🙂) who have enjoyed a chat in the shop, so have I. It might just have to take place at your door for the foreseeable future; or you can put the kettle on…I’m aware that the shop has been a fun social service and part-time confessional to some degree, for me as much as anyone else, and I’m keen that should continue. It’s a part of the job I always enjoyed.

I’ll also be hosting tastings and sampling events around the Ferry and further afield. Please watch Facebook for details. There are three scheduled for the near future, all sold out, so I think there’s a demand. Popular events such as private parties, club and corporate events, and weddings, will also continue and I have a number of those booked between now and next spring. I’m also happy to host events in private homes, quite a number have asked about that. If you’d like to chat about doing something together or if I can help you with an event, please call or message.

So, thanks to all of you who have sent messages of support. A big change, but not an ending. Let’s see if we can make it work.

08/08/2024

Tomorrow (Friday) only open in the morning, 10am to 12.30pm. Then ‘one of those lunches’…

Open Saturday from 10am.

02/08/2024

A quick reminder - closing at 4pm today, hosting a tasting in Glasgow tonight.

Open again 10am tomorrow (Saturday).

27/07/2024

It’s a bit of a sob story, this one.

I was due a nice delivery yesterday, about 300 or 400 bottles of wine, some new stuff but a lot of customer favourites; and a dozen gins destined for a tasting I was due to host in Glasgow tonight.

The good news is, the delivery did take place.

The bad news is, it didn’t take place here. It was delivered to a factory in Angus.

We didn’t discover this until mid-afternoon, by which time the warehouseman at the factory in question had locked up and gone home!

It seems someone in an office pressed a wrong button…it‘s funny how a moment’s inattention to detail can have unforeseen consequences far down the line.

So, tasting in Glasgow postponed - thankfully my client is very understanding - and a number of customer favourites missing, but look at it as a chance to try something new! And the weather forecast, which is never wrong, is good for today and terrific for tomorrow. If ever you needed an excuse for a bottle of good rosé, there it is.

20/07/2024

The new vintage of an old friend has arrived. It’s Passo del Lupo, a Rosso Conero - not the most familiar wine-making area of Italy perhaps, but if you know, you know.

And if you don’t know…

It’s from around Monte Conero in Marche, on the Adriatic coast. Regulations state it must be made of minimum 85% Montepulciano. Up to 15% Sangiovese can be added, but that is rarely done.

It’s a powerful and full-bodied red, characterised by concentrated colour and firm tannins and it benefits from a little ageing, as this one has (it‘s a 2021). In return for your £18, expect intense aromas of ripe black cherries and Mediterranean herbs and an evening listening to Beniamino Gigli singing Neapolitan folk songs rather than Pavarotti singing opera.

Like I say…if you know, you know :-)

12/07/2024

I’ve been challenged to do a post in fewer than ten words in total, not counting this sentence. Almost literally a piece of cake…

Nicky. Iced Gems. Scones. Bakes. Here tomorrow. 8am. See?

05/07/2024

It struck me last night, watching the election results come in, that for every new MP coming in there’s one who has lost their job.

To be brutally frank I’m not losing any sleep over it.

Nevertheless I was heartened to see a photograph this morning that appears to show at least one deposed MP returning to their old job, sending children down chimneys.

Ah, the good old days.

29/06/2024

O wad some Pow’r the giftie gie us
To see oursels as ithers see us!

So wrote Robert Burns in 1786. It’s a sentiment I think of quite often. Walking the proverbial mile in someone else’s shoes would give us all a different and helpful perspective on many things.

I was reminded of that this morning after reading the following article - I promise it’s worth a couple of minutes of your time. Scotland may not have done very well in the football, but if you believe that football is just a game…well, have a read.

And bear in mind the author is writing in his second or third language; an argument in support of language teaching in schools if ever there was one.

It is not just the caterers who will miss Scotland after they were eliminated – they gave meaning to a cultural festival

21/06/2024

Just a reminder, Chilean tasting this evening 5pm to 7pm (maybe 7.30pm), very informal drop-in, taste some wines, have a chat. Wines from Tarapaca, Leyda, Sideral and maybe Lanya too. A couple of delicious whites and some proper reds at really good prices. No charge, just drop in and let me know what you think of these wines!

18/06/2024

Just back in stock, I know one lady in particular was looking for some. The best rosé in the world? Could be. It’s a real discovery.

17/06/2024

Short notice, but…free in-store tasting this Friday 21st, an early one from 5pm to 7pm, featuring wines from Vina Leyda and Sideral, both from Chile.

Just drop in after 5pm and before 7pm, doesn’t matter if you’re heading on somewhere after, in fact make it part of your Ferry evening and book a table for some sharing boards at Tico‘s Deli afterwards!

08/06/2024

A quick few words about orange wine.

It’s pretty fashionable stuff right now, but it’s worth knowing that a) it isn’t orange and b) it isn’t made from oranges.

It used to be known as amber wine. It’s white wine, but instead of the grapes being crushed and the juice separated from the skins immediately, the juice is left in contact with the skins for an extended period. That’s where the slightly orangey colour can come from.

This extended skin contact develops flavours that aren’t normally apparent and if that sounds a bit weird, well, it can be.

But it can also be different, unusual, savoury, minerally, smooth and lovely.

All that sounds expensive and in general I think orange wines are overpriced, as things in fashion often are. It’s not unusual to see them at £20, £30 and more and if you’re rolling the dice on something you’re really not familiar with, that’s a lot of money.

However - and I’m sure you saw this coming - help is at hand. My friendly Italian importer had a few bottles of an orange wine that didn’t sell (too expensive, surprise surprise). I took them off him at a price that ensured we are still friends, but that allows people to experiment a bit.

The upshot is a wine made from a very unusual grape, Manzoni Bianco; extended skin contact, fermented in terracotta amphorae, matured in casks of acacia wood…it’s definitely different. I had some with a piece of Swiss Gouda courtesy of The Cheesery, and it’s a winning combination. And it’s £10, which is an affordable way into orange wine.

I only have 6 bottles so if it sounds like your thing, pile in!