May 2016

Business focus
Main photo by N Koblov, Roman Road Trust
Clockswise from left: Eugenio and Philippe (right); a busy evening at Vinarius; a wine-tasting event
Julie Daniels meets the team at
Vinarius on Roman Road
that are not only good quality
but great value for money. In
fact the most expensive bottle
there is under £50.
"Wine cheers the sad, revives
the old, inspires the young,"
said Lord Byron. He could have
written it for Vinarius, the East
End "enoteca" whose business it
is to bring the very best in wine
and conviviality to Roman Road.
The team behind the Vinarius
are Philippe and Eugenio. What
started out as a hobby soon
became their day job, and the
people of Roman Road are
much the richer for this Franco-
Italian partnership.
The word enoteca may not be
familiar. It's a properly Italian
concept – not simply a wine
shop, nor a restaurant, but a
place where you can go to drink
a glass of wine, have a small
plate of food to accompany it,
or perhaps just have a coffee.
It's where families are welcome,
women feel comfortable
26 LOVEEAST
sitting alone, and where the
atmosphere is warm. There
are well-priced wine-tastings
(around £15-20) and live music
on Sunday evenings. Who could
want for more?
There can be a certain snobbery
around wine, but there are no
snooty wine buffs here. Eugenio
and Philippe are simply there
to help. "The selection of wine
is very important. Probably 70%
of the wine you see here in the
shop you can't buy anywhere
in the UK. It's a unique choice,"
says Eugenio. There is a story
behind each bottle and they
take great pleasure in passing it
on to their customers.
Great effort goes into sourcing
small producers from Italy,
France, Spain and England.
They're looking for rare grape
varieties and little appellations
The word that kept springing
to mind when I visited Vinarius
was "hub". In the past year
and a half since it opened, it's
become a real centrepoint and
the team are doing a great
job of attracting locals and
newcomers, too. It's a place
where people feel at home.
"Customers often bring their
visiting parents and they're
always happy to show them
where they're hanging out,"
says Philippe.
Along with great wines, there
is cicchetti – small plates of
cheese and charcuterie. There's
fresh bread from a nearby
bakery and many local craft
beers and great Italian coffee.
If you haven't discovered
Vinarius yet, you're in for a treat.
You'll find Vinarius at 536 Roman
Road, E3 or visit vinarius.london