‘Success is the reward of anyone who looks for trouble’—Walter Winchell
This September we celebrate 5 years of Cases Wine Warehouse. We’ve barely caught our breath since we opened in 2007 but a landmark like this is a real cause for reflection and celebration.
We hadn’t a clue. When we opened, we were very clear what we wanted to offer. A huge range of wines, served by friendly and knowledgeable staff, with parking directly outside the door. We think we’ve achieved that to at least some extent, being named National Wine Warehouse of the Year for the last 3 years running and receiving Bridgestone Awards for the same 3 years.
But we had no idea what was about to happen outside our doors. In late 2007 there was plenty of talk about a downturn but the then Taoiseach was busy playing them down in the strongest possible terms. Indeed, for our first 6 months or so, the Lynch Bages and Cloudy Bay flew out the door. But by the time Lehman Brothers imploded in late 2008, the writing was on the wall. In quick succession, we had the global downturn, the Irish economic collapse, a break-in and robbery and we were flooded the night of the Westlife concert in Galway. We had a fire that nearly destroyed the warehouse. While we were lucky, it did destroy the premises of several of our favourite neighbours who are now located elsewhere and whom we miss very much! Then we had the chaotic roadworks outside the estate for over two months earlier this year.
Would we do it all again? Of course! We’d do it because we love it. We love the fantastic customers who have become our regulars and our friends, come to our classes, our food & wine nights and even launched their book at our place. The super restaurants and hotels we supply who have made Galway the gourmet capital of Ireland. The wonderful producers and other Irish importers who supply us. The charities which have been so supportive of us as we fund-raise for them. The amazing staff who have come through our doors and in many cases moved onto greater things. And of course the wines. Aaah, the wines. By necessity, our list has changed dramatically since we opened. We are always looking for something better and better value. But we always want the list to be the best it can be, so it will always be changing. And we get to taste hundreds of lovely, lovely wines. Of course we’d do it all again.
This is a cause for celebration. so over the next 3 months, we’ll be celebrating. Next week we’ll be launching a sale of 60 wines to mark the 60 months we’ve been open. more about that next week. Then our annual charity BBQ will take place on Thursday 20th September. And we’re hosting an exclusive gourmet Riesling dinner. A ticket-only classical music night. A fantastic Winter Wine Fair. And a few other surprise events depending on the mood that takes us.
So thank you. Thank you for your support over the last 5 roller-coaster years. And here’s to 50 more!
Peter, Gerry, Jim, Michael and Nicola.
Cases Wine Warehouse
Riverside Commercial Estate
Tuam Road, Galway.
Tel: 091 764 701
Fax: 091 764 706
www.cases.ie
Best National Wine Warehouse, Sunday Business Post Annual Wine Awards 2012
Winner, Bridgestone Irish Food Guide Award 2012
Proud sponsor of the 2012 Galway Arts Festival
Proud sponsor of Self Help Africa, our Charity of the Year
