Newcomer Wines opens Dalston shop

London-based Austrian wine specialist Newcomer Wines is set to open its first permanent wine shop in Dalston, Hackney.

As well as a new shop launch, Newcomer Wines has announced a brand redevelopment in association with Austrian graphic design studio OrtnerSchinko (Photo: Newcomer Wines)

Opening in June – with the official opening date “to be announced soon” – the new retail outlet will replace Newcomer Wine’s current home in Shoreditch’s Boxpark, where it has been since launching in 2013. Boxpark is set to close later this year.

The new shop, which is located on Dalston Lane, opposite Dalston Junction Overground Station, will continue to offer Newcomer’s core offering of wines and, in addition, winers from several other Austrian growers that up until now the company has reserved for the on-trade, managing director Peter Honegger said.

The shop will also feature a ‘friends’ section – including international wines from “importers that share the same mindset as us”, Honegger said, which will be presented in a rotated selection.

Honegger said these wines make up 5% of the overall range and would come from importers such as Passione Vino and Vine Trail.

“For us it’s a new chapter starting,” Honegger explained. “Our contract [at Boxpark] ends at the end of May so for that reason we decided to open a new store.”

“Dalston is an interesting part of Hackney that is still quite underdeveloped when it comes to quality wine.”

Honegger added that customers could also expect “a whole lot of parties, tastings and activities” to be hosted at the new site “from mid-June onwards”.

Newcomer Wines was responsible for a successful music and wine party, Wine Beats Vol 1, which took place in Shoreditch Studios last year, and which combined Austrian wine with electronic music and street food.

Honegger told db that a Wine Beats Vol 2 was in the planning stages and was scheduled for late 2016 or early 2017.

Newcomer also announced the launch of a new brand design to coincide with the new shop opening. The company has worked closely with Austrian graphic design studio OrtnerSchinko Design to redevelop its brand identity.

“The design takes its inspiration from the early days of Vienna’s Jugendstil movement in the 1900s, Honegger said.

Newcomer will be at the Raw Artisan Wine Fair this month, presenting five of its growers: Claus Preisinger, Christian Tschida and Weingut Werlitsch, plus first-time attendees Michael Wenzel and the Renner Sistas.