Chef and actor open new specialist wine shop in Lancaster

Adam and Liam opened Chapel Street Wines in Chapel Street, Lancaster, this month, after a shared passion for wine resulted in plans for a new business venture.

Father-of-three Adam, 46, who went to Lancaster Royal Grammar School, ran the Meeting House Restaurant in Meeting House Lane between 2008 and 2012, and has also worked at Lancaster House Hotel and The Strathmore in Morecambe.

Father-of-two Liam, 45, a Geordie who has lived and worked in London more recently, moved to Lancaster in 2016.

He has been a documentary narrator for the Discovery Channel, and as an actor played Dr Daniel Leeming in the ITV drama Where The Heart Is.

More recently he worked alongside David Tennent in a film about the Munich Air Crash called United, where he played Olympic football player Bob Hardisty.

He said: "The move up here was for family reasons, as my wife is from Burnley.

"We'd always wanted to be up north."

Adam had been running wine tasting events for nine years in Lancaster, most recently in Pizza Margherita.

Liam started attending the events, and the pair realised a shared love of wine, and the idea of opening a shop grew from there.

"It had been in the back of my mind for a while," said Adam.

"I'd always enjoyed a glass of wine, but when I was running The Meeting House Restaurant, I was also planning the wine list, and I needed to know what I was talking about.

"I did the WSET (Wine & Spirit Education Trust) courses, and joined the UK Wine Forum, and educated myself, and have been hosting tastings since 2011.

"I know what everyone sells around here, so hopefully there'll be no repetition, and it's absolutely about what we choose to sell.

"But we can be flexibile depending on customers' tastes."

Adam and Liam attend wine suppliers' events, and try as much produce as possible, so they're able to give personal recommendations.

They focus mainly on wines from France and Italy but stock wine from around the world, including English wines from Essex.

They also have a strong range of Organic and vegan friendly wines.

Their prices range from £7.95 to £65 and they pride themselves on having "around 20 wines for under a tenner".

The majority are in the £10-20 range, and Adam said they wanted to appeal to a wide range of wine lovers - from the novice to the connoisseur.

"The only way you can sell something with authenticity is to believe in what you're selling," Liam said.

"When people come into a shop like this, they're looking for something they can't get with their groceries.

"What we can give people is that sense of exactly what they're drinking."

Chapel Street Wines mainly focuses on traditional European wines, and many of the bottles have their own story to tell.

They have Centopassi, for example, from North West Sicily.

The native grapes are grown on land formerly run by the Italian mafia, which was confiscated by the government and is now run by a social cooperative.

Adam said connections between themselves and the grower and the producer of the wine are key.

"People are usually very proud of the wine that they produce, and there can be a natural harmony between the producer and the seller, and therefore with the buyer.

"People like to know exactly where their wine comes from."

Chapel Street Wines officially opened on February 28, and has already hosted several tasting sessions in the shop.

Adam said: "It might not work, but if that happens, we are happy to have had a go."

Liam added: "If it doesn't go well, at least we have wine!"

Adam and Liam will be hosting a wine tasting event at The Herbarium in Lancaster on March 20.

All of the wines will be vegan friendly.

Check out Chapel Street Wines on Facebook and online.