
The time is ripe in Shanghai for wines, more and more people are becoming aware of the qualities that wine has to offer. The world's over appreciation for good quality wine is immense; boutique wine in general (boutique anything) has always been the catchword for anyone wanting to steer away from the masses. Shanghai has come of age in its appreciation for fine wines, with new wine shops such as Globus, Vin, Just Grapes, Red Wine Lounge (ex Senses) and now Enoteca all opening within the past twelve months. A few years ago, or even a year ago, the market was all about Vodka, Vodka, Vodka or Whisky, Whisky, Whisky but the age of wine has finally arrived in this middle kingdom and is growing by the barrel full.
The owners of Enoteca have seen the gap and have come up with a concept that allows those with an appreciation for wines a place to sample new world boutique wines in a casual non pretentious manner.
Enoteca in reality is three places in one; the owners call it a 'Wine bar, Lounge and Boutique'. I have always thought of words like boutique to have a double connotation. Whilst it's the catch word in this modern era, it comes with a negativity much like what our forefathers thought of the bourgeoisie. Enoteca has, in many aspects, demystified wines and in particular the precursor, which you find everywhere these days; the word 'Boutique'. Here is a place where you can enjoy Boutique wines without the Boutique prices. How have they managed to do this and still make a buck? It's simple, they import the wines themselves without the multitude of middle-men and so the prices are passed onto the customer without all the mark-ups.