The first-ever Sheffield Wine Week is set to take place at wine-loving venues across the city from Wednesday 26th June to Sunday 30th June.
Venues from all corners of the city will hold a range of events highlighting the diversity and versatility of Sheffield’s expanding wine scene. From Crookes to Park Hill, out to Meadowhead and across the city to Hillsborough, on popular streets like Eccy Rd and Sharrow Vale, and even in a re-emerging City Centre, Sheffield is seeing a growing community of bars and shops that focus on artisan, independent, and natural wines.
And yet, despite earning honours like “the real ale capital of the world”, the city has had little recognition as a top wine destination.
Tenaya Wine’s owners Sarah Hatton (left) and Virginia Myers (right)
This inaugural event aims to change that by hosting a true community-driven collective: Any bar, shop, or restaurant advocating for quality wine can participate. All events that fit these base criteria will be listed on the Sheffield Wine Week website with further promotion taking place across Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter on the week’s @sheffwineweek handles.
Expect to see a range of events from meet the winemakers to food and wine pairings to wine list takeovers. For instance, on Wednesday, Tenaya and St. Heloise are holding their seasonal ‘Supper Club’. Thursday, Elm is throwing an ‘Organic & Orgasmic Pintxos Party’. Friday, Starmore Boss and Naturally Wines are hosting a meet the winemaker with Italy’s Pierpaolo Badalucco. And Saturday, The Old Shoe has an all-English takeover of their by-the-glass list.
To see the initial list of events – with plenty more expected to be added as the week gets closer — head to sheffieldwineweek.co.uk/events.
Many of the events will be free and open to the public, but some will be ticketed or require advance booking. Check the website for more details.
The Old Shoe, in Orchard Square
City Centre-based The Old Shoe and Crookes-based Tenaya Wine launched the week in the hopes of breaking through Sheffield’s traditionally beery veneer to help expose a vibrant vinous underbelly.
They quickly found support from the city’s most prominent purveyors of wine including Bench Le Cave, Elm, Gills & Co, The Harritt, Mitchell’s, The Pangolin, The Pearl, SHÖP by JÖRO, and Starmore Boss. These founding members will be highlighted on a collectable Sheffield Wine Week map available for free at participating locations.
“A big part of why we opened Tenaya Wine was to try and expand the world of wine in Sheffield. We felt there just wasn’t enough wine!” said Sarah Hatton and Virginia Myers, the bar and wine shop’s co-owners. “Since then, we have welcomed a few new wine spots and it’s so exciting to see the wine scene growing in this great city. Sheffield Wine Week is a way to celebrate the growing appreciation of good wine here and open the community’s eyes to what’s on offer. Let’s celebrate great wine together!”
Gills and Co, on Ecclesall Road
“I love beer. It’s part of what initially endeared me to Sheffield,” explained Mike Pomranz, co-owner of both The Old Shoe and importer Quality Ferments. “But in recent years, we’ve seen a continued confluence of top-quality beer, wine, cider, and other drinks into a single category of artisan alcoholic beverages. Beer certainly gets its due; Sheffield already has a beer week. ‘Confluence Week’ sounds a bit insane. So ‘Sheffield Wine Week’ was the next logical step to further advocate for all of the amazing drinks offered at bars and shops across the city.”
Andy Trudgill, owner of Gills & Co, a wine shop, bar, and restaurant that opened on Ecclesall Road last year, added: “There’s now so much choice for the people of Sheffield when it comes to finding somewhere to try and learn more about wine. This is why it’s so great to be part of Sheffield Wine Week, having all these independents come together to celebrate all things wine. It’ll be great to meet some new faces, and share what we’re all about.”
Anyone within the wine trade interested in participating in Sheffield Wine Week can contact the organisers at info@sheffieldwineweek.co.uk.
