By V. Sivaji
Among the popular watering holes for wine lovers in Penang is The Wine Shop located in Pulau Tikus and has been around for some 20 years.
Having started in 2000 as a small retail shop which was initially opened as an office, they worked out to cover the wholesale market in the Northern Region to secure customers, hotels and other business establishments.
They currently have three outlets on the island with the recent addition in Tanjung Bungah which was opened early this year in February.
The other outlets are in Pulau Tikus which has a dining facility and Bayan Lepas which has already been operating for several years now.
“We carry some 1,400 wine labels from as many wine producing countries and mainly from popular wine producing nations namely Australia, New Zealand, Chile, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Germany etc,” says Michael Low, Northern Region Sales Manager for The Wine Shop Penang.
Therefore, it is not surprising that most of their customers are retail customers mainly local Penangites but they also have a wide expatriate market clientele list to their credit.
“In the years that I have been open, we have done a lot of effort in promoting the shop to the expat market customers by working closely with the relevant expat market groups at the beginning such as the International Women’s Association (IWA) and many more.
“We also do carry a few popular whiskey labels but only for sale in the shop among which are labels like Macallan, Glenfiddich, Johnny Walker etc for the benefit and convenience of our regular customers,” says Loh.
As for food, they have many favorite dishes in The Wine Shop namely Fried Korean Noodles and of course their popular pizza varieties.
As for the cheeses, they also carry quite a few types for their customers to choose from.
Among them are the Swiss cheese, Mozzarella, Parmigiana, Parmesan, Cheddar, Gouda, Emmental, Brie, Blue cheese and many more.
“For the coming future, we are looking to expand with another one or two more outlets probably in the town area but this is subject to the economy and business opportunities available.
“But for the time being, we are gearing up for the last quarter of the year and hoping the economy will pick up,” adds Loh to Penang Hyperlocal.
So, check out The Wine Shop Penang at 15, Lintang Burma, Georgetown, or their other outlets Bayan Lepas or Tanjung Bungah if you are into wine and delicious Western menu.