Reserve Wines Didsbury
Anne-Marie Pattenden, Food & Drink Writer
January 2025: Reserve Wines has been named winner in the Harpers UK Best Indies Award 2025 thanks to its dedication to curated wine selections, customer experience, personalised service, and innovative retail strategies.
Meghann Thorp, the brand’s marketing manager, said: “This recognition celebrates our commitment to raising wine drinkers’ expectations with unrivalled service, expert knowledge, and an imaginative approach to retail. It’s an honour to be recognised alongside other leaders in the industry, and we’re incredibly proud of our team and customers who’ve made this possible.”
Venue coverage: “Like having a drink in your mate’s kitchen” – this is how Kate Goodman wants you to feel when you stop in for a drink at Reserve’s brand-new bar area at the back of the Didsbury outlet.
Kate originally started her wine journey in Oddbins, doing a few hours around a corporate day job. Then one day in 2003, she made a visit to a local wine merchant, who proved to be condescending and dismissive. This unpleasant experience was the inspiration for her to open her very own wine shop. Impressively, she did just that. Unlike that stuffy wine merchant, Kate wanted people to have “an experience, not just a transaction”.
People advised that she couldn’t open a credible wine shop on a low budget, which only spurred Kate on. As she explains, “There was no wine scene then, it was hard to get people in.” So she took Reserve to fairs. She and her ever-expanding team set up other sites at Altrincham Market in 2014, Mackie Mayor in 2016, and Picture Drome in 2019. They now also have a big warehouse and head office in Trafford Park. All from modest beginnings.
Also, in those early days, Kate turned to YouTube to share her expertise and make learning about wine fun. She was then scouted by no less than the BBC, who invited her to be the wine expert for their Food and Drink Programme. Working alongside world-famous chefs such as Michel Roux Jnr means Kate knows her onions when it comes to pairing wine with food.
Twenty years on, Kate is a charming and engaging host, happy to explain anything wine-related without ever patronising. While sampling some delicious wines, she freely shares her wealth of knowledge.
A shining example of premium, by-the-glass fizz available at all Reserve sites is Gusborne, an English sparkling wine famous for being the royal family’s fizz of choice and used for the Queen’s funeral and King’s coronation. Reserve sell premium by the glass fizz on all sites. Gusborne is made in Kent, which apparently has similar soil structure as the Champagne region. It’s delicious – tangy but smooth, with a creamy brioche flavour.
You’ll also find some tried and tested bottles, including alcohol-free options, extensive port range and gift sets for red, white and mixed wines, alongside a selection of fine wines and rare vintages.
