Peru's first fully-equipped wine bar has opened in Lima this week.
Offering 32 local and international wines by the glass and 450 by the bottle, Dionisos Wine Bar is the first of its kind in a country already known for its food, including classics such as raw fish soup, or ‘ceviche’.
‘Wine drinking has doubled in the last eight years, it’s tiny compared to France or Italy, only about 1.2 litres a head, but it is growing,’ said Mariana Rossel, one of four co-owners.
Rossel, who launched Peru’s first wine club in 1998, cited a consumer market growing by 10% a year and an optimistic local economy as the rationale for opening in the capital’s trendy seaside area of Miraflores.
Prices at Dionisos are on a par with retail costs at local supermarkets, plus a corkage fee of 25 to 35 Peruvian soles (€5-7), to encourage drinkers.
The bar offers different sized pours ranging from a two ounce tasting glass, to a 15 ounce flask, as well as flights of single varietals grown in different regions, or the same vintage from four different countries.
It also features a wall of pisco, a grape-based brandy and Peru’s national drink.
The government predicts the economy of Peru, with a population of 23m, will grow by 6%, mainly thanks to its open business policies.
Written by Sophie Kevany
