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You can find a couple of Flight Club locations all over London, but the Victoria offering is one of our favourites. Hidden away atop one of London’s oldest and best-respected restaurants, Upstairs at Rules is a serious delight.
amie wine studio Seoul is a wine bar, wine shop (you can buy bottles to takeaway), coffee + brunch spot, restaurant for delicious British-Korean fusion small plates, and an art gallery. An amie merch boutique will soon open as well. Several events and workshops will also be hosted in the space, just as in our London space. Another brilliant Islington outdoor bar, The Castle’s rooftop terrace makes quite the spot for a chilled-out drink or three with friends.An old power station might not seem like the ideal setting for a great bar in London. However, you can always trust Londoners to take something grunge-y and turn it into something super cool. Amie continues to grow in the South Korean market. The brand is set to produce 400,000 bottles this year, a third of which will be sold in export markets, and South Korea makes up over half of sales outside the UK. Having a physical space will aid this growth further. “The Amie Wine Studio is a hub people can go to in Seoul. It’s good in terms of brand awareness for us in its own right, like a sort of permanent pop-up,” Sandbach explains. It gets better – they’ve covered the terrace for the winter months. Meaning you can still grab a drink with your mates… without freezing your tits off. Whether you’re getting a fabulous daiquiri or a perfectly poured latte, you can expect to be seriously impressed. The draw of this bar is definitely the dart boards, but even if you don’t fancy a game, the electric atmosphere and selection of drinks are reason enough to visit.
Seoul is an affluent place but slightly newer in terms of the wine market,” he says, “they haven’t got some of the preconceptions of other countries.”I feel like I've gotten better over the past few years; I've learned not to take on too much at once. I used to do this and it would cause so much stress and anxiety. I try to switch my phone off in the evenings, and make time to read a chapter before bed; I also love doing a workout at least 2 times a week if I can, although sometimes with my schedule it isn't possible! Finding 'me time' is really important, which I don't think I knew a few years ago. When it comes to actual business challenges, I do find that connecting with other people is great, and hearing other Founders' stories is always really inspiring. Do you have any advice for other founders? Although the grapes are French, amie is actually a London-based operation, the work of a wine-loving couple, with the support from a few friends (hence the name) who decided to create a drinkable rosé together. And thankfully, they didn’t bottle it. Well, they did but, you know, in a good way. It’s all vegan, and they’ve added to their original run of rosé with an organic number, a fruity red (Carignan), some refreshing whites (Sauvignan Blanc & Chardonnay), and a delicately sparkling Crémant De Limoux. Umm-ing and ahh-ing over what to get? Just try them all – their ‘taste of amie’ flight includes all five still wines. Even better, the folks at Flat Iron Square have just put up their awnings and popped on the heating to make things nice and cosy. Now, Amie is launching a second physical space in the South Korean capital of Seoul, its biggest export market. Sandbach believes that Korean consumers are more open to up-and-coming wine brands than more mature and established wine markets, making it the perfect place for expansion.
Looking for the best bars in London? Don’t miss this guide – London’s best drinking spots, area by area. Located on the River Roading in the east stretches of Barking, Boathouse is a relaxed watering hole where you can grab a chilled pint.
When building out the brand plan for amie, I knew that I wanted the brand to be a few things: beautiful, aspirational, elevated, and something for everyone - we wanted everyone to feel like they could drink amie. The name 'amie' is 'female friend' in French - we're 'a wine for friends' and want to feel like a community of friends. Elevated photography and visuals have been a huge part of our brand, and connecting with our customers has been a real way for us to create more of a lifestyle vs purely just a wine brand. Influencer Marketing and Brand Partnerships have been a huge part of building amie, and from the beginning, we have focused on partnering with fashion and lifestyle people and brands, instead of purely the wine world. We had an opportunity to open a wine bar, amie wine studio , in June 2022, and this has been a huge step for us in terms of creating a lifestyle brand; we're able to collaborate with other brands in the space, host community events for our customers, and connect with people in a way that we never would have been able to if it weren't for amie wine studio. What has been your biggest learning to date as a founder? The extensive terrace is the perfect place for quaffing sundowners in the twilight hours – and there are plenty of tables, so booking generally isn’t too much of a pain in the ass. And aside from the grape hooch? They’re also hosting a few events in the space across the year, currently featuring a Bottomless Brunch series on selected Saturdays with chefs like Liv Burt (formerly Claridge’s), and recipe guru Georgia Hearn. The older sister of Vinegar Yard is just a short hop, skip and stroll away in Southwark but also sports a sizable beer garden/terrace for those days when hanging in the park with a tinnie just isn’t the vibe you’re going for. Oozing charm and a relaxed atmosphere – Authentique has not only guaranteed its position as a favourite with Tufnell Park locals, but it’s also gathered quite the city-wide following too. That’s in no small part down to the excellent wine – sourced from French-speaking parts of the world – and tasty deli bites.
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