Grape Expectations

I can honestly say I didn’t have any great expectations of this Ballyclare off license. It doesn’t look like much from the outside, but as always, appearances can be deceiving. As you walk in, the shop looks so much bigger than what you would ever have imagined, its brilliantly laid out, all the drinks are set out in their different sections; red/​white wine/​beer/​liqueur/​spirits/​Alcopops etc. The deals of the week on offer are clearly marked with a sample of each beside the label, the beer is stocked at the back and is all kept cool (Yay!) the prices weren’t great I must say, for some reason I expected them to be cheaper, but as all we were looking was some chilled wine to enjoy when we got home it wasn’t really a problem. We decided to take advantage of the special offer on white wine (£4 off a particularly nice looking wine, memory escapes me as to the name but it wasn’t that great in the end… boo!) but I was pleased with the experience of calling in here. They sold some very lovely looking wine (I nearly fainted when I saw the price, but that’s vintage for you!) I wouldn’t be calling in here every weekend for my wine but as is often the case the local Asda or Tesco probably do much better deals. The service was very pleasant though, the lady pointed us to our next stop which was down some strange side alley so brownie points for the helpfulness of staff and presentation of the shop. I also learnt that Grape Expectations stock over 760 wines, and they have one of the largest walk in coolers in Northern Ireland! There you go now, the things you learn ey!