Vintoto

No city is complete without a great independent wine shop – and Vintoto is Wakefield’s offering. The shop is at the gateway to the city, Wakefield Westgate station, located just outside the main station concourse and the perfect place for those just arriving or leaving the city to pick up a bottle of something special. Here, there are wines, spirits, Magic Rock Brewing Co craft beers, mixers and accessories; anything, in fact, that the discerning drinker might need. Vintoto sets out to offer a more selective range of products than the supermarkets that are its rivals, but with an approach that’s totally lacking in snobbery. Whether you’re a knowledgeable wine drinker or a complete novice, this is the place to come, browse, and draw on the staff’s insight into the shop’s stock.

With shiny black bricks and a simple white sign, Vintoto is an elegant addition to Westgate station. Industrial-looking metal lights illuminate the wine racks, crates and fridges full of chilled vintages. Everything is neatly laid out, making browsing appealingly easy. The shop’s services extend to a Gift Registry for those who are celebrating a special occasion, but have everything they need already; it’s an opportunity to put together a list that suits with the Vintoto team, whether it’s for starting off your home bar, laying in some celebratory fizz or choosing a few bottles to put away and drink in a few years. There’s also the testing World of Wine game in store, with over 320 cards and questions on styles of wine, grape varieties and international blends, as well as accompanying fun facts and trivia.

Vintoto is a great portal to the rest of Wakefield; walk away from Westgate station and into the city centre, and you’ll reach The Art House, home to a year-round programme of exhibitions, events, residencies and workshops, or the Grade II listed Theatre Royal Wakefield within minutes. Wakefield Museum, with its local treasures and myriad stories of people’s lives through history, isn’t much further on, as are some of the city’s top cafés and restaurants. There’s Create Café, which serves up good quality food made from scratch and works extensively with organisations supporting people with mental health issues and learning difficulties, as well as Estábulo Rodizio Bar & Grill, which channels the Brazilian Gaúcho’s traditional method of cooking. Though it’s located at the gateway to the city, Vintoto is as much part of Wakefield as any of these.