Ad Hoc: The Northern Quarter’s new, must-visit indie wine shop

Upon entering, you’ll be greeted by a seemingly endless frame of bottles, perched atop the venue’s striking yellow concrete floor. Decorated with just a few plants, a stack of shopping baskets and hand-written labels, there’s an immediate, charming simplicity about the whole place.

The first wine we were poured was a red, poetically titled ‘Domaine Les Filles De Septembre Cotes De Thongue’. From fifth-generation vignerons—this sip, from start to finish, tasted like a summer berry bouquet. Flavours of young red fruit with bright peppery undertones over a background of supple ripe tannins, it could pair with just about anyone or anything. With a novel of a name and just a little over £16 a bottle, this is sure to be a new post-work wintery unwinder of choice.

After some perusing and feeling enticed by just about every mango or peach flavoured beer, came the second glass of the evening; ‘Ciello Bianco’. This bottle is proudly from one of the few organic organisations in Sicily that are paving the path to more sustainable viticulture. Light and with the tones of fresh tropical fruits, lemon pith and a southern olive oil texture with grapefruit on the palate—a new favourite white indeed at just over £11 a bottle.

Ad Hoc was born out of lockdown and as things slowly began to open back up, the team saw Manchester’s growing desire for exciting new wine and very brilliantly seized the moment. Ale and spirit lovers need not worry about being forgotten about either—Ad Hoc has always boasted an impressive range of craft beers, pouring local favourites like Squawk, Track and Shindigger, and in the last week, they’ve significantly revamped their whisky and rum offering too.

Miles, the owner, explains: ‘The thing is, there’s a big trend in wine at the moment which is to just stick a funky label on it and hope it sells for the best, but the most important thing is the liquid—not the bottle. If someone came in and wanted a really specific recommendation, we may not have the best-looking label in the world but the most important thing is that you’re going to drink something really, really good.”

We can most certainly vouch for that. He continued: “literally nothing makes it onto the shelf that hasn’t been tasted by us, so whether you want a top-end bottle of Bordeaux or a bottle of orange wine—we have everything in between.”

Friendly knowledgeable staff, tasteful music and even tastier wines make this bar-bottleshop hybrid accessible and welcoming to anyone. The team have clearly worked and taken considerations to stock something that any and every passer-by would be happy to indulge in. Whether you’re a Pinot Noir expert, an IPA fanatic or you just want to try something a little different for your next pre-drinks or dinner party, we can pretty confidently say, they’ll have you covered and then some.