Mullingar based Wines Direct, Ireland’s leading wine merchant and supplier, had its new business premises officially opened by Taoiseach, Brian Cowen last week.
The occasion had particular meaning for Wines Direct owner Paddy Keogh, as it is just over a year ago that he witnessed the business he had spent 15 years growing almost destroyed by a devastating fire in October 2007.
Just one year on, ex-army officer Keogh and his team are celebrating Wines Direct’s move into its new state-of-the-art wine warehouse and premises at Lough Sheever Corporate Park in Mullingar.
Employing 26 people and supporting a large number of related employment in logistics and distribution, Wines Direct is unique in the Irish wine market as the only wine supplier that specialises in sourcing and importing directly a wide range of wines, all of which come from small, independent, family owned wineries, for whom winemaking is not just a business but also a passion.
Speaking at the official opening Paddy Keogh said: “We are delighted to move to our new home after all the challenges of a year ago when our business was almost mortally wounded. I am hoping that this facility will become the wine centre of the Midlands.
“With the new premises and wine shop, we now have the space we always wanted to showcase the wines carefully selected for our customers’ enjoyment in an attractive way, and in surroundings that make browsing and shopping for wine a pleasurable experience for them. All of the wines here are unique, made by small, independent family owned wineries, driven with passion, just like Wines Direct itself.”
In his speech the Taoiseach commented; “Wines Direct Limited is operating in one of the most competitive segments of the modern Irish wine market. You are competing with other specialists in the same field, not only in Ireland but across the EU and internationally. I have every confidence, however, that your energy, expertise, passion for good wine, great customer service, and above all, the quality of your product will see you through. I congratulate Paddy Keogh and his team on their new facility.”
