We were recently invited to the launch of a new EJM Wine Society by EJM Wine in St Ives, as the most local member of the Admin Team in made sense for me to attend on the teams behalf, can you tell how upset I was by this!!!

As a local I was aware of EJM Wine but hadn’t visited before so was viewing everything with fresh eyes. They are based on Abbey Retail Park which has several chain type food outlets, a beer shop, barbers and an estate agents so finding EJM Wine in a row of modern retail premises was a nice surprise – I love to shop local and I’m even happier if it is a true independent and this really is. You won’t get a £5 bottle of plonk here like you would in the supermarket but you will get an amazing selection of specially selected wines from around the world and can talk to someone who is passionate about what they sell and know what each one tastes like. They will be able to help you select the right wine for your occasion or the person you are buying for just by asking a few questions. And if this is a last minute gift they also have gift bags and a great selection of individual cards (also made by an independent crafter known to Gary).

EJM Wine is owned by Gary McDonald and his family and the name comes from his teenage son’s initials, hopefully that will be enough to entice him to follow in dad’s footsteps! Gary has been in the wine business and visiting vineyards for over 25 years. When he was made redundant during covid he made the brave decision to set up EJM Wine, premises were found, fitted out, stock sourced and they opened in 2021.

It isn’t a huge shop, one side looks really industrial with racks made from scaffolding and shelves from scaffold boards. The other side looks like wine boxes on the wall with a trestle table underneath, at the back is a till area which is set up to look like a bar and in the middle is a huge wine barrel, perfect for leaning on. It’s all very inviting and the EJM Wine Team were out in force for the launch of their new EJM Wine Society. They were all friendly and welcoming, obviously knew some customers well but this didn’t stop them making sure they got to speak to everyone and they really listened to people.

There were several wines available to taste, I was asked what I would usually drink and I said an Italian or Australian red, nothing too heavy. I was provided with a glass of Pinot Noir from Hungary! It really did go down very easily and I would have been happy to drink the bottle, so I bought one and it came home with me! Honestly, without being guided towards this I wouldn’t even have tried it, and I would have missed a real treat!

As it was a launch night there were lots of antipasto platters around to nibble on and people were sampling many of the wines. The great thing about the new Wine Society is that it’s free to join and members get many benefits including discounts on cases or single bottles that aren’t available to non members.

I know this review should be all about the new Wine Society but I also want you to understand what a local gem EJM Wine is, especially after the recent loss of Wadsworths who were an institution in St Ives. EJM Wine is very different as it concentrates on wine but I did spot the odd bottle of Vodka and Gin which I suspect will be very carefully chosen. Gary was such a gentleman when I mentioned Wadsworths, saying that there really had been enough space for both of them in the town. There are other events at EJM Wine through the year, such as wine courses and tastings, a birthday celebration & barbecue so do pop in and see what they are up to! Maybe join the EJM Wine Society while you are there, you have nothing to lose and lots to gain.