EAT DRINK SHOP
Curious Liquids owner Dayton Joline spoke to Megan Merino about his shop’s strong ties to Ukraine and how he’s making wine-tasting more accessible
MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE
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36 THE LIST April 2022
ince 2018, Dayton Joline, the owner of Curious Liquids bottle shop and bar, has been on a mission to demystify the often elitist world of wine-tasting, one customer at a time. ‘I want it to be a place where we show wine is a reflection of people and places all over the world; it’s an agricultural product made by farmers, essentially. It’s something that can only be created in that specific environment.’ The shop, connected to Phillies on Pollokshaws Road in Glasgow’s Southside, houses 200 bottles of carefully curated wine, over 40 of which are available to drink by the glass due to special preservation systems sourced from America. ‘We’ve got Japanese wine, we’ve got Georgian wine (where winemaking first began in civilization), some really unique varieties and places, says Joline. ‘I mean, Italy alone has over 1000 registered grape varieties. And every one is different. It’s just this marvellous world to explore.’ A selection of craft beers is also on offer (‘I want the beer drinkers to be sitting side by side with the wine drinkers’) as well as wine-tasting workshops where a team of experts explain various flavour and weight profiles, which then helps customers shop for their desired bottles. ‘The way that we organise things here is not by country or by grape variety, it’s by flavour and weight profile. If it’s next to it on the shelf, it’s a similar profile. So if somebody comes in and says, “I like this particular style of wine”, we can then say, “OK, there’s that one, but there are also the ones all around it you may never have heard of”. It’s demystifying the whole wine thing and it’s about letting people realise their palate is valid.’ Creating Curious Liquids was a ‘labour of love from the start,’ Joline says. ‘I owe so much to my staff. They are absolutely amazing.’ Everything from shelving to coasters has been created by friends and family, including a striking mural telling a
whimsical story of wine-flavour profiles and regions, which was hand-painted by Joline’s wife Lena. ‘My amazingly talented beautiful wife is Ukrainian so she’s going through a lot right now. She designed the logo too.’ Joline’s strong ties to Ukraine are evident from the flag displayed proudly over one of the shop windows (mirroring a Scottish flag on the other side). ‘Ukraine is entwined in my family. It is my wife’s life and it’s where my daughter was born. I think it’s unspeakable what the Russians are doing. My dream is it stops today but we will continue to do whatever we can to help.’ Curious Liquids hosted a fundraising day, alongside Ukrainian-owned neighbours Deanston Bakery (who attracted hundreds to their fundraiser in March), and continues to take donations towards food, medicine and protective gear. But there is more he urges us all to do. ‘Contact government representatives and push the UK to do more to protect Ukrainians, especially when it comes to resettling refugees. I think that’s something Scotland would do without any hesitation.’ Curious Liquids, 28–30 Kilmarnock Road, Glasgow, philliesbar.co.uk
