A new Cardiff wine and cheese bar is set to open where you can serve yourself from a vending machine stocking over 20 different varieties of wine.
Glass of Bandol, which is located on Merthyr Road in Whitchurch, is owned by husband and wife team Sajan and Eva Glass.
Sajan is a former web developer and Eva is a dietician but both have a love of cheese and wine.
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In fact, the business’s name, Glass of Bandol, combines the couple’s surname and a wine-producing region in the south of France which the duo fell in love with on a trip a few years ago.
"We really loved the wines and it's so picturesque. There's this one lovely vineyard which has got an amphitheatre as a backdrop and it just looks amazing. We just loved the place so we thought, yeah, let's name it after that region," said Sajan.
Glass of Bandol has a dark and moody interior with reclaimed church pews, metal stools, exposed brickwork, wood panelling and parquet flooring.
But, the standout feature is the bar’s vending machines, which will dispense 24 different varieties of wine in different size pours from 50ml to 175ml. The machines store the wines at the correct temperature and prevent oxidation.
Customers will be able to top up a prepaid card at the bar and serve themselves wines of different styles and price-points from across the world, including lesser known wine producing countries such as Lebanon and Georgia.
"A lot of the wines are going to come from producers which are off the beaten track and a number are either organic, biodynamic, natural or vegan friendly," said Sajan.
Sajan, also hopes the machines will encourage people to try something more luxurious than they’d usually go for.
"When you go to a fancy wine bar and restaurant, people never tend to buy an expensive bottle of wine; they typically pick the second cheapest off the menu or the cheapest wine by the glass. If you've got a bottle of wine, which costs £100, people may never get the opportunity to try it and see what the fuss is about. With the machine, people can buy a small taste that is more affordable to them," said Sajan.
Alongside their huge selection of wine, Glass of Bandol will serve cheese from across Europe with a focus on British producers.
"Where there's a good British alternative, we've gone British to try and reduce carbon footprint and support British cheeses,” said Eva.
“We're going to have six different cheese boards and each will have either three or five cheeses so you can go small or big. If you go with three cheeses we'll have a hard, a soft and a blue cheese. If you go big then you'll also get a washed rind and a goat or sheep's cheese on there.”
"They're served with bread and crackers, fruit nuts and chutneys. We've specifically picked what goes with that plate."
Glass of Bandol plans to soft open by Saturday, December 11 for drinks only, with their food menu launching next week. In a few week’s time, they’ll also offer a pairing menu of cheese and wines as well as baked cheese, fondue and raclette.
