Good wine shops have the habit of finding their way into our hearts and Caro’s Wines is one such specimen. Many know of the legendary family-run boutique from their 12-years operating on Parnell’s Saint Georges Bay Road and now, wine-lovers on the other side of the city are poised to adopt similarly fond feelings due to Caro’s return to the Grey Lynn neighbourhood.

Elevating Ponsonby’s wine scene with their gorgeous, renovated building located toward the Great North Road end of Mackelvie Street, designed by Richard Goldie of Peddle Thorp Architects, the award-winning retailers will be proffering an exemplary range of local and international wines as well as some very special tasting experiences. The stylishly minimalist upstairs room offers space enough for a 50-person tasting event with a fully serviced kitchen to boot. The warm, wood-panelled upper room has already played host to Air New Zealand’s super-premium ‘Fine Wines of New Zealand’ event in July and is also the new home to the renowned Master of Wines Bob Campbell’s wine courses. For years Mr Campbell has held his tastings at Caro’s with the new Grey Lynn premises giving way to a new series of ‘Campbell @ Caro’s’ masterclasses.

The perfect venue for both the most simple and premium wine tastings, Caro’s is equal parts high-brow and homely, inviting one and all to partake in their various wine education offerings. Always ones to ‘keep it in the family’, the mother of business owners John and Richard Caro, Mary Jane, is deemed an expert cook and her famous dishes are presented at Caro’s tastings alongside many of Europe’s tops wines (we hear her famous Lamb Ragout will be making an appearance, paired with Caro’s premium Super-Tuscan tasting in August). This unwaveringly familial approach brings the often pretentious realm of wine down to earth, allowing the celebrated grape-juice to be enjoyed in its proper context: “after all, wine is not meant to go with powerpoint presentations but with good conversation, family, and food” the experts profess.

Having first begun their wine venture on Ponsonby Road 21 years ago, Caro’s have come full circle it would seem. The new store’s building has been in the Caro family for no less than sixty years serving as an office and warehouse. While retaining their premises in Parnell, Caro’s expansion and return to the neighbourhood brings home to roost their deep values in wine appreciation, endowing Grey Lynn (and all of Auckland for that matter) with a beautiful new facility for wine education.