This 'didn't exist in Stockport'

Loads of complex jargon, unwritten rules and a culture of snobbery made it feel rather inaccessible. In recent years, things have changed.

Labels and descriptions are using everyday language; social media is breaking down barriers to make it more fun and open; and there's new formats like canned wines, aluminium bottles and even a boxed wine making a comeback. With all that in mind, imagine if there was a place where you could sit in wonderful historic surroundings, enjoy picky bits from a European-style sharing board and enjoy a glass of wine - whether that's top of the range or even just you're favourite supermarket tipple. Underneath Stockport Viaduct, such a place exists.

Bodega is a brand new neighbourhood wine bar at Weir Mill, the recently unveiled, £60m residential and leisure neighbourhood housed with a historic cotton mill complex. The site features 253 rental apartments including loft-style homes in the Grade II-listed mill and modern new builds, as well as Weaver’s Square for live music, events, and outdoor dining, alongside a riverside terrace and green spaces.

Launched last weekend, the development has also opened along with several independent bars, cafes, restaurants and shops. Bodega has been one of the first to throw open its doors, as well as Rita Ray's, the North's first women-focused sports bar, and Kontrol, a new wellness studio with a mix of mat and reformer pilates classes.

Bodega is situated within what was the mill's original engine room, which once housed the boiler powering the entire mill. As the bar's founders discovered whilst viewing the site, it was ideal for the wine and bar concept that they wanted to bring to life. The relaxed space is all about great wines, draft lager, spritzes, and Bologna-inspired charcuterie and small plates within a setting that feels accessible and laidback.

But beyond this, and a 'first' for the UK, is their Cellar Club concept. This membership feature allows guests to store their personal wine collections in the temperature-controlled vault (holding up to 1,200 bottles) and enjoy them at the bar for a small corkage fee.

The idea is that it's accessible and removes some of the pretence and mystery around wine - if you want to bring 12 of your favourite bottles from Aldi, here, you are more than welcome to. “It started as a storage concept first," says Tom Wilmot, who co-founded Bodega alongside business partner Dan Watt. "Initially we wanted to find a creative way of making it more cost-effective for people to eat and drink out, and socialise.

There’s almost this idea of could we create a bar with a wine storage concept where people can consume their own wine in the bar and only pay corkage. "We’ve then layered on top of that.

There’s the retail element too, the bar is now fully fledged with draft lager and spritzes and a food offering too, but it started as a wine storage concept first." Asked why they wanted to bring such a concept to life, Tom explains: "We’ve got a massive cost-of-living crisis.

Prices have doubled in the last 15 years and I only realise how bad it is when I go abroad and you can eat and drink for half the price in a lot of places. "But also, the industry is on its knees, so the idea was if we can find a way for people to eat and drink out, there should be a way that works for everyone." The bar, which looks directly onto the viaduct, where you can see the trains to Manchester and Crewe pass regularly has kept many of the building's historic features, adding contemporary Scandinavian-style furniture and fixtures to modernise and create that relaxed setting.

But the wine cellar is particularly exciting. Here, 1,200 bottles can be kept in the specially designed steel racks, all with an individual code so members can store their own collection and pop in for a drink when they so wish.

As co-founder Dan explains, the room was ideal for what they had in mind. "When we first came in we thought about which is the wine bar space and which wine cellar and then we walked in the back here and the walls are like three feet thick and it doesn’t get warm in there - we knew it was the perfect wine cellar. "At that point it was still a building site, no windows in, holes in walls, but when we saw it and the heritage of the space we knew we couldn’t really use it for anything else other than a wine cellar.

"Cosmetically it looks amazing but we did need to work with the listed nature of the building and making sure sockets didn't damage the fabric of the building. It's been a challenge but when you’re looking at 250-year brick work rather than plasterboard, it's worth it." The wine menu within the bar also spans a selection of wines carefully selected by the Bodega team including General Manager, Adam Poppitt, formerly of acclaimed wine bar and shop, Cork of the North.

“We’ve got 18 wines by the glass, two weekly rotating specials and then we’re retailing about 50 bottles," adds Tom. "We’ve tried to get a balanced classics and grapes people expect, along with the modern wine movement too.

There’s a Romanian orange on the menu which actually sold out rapidly at the weekend even though we weren’t sure how people would react. The quickest three to sell out were the Provence rose, chilled Austrian red and the orange Romanian bottles." White wines currently include the Vale de Homen Vinho Verde from Portugal, The Funkstille Gruner Veltliner from Austria and a crisp Gavi variety from Italy.

There's a range of orange and rose grape varieties too with options from Provence, Puglia and Romania, while reds include a Tempranillo, Pinot Noir and Argentinian Malbec. There will be a wine of the week too which guests will find on the blackboard, as well as a wine flight where you can pick your own tasting with three wines from the wine list.

The wine flight is £12 while the fizz flight is £15. If you fancy something different there's a range of spritzes from £10, gin and tonic from £6 and beers on tap, plus a range of non-alcoholic options too.

Food has not been overlooked here either, and in fact, Tom's travels to Bologna has inspired their comprehensive and rather delicious selection of charcuterie. If you just fancy something small with your glass of wine, there's olives, Padron peppers and a baked Camembert with bread.

But if you fancy something more substantial or even just want your dinner, the Cheese Board (£18); Bodega Board for 2-3 people to share (£22); and the Mega Board for 4-6 people to share (£38). The latter features a riot of cured meats, big cheeses, punchy pickles, marinated veg, and all the good bits they could get their hands on from trusted suppliers like Amato, Holy Grain and other local producers. It's early days, but Tom and Dan are confident in the first week of trading and the reception they've had - especially if it breaks down barriers around wine drinking and makes it more accessible for those coming down.

"The feedback has been phenomenal, and people were saying to us, ‘this didn’t exist in Stockport’, at least in the town centre that is," says Tom. "Stockport is flying at the moment and we’re fortunate timing wise cause we can jump on that wave. There’s also so much curiosity around Weir Mill, which is bringing people in that are just curious about the development too.

"Someone said it's just like going out in Amsterdam on Google Reviews. Hopefully what we’re doing is quite original."