Norvines Wine Merchants set to open in Westhoughton

Natalie Norvall, 41, owner and director of the business alongside her dad Joe Johnson, 70, will be opening Norvines Wine Merchants inside Provenance Food Hall on Market Street on Wednesday, June 26.

The dad and daughter team, who live in Westhoughton, decided to open the business after being inspired by the cultures of their home country.

Natalie was born and grew up in South Africa and moved to the UK 24 years ago and has lived in Westhoughton for 15 years and wanted to open a shop where independent small winemakers can have their stories told.

Natalie said: “On the Wednesday we will be opening our doors for anyone who would like to come down and have a look at our collection of wines and then on the Saturday we will be hosting a grand opening, with wine tasting and sampling, and the town mayor Cllr Neil Maher will be in attendance to officially open our store.

“Norvines is a family-run business, so it is myself and my dad Joe, my parents lived in South Africa for quite a while and they were part of wine clubs when they lived there, so they have a love of wine.

“So, off the back of that we wanted to open our own shop Norvines, and we have selected all of our wines from across the world.

"We have been selective, and we will also have a main focus on South African wine because that is where I grew up.

“Basically, what we are going for are wines that come from winemakers who are small producers, so we are steering clear of wines people will see in supermarkets.

“We will also be there to offer guidance, if someone is looking for a particular taste, we can advise on the best wine to purchase.

“We will also be offering a small selection of spirits such as gin, rum and vodka.

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“I was inspired to open a shop after being surrounded by wine tastings in South Africa, over Christmas we were talking about how we haven’t got a local wine shop where you can go and pick a great bottle of wine and find out a story about the creation of the wine.

“Every bottle of wine holds a story and that is what we wanted to bring to Bolton, a personal touch.

“Norvines is an independent shop, but we are going to be situated upstairs within Provenance Food Hall on Market Street.

“We have been working on this since January and finding the premises was the final piece of the jigsaw.

“We just want to offer something different to the residents of Westhoughton and Bolton.”

Natalie said the response has been great, with so much excitement surrounding the opening.

She added: “We have had a positive response, everyone is quite excited, people are looking forward to seeing our wine collection and seeing what we have got to offer.

“And I think because we are offering wines that are from smaller winemakers people are excited to come in and see the selection.

“I am also feeling excited as it has been quite a journey, which has been an interesting journey and I’m at the point now where I am ready for it to open.

“I just want to get out there and hopefully start selling some lovely bottles of wine.”

Natalie said she is already thinking about the future.

She said: “We are hoping to do some wine tasting events, where people can come in and taste some wine, so definitely keep an eye out for that, we are hoping to run our first one in August.”

If you have a story or something you would like to highlight in the community, please email me at chloe.wilson@newsquest.co.uk or DM me on X @chloewjourno.