Joseph O'Donovan founded the company in the early 1960's. He first started selling wine in the context of a supermarket. At that time Joe was heavily involved in supermarkets & forecourt garages. Joe saw an up & coming trend - drinking at home- & opened his first off - licence in Douglas in 1980. Since that time he has opened off - licences in Ballincollig, Bishopstown, Blackpool, Oliver Plunkett St, Main St, Midleton, Riversdale shopping centre Midleton , Passage West ,Shandon St , Summerhill , Grange, Cobh, Carrigaline, Mallow and Bandon. Plans are underway to open many more off- licences. The company aim to become the number one wine off-licence retailing group in the South of the country and to expand into the greater Munster region, even Nationwide.

Since the unfortunate passing of Joe early in 2003, Gary, Ken and Liz have carried on the company tradition. Gary has headed the wine department since 1991. In 1994 he became a Champagne Academician and in 1996 achieved a Diploma in Wines & Spirits. Gary is heavily involved in the wine trade - he is a lecturer with the Wine Development Board of Ireland and travels extensively to all wine regions sourcing information and quality wines. He has also been a regular contributor to the 96FM wine slot over the years. Gary has also worked exclusively with agents in Ireland, Champagne, South West France, Chile, Australia and South Africa to ensure O'Donovans have a unique wine list - far more extensive than most of those throughout the country.

O'Donovans run a successful Wine Club - the Cork Bacchus Wine Club - which meets six times annually. We also stage the Cork Wine Fair in November each year - this year in aid of Support After Crime Services - a new victim support service. Both the Wine Club and Wine Fair provide a great opportunity to taste a multitude of wines and learn more about the world of wine. We offer a comprehensive wine tasting service for groups of corporate or private individuals. For further details on Wine Tastings Contact Us.

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