Morpeth business move another reason for Mark to be happy with his career change

And the move for Grape and Grain to 3 Bridge Street is another reason for director Mark Stephenson to be happy with his career change, as it has been able to expand its range.

He has thanked customers for their support and revealed that wine tastings are being organised – including a big event at Morpeth Town Hall in late autumn.

Recalling his journey to this point, the 36-year-old said: “I spent a number of years working on the railways, but that wasn’t for me.

“One day my wife said to me ‘why don’t you look at doing some wine courses?’ as it has always been a passion of mine, and I decided to sign up for one and take things from there.

“I then made the decision to join Majestic in Gosforth in 2018 and even though I halved my wage overnight, I had no regrets.

“It was great to join the Grape and Grain team much closer to home a year later and I was delighted to become director of the business in December 2020. I have to thank previous owner Michelle McKenzie for doing a great job, particularly during the early months of the Covid pandemic.

“It has been a tough period for many businesses, but my glass is half full looking to the future now that we’ve taken the opportunity to move to bigger premises.

“We’ve had many positive comments from our regulars and people who didn’t know about us until passing the new premises.

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t know anything about wine, we’re happy to answer any question as we provide a unique service with knowledge and expertise.

“We’ll be re-starting the monthly in store tastings soon and we’ll have the Town Hall event in November for the first time since 2019 to give people the opportunity to try our wines from more niche areas.”

Mark thanked JW Peters, Michael Metcalf and Spotty Dog for their efforts as part of the relocation project.

The business moved from 50 Bridge Street. It started off there as Bin 21 in 2010 and the name was changed to Grape and Grain in 2017.