Dida's Wine

We often get asked, so well clear this one up first: Dida is Croatian for Grandfather. Didas Wine Lounge is a tribute to the vision of my pioneering grandfather who started Glengarry Wines in 1940. But that brief historical fact doesnt really explain the whole story. The Balkans region has a long and battle-scarred history; mention the places Saraj... evo, Bosnia or Kosovo to the YouTube generation and even theyll know what youre talking about. Its a melting pot, and a trouble-spot, still, unfortunately. After WWI, when a young Josef Jakicevich, Dida, was considering the quality of his future in such a hazardous and unpredictable time and place, he decided to start a new life somewhere else, something plenty of young men did in such unsettled times. Being driven and tenacious, he chose to, literally, carve out a future somewhere virtually unknown to him and he came to New Zealand to work as a stonemason. When he stepped off the gangway in Auckland he literally had only a handful of change in his pocket nothing else. His English was rudimentary and he only really had a passing knowledge of the country that was to shape the rest of his life. He was 20. By working with fierce determination in Northland and Auckland Dida managed to save enough money to buy 10 acres in Glengarry Road, Oratia, West Auckland, (theres the other name explained, in case you didnt know!) and there he planted a vineyard, setting the foundation for a thriving and enduring family business. In 1948 the Government created wine-resellers licenses in an effort to assist local winemakers. Josef was quick to see the potential and seized the opportunity, applying for and being granted one of the first two licenses issued in Auckland, for the greengrocery that he had opened the previous year at the corner of Jervois Road and Blake Street. That address might ring a bell: its where our flagship Glengarry wine store resides, and where the Didas Wine Lounge and our first Didas Food Store were opened. From the opening of the greengrocery doors to the ...Read More