Pub of the Week: Pursuit of Poppiness in Dorchester

It has its very own unique offering, proving that sibling rivalry is well and truly alive.

This bijou wine bar on Brewery Square, Dorchester, refuses to remain in the shadow of sister bar The Pursuit of Hoppiness in Bridport.

With its mellow ambience, local wine offerings and handy location at a public transport gateway to the county town, ‘Poppiness’ is vying for attention.

Just a few yards away from Dorchester South train station, it opened its doors in December 2023 replacing the former Morrish & Banham wine shop.

The Pursuit of Poppiness is just yards away from Dorchester South station (Image: NQ) General manager Harrison Yarnold said the bar fills a gap in the market with the county town previously lacking a wine bar.

“Dorchester didn’t have a dedicated wine bar so it made sense to do this.

“The aim of the Pursuit of Poppiness is to offer something really special if you are into wine. And we find that people can get into wine very easily!”

The Pursuit of Poppiness is fast becoming a go-to destination for wine lovers (Image: NQ) The limited space inside the wine bar encourages shared comfy bench seating and the chance to make new friends, play board games with an array on offer and fully relax and unwind with some chilled out music playing in the background.

The main draw for a lot of customers is the chance to drink wine made just a few miles away at Bride Valley Vineyard in Litton Cheney.

L-R: Reece Merrifield and Harrison Yarnold (Image: NQ)

Drinkers can buy two glasses for £9.50 – ‘it’s a big draw for people,’ Harrison says.

“If you can drink something local quite cheaply it’s appealing because by and large English fizz isn’t cheap.”

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‘Poppiness’ offers different wines on rotation – ideal for connoisseurs of all things grape. For example, you can currently order a Jumi-Juma from Moldova, a mix of rich Chardonnay and racy Riesling, a unique offering, as Harrison says.

There is also a wine offering on tap, a chilled South African red, which is proving popular.

The Fridge of Dreams at the Pursuit of Poppiness (Image: NQ) For those who aren’t so enamoured with the viner things in life, there’s a Fridge of Dreams with an extensive beer and cider collection and a fun cocktail card shuffling system so people can randomly select a cocktail to have made for them by the enthusiastic drinks whizz Reece Merrifield. He says the most popular choice is the dirty margherita.

“I hope people have a good experience when they come here,” he said.

Reece at work behind the bar (Image: NQ) “We have some regulars and I’d love to see more people becoming regulars. I like to try and give people some expertise to help them choose what to drink. I like to talk to people and try and advise them on what they should order and I always like to hear feedback.”

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Harrison came into the industry after studying modern languages at university. He previously worked at the Elm Tree Inn at Langton Herring, at a restaurant in Bridport and then became part of the ‘Pursuit’ team.

Offerings at the wine bar (Image: NQ) “I was born in Dorchester and my family live in Askerswell,” he said.

“Most people would say that Dorset is behind the times but I would rather be ahead of the curve and am bringing some of the trends to the Pursuit of Poppiness.”

He enthuses about another unique offering - natural wine, Pét-nat, short for pétillant naturel, a natural sparkling wine made using a traditional, ancestral winemaking technique.

“We’re trying to do things like bridge the gap between what’s happening in London and what’s happening in deepest darkest Dorset,” he said.

The Pursuit of Poppiness at 1 Pope Street, Brewery Square, Dorchester, is open on Wednesdays through to Sundays.