Melbourne’s wine bar scene is, quite simply, divine. Wineries are so ubiquitous here that almost every corner is home to a cozy bottle shop with high-ceilinged wooden shelves filled with bottles. Down almost every lane, you’ll find a casual day-to-day cafe full of natural and entrée options or full, full-on, multi-room counters with marble ceilings, chic decor and chef-driven menus to match the 1,000-plus bottle list.
In Australia, wine bars aren’t just restaurants, and they aren’t just crowded shops full of high-end bottles with a cheese plate on the menu.
For Gus Gluck, business development director of Neighborhood Wine, one of Melbourne’s most popular wine bars (along with its two sister locations, Old Palm Liquor, Bahama Gold), service is the main distinguishing feature of wine bars. “Well, if it’s a real winery, it’s going to be loud, and things are going to be normal,” he explained from a chair at Old Palm Liquor, where we tasted a few local bottles while we chatted. “A great wine has to do with the feel, or the service, and it has to come down to the wine. It’s not even a list; it’s also about the glassware, how it’s served, the temperatures, how it’s opened—that’s all critical.”
Gluck, a UK transplant who has lived and worked in Australia for the past decade or so, was drawn to Victoria for its vibrant wine scene. “Victoria doesn’t have a big wine industry yet,” he says. “It’s still evolving, and there’s such diversity because there’s no real house style. Yes, there’s plenty of pinot and chardonnay, but Victoria is also amazing for its future simple-style syrah that’s aromatic and evocative thanks to a chemical called rotundone found in the soil in certain areas.”
So if Victoria’s wine industry is in its infancy, why is Melbourne packed with so many great places to wine and dine? Dan Cole, who owns another winery, The Moon, thinks the proximity of several excellent wine regions, such as the Yarra Valley, Gippsland, King Valley and Mornington Peninsula, may have something to do with it. “We’re close to so many amazing wineries that we get to showcase amazing wines from small, independent winemakers doing their thing,” Cole said. “Even some of our winemakers have incredibly old vines—vines that are 50, 60, 70 years old that produce such amazing fruit.
If you’re visiting Melbourne in the near future and are looking for a place to soak up the fine wine culture, look no further. Below is a list of the best places in the city, scattered between the central CBD where tourists flock, and the cool kid-friendly areas like Fitzroy, Carlton and Collingwood.
