Community Wine House

Bar snacks$

“It’s paaacked,” pings a text from my mate, who’s uncharacteristically early for our Sunday sundowners at Northcote’s new Community Wine House. On an unseasonably balmy winter arvo, of course everyone else has had the same idea. And I mean everyone.

There’s a motley crew splayed in and around the warehouse bar that local label Minimum Wines opened recently in its urban winery, on the banks of the Merri Creek.

A metres-long line of punters waiting for a seat is surrounded by mums with babies tucked inside their puffer jackets; sun-seeking couples drinking vino that matches the golden glow of the wall they’re propped against; and dogs scouring for breadcrumbs.

Have we seen this much action under a roller door since the viral Fitzroy Garage Party?

Minimum Wines is by Matt and Leni Purbrick, who started sustainable farm Grown & Gathered before foraying into winemaking, applying the same ethos to wine made with grapes from a certified organic, regeneratively managed vineyard near Toolamba.

Their first release was in 2019 – just pre-COVID-19 – so many Melburnians got their first taste of the lo-fi wine label while guzzling its grape juice in the park between lockdowns.

That fun, freewheeling (and namesake community) spirit lives on at the Purbricks’ new wine bar, which pours their full range inside the same warehouse they’re produced, alongside wines from offshoot label Un Po’. Many are natural – marked on the menu as “0/0” – but Minimum is working towards going 100 per cent wild-fermented and sulphur-free.

On any given weekend, a dozen-or-so easy-drinking drops are listed by the glass; the barrel-aged “like sun” chardy is best enjoyed in it. Venture into bottled territory for hidden gems, like a “rare”, extra-skinsy vermentino from a batch of only 220 litres.

A wall of flowy fabric obscures the cavernousness of the space, defining a slimline bar area with a timber-topped communal table at its heart, set with candles and florals, and in the background, a stacks-on of wine barrels. Shelves and fridges are stocked like a gourmet grocer, and you can use them as such: Ovens Street Bakery bread and pastries (such as plum-jam doughnuts), fancy tinned fish and condiments, cheese and charcuterie, wine in various hues of sunset. Do a shop or think of it as a visual menu, and settle in.

Stainless-steel platters come adorned with almighty doorstops of ricotta, and hunks of oil-doused baguette are piled in red breadbaskets. Two-person share plates have one tinned or jarred delight (mussels escabeche, or an artichoke-and-walnut bruschetta mix?) with the kitchen’s choice of cheeses, spicy pickles and organic Grampians olives. The Purbricks’ young daughter might even deliver you a little plate of chips – on the house.

Queuing through the crowd can be a bit of a frenzy, but that melts away once you’ve got a stool to call your own. It’s table service, and though run off their feet, the team never lets you know it, squatting down to meet four-legged friends and make suggestions (“The [red blend] seems like a stingy choice for $10, but it’s big, juicy and I love it”).

Also on the roster: beers by Reservoir brewery Sobremesa; plenty of Mischief Brew non-alcs, including cans of its limoncello aperitivo; and filter coffee by Small Batch.

Even in August, this is a glorious place to be as the sun goes down. Dappled light dances on the building’s exterior, filtered through eucalyptus trees on the creek’s edge, and fire pits are ready to be lit as soon as the chill starts to set in (you’ll want to rug up regardless). If it’s already this busy in the dead of winter, imagine the height of summer.

Three bars serving booze where it’s made

Starward

In the backstreets of Port Melbourne is where you’ll find one of the city’s most respected names in whisky. Several experiences are on offer at Starward’s distillery and bar: tours, masterclasses, whisky cocktails, tastings straight from the barrel and more.

50 Bertie Street, Port Melbourne, starward.com.au/distillery

La Sirene

Wild, wine-hybrid and farmhouse ales bring the funk to this brewpub, in an industrial pocket of the north. Go beyond La Sirene’s well-known Citray Sour with more than a dozen beers on tap, plus a menu that ranges from charcuterie boards to steak sangas.

277 Edwardes Street, Reservoir, lasirene.com.au

Dutch Rules

Despite its hot new Sri Lankan restaurant, Dutch Rules still very much functions as a distillery door. Drop in to sample its spiced-up gins as G&Ts, on tasting flights or in cocktails such as the Mar-tea-ni, bolstered by Dilmah-infused vermouth.

1/586 Whitehorse Road, Mitcham, dutchrulesdistilling.com.au

Good Food reviews are booked anonymously and paid independently. A restaurant can’t pay for a review or inclusion in the Good Food Guide.

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