If you’ve wanted to say sorry, thanks or “I love you”, online retailer Sorry Thanks I Love You has had all your designer axe, bespoke pet accessory and luxe satchel needs covered. Now, in a natural progression in the apology/gratitude/romance stakes, they’ve moved into wine, and they’ve got one of the best sommeliers in the country on board to help them out.
Launched over drinks at the Martin Place pop-up store in Sydney last night, the brand’s foray into the world of the grape is led by none other than Sebastian Crowther, Master of Wine, and sommelier at Rockpool.
“We needed help, and a friend said he was friends with a Master of Wine and mentioned that there were only two other MWs in the country, so that sounded pretty good to us,” says co-founder Ant White.
Fellow co-founder Caroline Ball says the brief to Crowther was to take the same approach Sorry Thanks I Love You takes to the rest of the collection.
“So my focus is on high quality, unique wines with a handmade element and an interesting story to tell,” says Crowther.
As often as not, Ball says, that translates to wines being made by young, progressive wine makers working from very small vineyards. “Sylvie Ruffin, for example, only has three hectares of vines but her family has been making organic Champagne since the 1970s.” Victoria’s Crawford River, a favourite for Crowther since his days running the list at The Royal Mail Hotel, also features in the first line-up.
“They were the first in the Western Districts to plant vines, and so have really been experimenting from the get-go,” says Ball. “They planted cabernet franc and merlot alongside their now-famous riesling, and are now producing what Seb reckons is one of the most underrated reds in the country.”
It might be a thank-you or I-love-you occasion, but Crowther’s picks will leave you with nothing to be sorry about. Hop onto sorrythanksiloveyou.com or bop down to Martin Place (or the new Melbourne pop-up, opening in Hawksburn on May 9) for your taste.
Sorry Thanks I Love You, Shop 2, Ground Floor, GPO Building, 1 Martin Pl, Sydney, NSW.
