Barossa Tourism
Presenting the finalists for Wine Bar of the Year
Next month, we will reveal our winners and the full guide to Australia’s best restaurants at a glamorous gala evening at Catalina in Sydney and in our September issue.
To make sure you receive a copy, delivered to your door, subscribe now at magshop.com.au.
And the nominees are…
Bar Olo
Melbourne | VIC
There’s something almost radical about Bar Olo. At a time when the wine bars currently proliferating across Melbourne are mostly emphasising minimal intervention wines and food cooked over coals, this bar, from the owners of longstanding Scopri a few doors away, emphasises the classic and the old-school. From the flatteringly lit, wood-panelled room to a compact menu of classic Italian bites, and a wine list that accentuates traditional Italian winemaking, Bar Olo feels both retro and completely fresh.
In short: Old-school cool.
Havilah
Launceston | TAS
The wall of well-selected wines from near and far – available to take home or drink in – might be Havilah’s lure. Once the bijou bar’s moody lighting casts its spell, however, you’ll want to stay longer. Settle in for more wine, including bottles from owner Ricky Evans’ Havilah and Two Tonne Tasmania labels, and also for unfussy cooking that radiates rustic warmth and a killer vinyl soundtrack.
In short: Big things, small package.
Otherness
Angaston | SA
Hospitality veteran Grant Dickson dipped into the rare drops in his extensive personal cellar to open his bar in quaint Angaston. The addition of Sam Smith (former head chef at Fino Seppeltsfield) galvanised the stellar menu of informal bites. Dickson’s premium micro wine brand Otherness Wines shares this space and all bottles are available for dine in or takeaway. The result is a hangout frequented by Barossa winemaking royalty, eager for affordability.
In short: Barossa and beyond.
Poly
Sydney | NSW
“Minimalist” may be the byword at Poly, if the aesthetic or degree of intervention in the consciously farmed wines are anything to go by. Yet anyone who’s pulled up
a pew at Mat Lindsay’s free-wheeling follow-up to Ester knows its pleasures
are well and truly of the maximalist kind. Here, the full-on flavours from the hearth-powered kitchen are met by whatever’s in the glass – something skinsy perhaps, or maybe oxidative,
but always on song.
In short: A natural choice.
South West Wine Shop
Busselton | WA
For a region known for making brilliant wine, south-west WA has a surprising lack of brilliant wine bars. This airy enoteca attached to Busselton Pavilion addresses that imbalance. Wines on offer run from local bottlings to international standouts are talked up by gracious wine pro Hayley Ward, who leads the charge. Primo snacks and meals-for-one make staying for one more glass far too easy.
In short: The pub bottle shop, reimagined
11e Cave
Canberra | ACT
Named for Paris’ grungy-chic 11th arrondissement, this basement wine bar behind an unmarked red door channels the spirit of Parisian cellar bars without succumbing to cliché. The smart wine list, on-theme cocktails and solid snack menu is as much about new Canberra as it is about Old World with the low-ceilinged, candle-lit room creating a clandestine vibe that suggests the ACT, too, is for lovers.
In short: A French love affair.
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