Melbourne is a city of secrets: in contrast to its great rival, whose most famous attributes are boldly visible in Sydney Harbour, the most interesting elements of Victoria’s state capital are tucked away down laneways, in basements and on rooftops, waiting to be discovered. Many of these are in the CBD (central business district) in the city centre and, since every tourist goes there and a writer with limited space must choose somehow, the list below of the best Melbourne wine bars is taken from there.
But the city, vast in area if not in population, is dotted with interesting neighbourhoods that have great drinking dens of their own. If you’re hanging out north of the CBD, you can prop yourself at the Napier Quarter bar in Fitzroy for a $2 coffee or delve into the wine list, which includes treats from the state of Victoria’s more interesting crannies. Heathcote is featured, as are the Pyrenees and the windy Macedon Ranges where Michael Dhillon makes his fantastic Bindi Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
Just around the corner, in a graffitied old building, is Bar Liberty, which has black banquette and a wine list more focused on Europe than the surrounding vineyards. A 20-minute stroll down Brunswick St gets you to Marion Wine Bar, near the Melbourne Museum: a haven of great wines and shared plates by Melbourne culinary genius Andrew McConnell. Carlton North has the new Brico, a joint venture between Bar Liberty’s Josh Begbie and Phil Bracey, formerly of the much-lamented P Franco in East London. It also has Geralds Bar, a longstanding hangout that prides itself on its informality (and loud music) but does its job far too well – great food, relaxed atmosphere, well-chosen list of over 200 wines – for someone not to be paying close attention.
South of the CBD, there is the tiny Don’s in Prahran, with its communal table and natural wines; fantastic views over the city from Beverly Rooftop in South Yarra; Bellota in South Melbourne, which serves great small plates and takes full advantage of being the sister business to one of the world’s great wine shops, Prince Wine Store, two doors down. I could go on… and on. And that’s without discussing the cocktail bars that also cater to wine drinkers and the many restaurants that pride themselves on their excellent wine lists – no longer, as they were a decade ago, protectively Australian-only but now ranging across the world, their curators confident – and rightly so – that Australia’s fine wines can stand comparison with the best from anywhere else.
When it comes to places to drink those wines in a convivial atmosphere with something delicious to line one’s stomach, on the other hand, the rest of the world could learn a thing or two from Melbourne. Below are six of the best Melbourne wine bars in the city’s CBD.
Six of the best wine bars in Melbourne
Bijou Bottle Store
Down a small street sits this very small bar and bottle shop, enticingly lined on two sides with bottles to take away… or drink in. There aren’t many tables and it’s walk-ins only, but Bijou is worth the wait: like a New World improvement on a great Parisian bar in a 1960s film, it is intimate in the best sense, with its wooden tables and sympathetic staff. Simple snacks are available, as are cocktails. But any wine lover who can resist those shelves and shelves of great bottles isn’t worthy of the name.
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Caretaker’s Cottage
These guys reckon they are the state of Victoria’s smallest pub, which may be true but it leaves a lot out. Built in 1914 in classic Gothic Revival style and home to an actual caretaker until the 1990s, this tiny stone house is now an improbable adjunct to the glass and steel of the CBD. Inside, there’s somehow room for vinyl and homemade fruit liqueurs, as well as a wine list good enough to win the three owners Best Bar in Australasia at the 2024 World’s 50 Best awards. And while they are very strong on cocktails – one of those owners, Rob Libecans, used to work for London’s cocktail king, Ryan Chetiyawardana, aka Mr Lyan – you don’t get a gong like that without a terrific wine list too.
City Wine Shop
Ideally situated opposite the Houses of Parliament, City Wine Shop (and its neighbour and sister The European) is as much a destination for gourmands as the government building is for politicians. Founded in 2004, this is a combination of mouthwatering bottle shop (as Aussies call their off-licences) and restaurant, with a long bar and seats at the far end that require a walk past the high shelves of wine – although the wages of succumbing to temptation are only a reasonable corkage charge ($25). The Shop leans strongly but not exclusively Aussie, while the European does what it says on the tin, but both take advantage of great local produce (with a few northern hemisphere additions) to keep enthusiastic drinkers well fed.
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Circl Wine House
Circl Wine House, a slick and elegant place that opened last year and promptly won an award for Australia’s Best Champagne List, is nonetheless not technically a wine bar: in this two-storey wine palace just off Lonsdale St, you have to eat, but with caviar, smoked eel tart or pork from Otway down near the Great Ocean Road, that’s hardly a chore. And the wine list, overseen by star sommelier Xavier Vigier, is exceptional, with 150 wines (including rare gems from France and Australia) by the glass and, should you have the cash, some of the world’s great bottles.
Kirk’s Wine Bar
Don’t let the simple décor – undulating wooden bar backed by glowing green tiles, white walls with vintage drinks posters – fool you: this longstanding bar, on the site of a horse bazaar founded almost as long ago as Melbourne itself, is the brainchild of three of the most impressive names on the Melbourne drinking scene: Con Christopoulos, Ian Curley and Joshua Brisbane, responsible for the City Wine Shop, among others. Here, there’s a focus on the smaller-production, more recherché end of the Aussie wine scene, with a Coravin for pouring finer wines by the glass. And, to keep things civilised, there’s a menu that includes beef tartare, market-fresh fish and a formidable range of cheeses.
Embla
Any Londoner who remembers Terroirs near Trafalgar Square with affection and regret should hurry to Embla as soon as they land in Melbourne, and not just because Terroirs’ Eric Narioo is a backer. Founders Christian McCabe and chef Dave Verheul have put together a list that’s both natural and drinkable: no faults disguised as flavour here. The dark wood furniture is cosy, the menu as kind to vegetarians (zucchini with goat’s milk and mint, heirloom tomatoes with pine nuts) as to carnivores – well, given the crispy chicken skins with whipped anchovy, maybe not quite as kind. And the wines are as fine as your wallet can stand, from the best grower Champagnes (Egly-Ouriet, Bérèche, Selosse) to local heroes, some venerable (Mount Mary, By Farr), others – such as Alkina, gorgeous Grenache from Barossa, and Heathcote star Syrahmi – fresh, in every sense.
