Ok, as a brewer I will admit that in this universe, when things are really dire or your genetics precludes you from being a legend, non-malt alcoholic beverages exist. And one such non-canonical liquid is wine.
While a brewer’s focus remains primarily downstream from primary production a vintner blends terroir, viticulture and oenology. A more significant amount of their quality is borne from the field, rather than the cellar. With higher alcohol and greater acidity, their fastidiousness for sanitation and control is, perforce, less crucial. And that’s as far as my very tongue in cheek attitude towards glorified grape juice makers will go.
Even though beer making has fascinated me for over half my life, my families’ bent has always been towards wine. Not winemakers in any sense, but passionate consumers. They are the wine equivalent of us, wine geeks.
My family has been collecting and cellaring wine across four decades. My dad is also way more neurotic than even myself, and once he focuses on something he obsesses over it. Stories of driving to every bottleshop in Brisbane in 1986 to buy $25 bottles of Grange are not uncommon.
In the late 90s my parents converted a basement level under their garage into a cellar, humidity and temperature controlled. Dad’s collection grew, focusing on Australia quality producers. Dad’s insane dedication to cellaring means his now obnoxious collection has been perfectly stored for almost 30 years. The wines are immaculate, rare and passionately curated.
As the old fella slows in his consumption the realisation is that he possibly overdid things in his obsession. And so he has very generously collaborated in this project to bring an “impossible to replicate” experience, right to little old Doggett Street. This fridge is a sanitary, by the glass wine dispenser. Bottles are kept under inert gas, so once opened they last for months in good condition. So you can try a half a glass of 20 year old, perfectly stored, Barossa Shiraz for a ridiculously affordable price. This is actually mental.
A piece of Australian history, that you simply cannot access anywhere else. Even most of the producers themselves do not have back vintages this far, and certainly not stored in such condition.
So whether you’re a beer geek or a wine geek, this is something very special that we are stoked to offer in the taproom.
