STORE PROFILE: SOUTH WEST WINE SHOP

South West Wine Shop takes new approach to wine retail

The boutique bottle shop hopes to demystify wine jargon by categorising wines based on style and characteristics, as opposed to varietals. By Molly Nicholas.

In Western Australia, along with the opening of the new Busselton Pavilion comes South West Wine Shop, an eclectic wine store with community at its core.

Designed to be an interactive space, which highlights Southwestern Australia’s reputation for world-class wine, the store is part of the larger Busselton Pavilion venue precinct from Parker Group.

At the helm of Parker Group, Wine Director and Busselton local Cyndal Petty, has handpicked the wine selection, which has been designed to appeal to both traditional and experimental palates and leans heavily into local wine.

Of the bespoke wine range, 85 per cent has been sourced from the surrounding South West region while the remaining 15 per cent has been sourced from top Australian and international producers.

Hoping to create a fun and friendly environment at the store, Petty says the staff love nothing more than talking about their favourite drops with visitors and helping them to select the perfect drop.

“I wanted to keep our wine list small, so our guests aren’t lost in options, and because our range is so small, selecting became competitive, therefore each wine is very deserving and has a rightful place on our shelf.

“By offering our guests a small, curated selection of drops to choose from, this allows us to guide our guests to select a wine tailored to their personal taste. Each wine is hand-selected to be on our shelves, and I love each and every one, having tasted them all personally of course.”

Petty, who has worked around the world as a sommelier, has taken an interesting approach to the wine selection display, introducing a concept that she hopes will decomplicate wine language and encourage customers to engage with the knowledgeable team.

Rather than categorising wines by varietal, Petty encourages customers to make their selections based on style and characteristics. The range includes fizz, skinsy (skin contact or orange), pink, aromatic (white), mineral (white), fleshy (white), bright (red), juicy (red) and bold (red), with characteristics written on fridge doors.

Each day, a number of wines are individually selected to be displayed on a bespoke wine wall, which offers an interactive menu separate to the fridges and shelves and is available to drink on-site by the glass.

While Petty says she has seen the concept of boutique wine lists displayed through style and characteristics in the past, she hadn’t previously seen it rolled out in a retail space.

“It’s extremely exciting to think we’re one of the first retail spaces adopting this concept, I see it as the way of the future,” she says.

“The concept – categorising wines by their style – works to demystify wine jargon and allows our offering to feel approachable and welcoming to everyone. I like to think we’re taking a fresh new concept into the realm.”

Speaking about the diversity of the wine lovers that have come through the shop so far, Petty says there is a huge variety within the community, from winemakers searching for excitement through obscure varieties to those looking for a simple bottle to take home.

“It comes back to the idea of humble hospitality that runs through Busselton Pavilion,” she added. “Everyone who enters South West Wine Shop has a personalised experience tailored to their taste, and it makes me smile to see people coming back regularly to see what new wines we have on the wall for them to have a glass of.”

With a daily selection of by-the-glass options available to sample in-store, Petty hopes that the shop will become a community hub for wine lovers. The in-store selection is complemented by a small bar menu of snacks designed to be eaten with a glass of wine, including house anchovy beignets and sliced saucisson with gribiche and pickles.

In line with the community-minded approach of the broader Busselton Pavilion precinct, South West Wine Shop is set to engage customers with a range of community-based events, which includes Wednesday Wine Club, tasting experiences and meet the winemaker nights.

Designed to be a neighbourhood wine shop and bar, Petty says she hopes to bring as many wine-passionate people together as possible to celebrate their love for the humble grape.

“Our space is designed to bring people together, and I see this as the perfect opportunity to connect with like-minded people, as well as being that catalyst for others wanting to build on their own community network. Also, I love a chat, so the more people we can bring in, the better.”

The first event to launch at South West Wine Shop will be the Wednesday Wine Club, a bi-monthly community event hosted by Petty and Venue Manager Hayley Ward, formerly of Margaret River winery Vasse Felix.

“We’ll be chatting all things grapes,” she says. “Each meet up will focus on a different corner of wine, allowing likeminded people to become part of a friendly community. This then extends into our Friday Pours, where we highlight local producers. I see the wine community as one big family and want to share the space to talk about our shared passion – wine.”