Handpicked Wines opens luxury cellar door in Melbourne CBD

Morning Peninsula winery Handpicked Wines has opened its doors to the Melbourne CBD market with a new luxury cellar door.

The three-level space, located within high-end retail precinct 80 Collins Street, doubles as a retail wine shop and premium cheese, charcuterie and wine bar. The cellar door will showcase more than 50 wines from the brand’s vineyards in Mornington Peninsula, Yarra Valley, Barossa Valley and Tasmania.

‘Tasting pods’ are integrated throughout the retail space, and an ‘experience room’ is designed for wine flights and education. Wine flights, barrel tastings and regular wine workshops will take place in the events space, while customers can purchase wine from the cellar door with the option to have cheese and charcuterie matched.

Handpicked Wines will be open for breakfast, lunch and supper daily, with a menu that focuses on regionality. Breakfast includes items such as crumpets from local producer Merna, which can be topped with smoked trout, lemon curd or vanilla creme fraiche. Seasonal offerings might include raclette or truffle toasties.

The cheese selection showcases both homegrown brands such as Holy Goat and Meredith from Victoria, and products from France and Italy. The charcuterie selection follows in a similar vein, with cured meats from the Barossa (Schultz pancetta, smoked wagyu) or prosciutto, jamon, or morcon all sliced to order.

“The goal with our cellar door is to bring the charm of viticulture and winemaking to an urban experience, where we can share and celebrate great wines with our guests,” says chief winemaker Peter Dillon.

“We have just released three new wines off two incredible sites we acquired in Tasmania a couple of years ago that are in conversion to organics, and we are excited to show these sorts of wines to our customers.”