Welcome to Sidecar No Sugar, a weekly Boothby briefing about Brisbane bars and the people, work and creativity behind them. (You can sign up to get it in your inbox each week, right here.) This week. I spoke to Chris Banham and Dan Wilson, co-owners of Newstead’s newest wine bar — one that works a little differently.
If you have info the Brisbane bar community should know, please email me contact@beccawang.com.au or send me a message via Instagram (@supper.partying).
In 1559, the mayor of Treviso built a large statue of a woman squeezing her breasts with water (representing breast milk) coming out of her nipples. In honour of every new chief magistrate appointed, the fountain’s nipples would flow with red wine and white wine respectively, and for three days, the citizens of Treviso could drink the wine for free. It was called Fontana Delle Tette — The Fountain of Tits.
“We saw that reference and thought what a great story,” says Chris Banham, co-owner of Newstead’s newest wine bar, Fountainhead. “The [Fountainhead] name also means source and origin.”
Except they’re not calling it a wine bar, instead referring to the venue as a wine house — an umbrella term apt for the shop, bar and design-forward space (so much so that it could pass as a gallery of sorts). It was originally an underground storeroom with black and white tiles and gym showers out back. Somehow, it’s now a perfect place for showcasing wine, with its original stone shelving that runs around the room. Its subterranean grit is softened by velvet pillows, striped ceiling-to-floor curtains and vintage light fittings and playful touches of the mythical and biblical.
“Being hidden is the ideal thing for beautiful little places,” co-owner Dan Wilson says. “Sometimes it’s hard to find the tasting room of a vineyard like, where is it? Which door, which button do we press? There’s that beautiful allure of discovery. When we walked into this place, that feeling was immediate.”
Fountainhead holds almost no resemblance to Wilson’s first venue – LPO, a small neighbourhood wine shop in Tarragindi. This is true from all aspects, from aesthetic and service to the wine offering itself. “The wine program here is more focused on classic elegance and things that exist as the best example of what is available in the world,” Wilson says. “Our wines are organised into sections of how you might experience them on the palate. It’s about helping people grow and develop their own knowledge within a more formal structure, whereas LPO is playful and open, bit more chaotic.”
Fountainhead’s main ethos is to encourage more conversation and education around wine. Besides full wine bar service complete with a wine list (and snacks, in the near future), they offer free, one-on-one appointments for any wine-related quandaries. They will also host 10-week training programs focusing on different aspects of wine education.
“Sometimes you walk into wine shops and it can feel quite intimidating,” says Banham. “You don’t recognise all the bottles or what you’re looking at. We want this space to be somewhere you do feel welcome and is easy to talk to someone [about wine] and the easiest way to do this is to intentionally dedicate time to it.”
“It’s one-on-one time for if you want to explore and taste some wines,” Wilson adds, “if you want to build your cellar, if you need to plan an event or if you want to develop your own knowledge of a certain region.”
As someone who has personally sought Wilson’s assistance at LPO several times, there is no doubt that Fountainhead will be the place for niche wine recommendations and wine recommendations for niche situations.
“If you’re going to eat a pack of salt and vinegar chips, great. Let’s find a wine,” Banham says. “If you’re going to a football match and you’re drinking out the back of your car, we’ll find a wine for it. Tell us what you’re after and we’ll find something to go with it.”
The Last Word
- Bar Hugo in West End has closed — the team announced it on Instagram on 11 February.
- Anyday group is hiring for bartenders and barbacks for their new bar Le Royale.
- Have you put your application in to the Scholarship program at Bartenders’ Weekender? The Weekender takes place in Adelaide on June 14 to 16 (save the date!). We’ve got 10 Scholarships to grant, which include return airfares to Bartenders’ Weekender, three nights accommodation at the five star Sofitel Adelaide, $500 spending money and tickets to events (including the Better Bars Summit, the Boothby Best Bars SA Awards and the Drinks 100 Australia Awards Gala). Apply now at bartendersweekender.com — applications close Sunday 8 March.
