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Wine Packs - Paul Taylor - A Glass Of
77 Plays3 years ago
On episode eleven of Fine Vines and Wine, I’m joined by Paul Taylor, the founder of A Glass Of - a business where we, as the consumer, are connected with great wine makers that we might not have heard of before, allowing us to try a glass and a bit of their wine. All of the wines are also picked by different sommeliers around Australia, starting off with Gabby Webster; head sommelier at Bondi Icebergs Dining Room.
We discuss the tight knit community that being apart of the wine industry offers, the journey of A Glass Of, from talks with their first sommelier to thinking of the packaging and getting the wines to the consumer, and how sustainability is so important, not just through recycling but also pre-cycling as well.
I actually bought Gabby’s wine selection after our chat and I was thoroughly impressed, so much so, that I have now found a new favourite Chardonnay.
As always please head to my instagram www.instagram.com/finevinesandwine for a list of all the wines discussed in this week’s episode.
Links:
https://aglassof.com
https://www.instagram.com/aglassofofficial/
https://www.instagram.com/mistressofthevine/
https://idrb.com/dining-room/
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Introduction to Fine Vines and Wine Podcast
00:00:07
Speaker
Hi everyone and welcome to Fine Vines and Wine.
00:00:10
Speaker
I'm your host Karis Pixie and each week I'll be giving you all an insight into the behind the scenes of our favourite beverage, wine.
00:00:18
Speaker
I'd love for you to use this podcast platform as a winery guide for your next weekend away, exploring everything Australia has to offer.
00:00:26
Speaker
You never know, you might discover a new spot or two to visit.
00:00:30
Speaker
I acknowledge the Cadigal and the Boon Wurrung Boon Wurrung
00:00:33
Speaker
are the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung peoples, traditional custodians of the land that we recorded today's podcast episode on.
00:00:41
Speaker
I pay my respects to the elders past, present and emerging, for they hold the memories, the traditions, the culture and hopes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples across the nation.
Meet Paul Taylor of A Glass Of
00:00:52
Speaker
On this week's episode of Fine Vines and Wine, I'm joined by Paul Taylor, the founder of A Glass Of, a new wine subscription service delivering wines by the glass from Australia's best independent winemakers in a mini-goon.
00:01:06
Speaker
Welcome, thank you for joining me and how has your week been?
00:01:09
Speaker
Thanks for having me.
00:01:12
Speaker
It's been a great week, Easter, so I got out and about into the sunshine, hopefully.
00:01:17
Speaker
It was beautiful, so it was good fun, thank you.
00:01:21
Speaker
Yeah, the weather was amazing this weekend.
00:01:23
Speaker
It was so nice to just enjoy
The Concept of A Glass Of
00:01:25
Speaker
the sun.
00:01:25
Speaker
We're going to jump straight into some questions.
00:01:28
Speaker
Firstly, where did the idea for a glass of come from?
00:01:31
Speaker
And how are you different from other wine subscription services?
00:01:35
Speaker
Well, I think it came from a personal reason, really, in that I wanted to try new and interesting wines, particularly local wines, without having to pay for a bottle.
00:01:47
Speaker
So for me, you know, I'm like most people, I think wine can be pretty intimidating.
00:01:53
Speaker
So, you know, you go to the bottle shop.
00:01:57
Speaker
And you look at this rack of, you know, thousands of wines and you're not sure which one to choose.
00:02:02
Speaker
So you don't buy the really cheap ones and you kind of avoid the ones that are really expensive.
00:02:07
Speaker
And choose something in the middle that's kind of mid-ranged and, I don't know, has the best looking label and hope that you've done well.
00:02:14
Speaker
Yeah.
00:02:15
Speaker
Yeah, I think discovery is a big part of it.
00:02:17
Speaker
You know, like by buying a glass of wine, it gives you the opportunity to sample it.
00:02:23
Speaker
And then hopefully increase your repertoire because, you know, I tended to find wines by, you know, I'd go to a nice restaurant as well and I'd try a glass of wine and I'd go, wow, that's amazing.
00:02:35
Speaker
And I would never have found it if it wasn't on the list.
00:02:37
Speaker
And then that becomes my kind of go-to wine until the next time I go to a restaurant, I try another wine.
00:02:45
Speaker
So by trying lots of different wines by the glass, you kind of de-risk your choices and hopefully you increase your wine knowledge and your wine repertoire a bit.
00:02:58
Speaker
Yeah, no, definitely.
00:02:59
Speaker
I love the idea and I love the little mini goons that it comes in as well.
00:03:02
Speaker
I think that's such a clever idea.
00:03:05
Speaker
And where did that idea come from to use the four pouches?
Benefits of Mini-Goon Pouches
00:03:08
Speaker
Yeah, I think there's a couple of reasons.
00:03:10
Speaker
I think one, there's kind of like a,
00:03:14
Speaker
a retro kind of cuteness, I think, to them that you just don't get in a can or a bottle.
00:03:21
Speaker
You know, when people open the boxes, you can see that they kind of smile and they pick it up and it's very textural, very visceral, I think, to have something like that in your hand.
00:03:33
Speaker
So I think there's that going on from a kind of emotional point of view and there's a bit of nostalgia back to the old goon bag.
00:03:42
Speaker
So I think there's some fun in the packaging.
00:03:46
Speaker
And then there's, I think, some practical reasons as well.
00:03:48
Speaker
So because there's no light taint or oxygen taint, so it really looks after the wine beautifully from a packaging point of view.
00:03:58
Speaker
Yeah.
00:03:59
Speaker
And then I think from another practical point of view is probably, you know, sustainability, which is super important and even becoming more and more important.
00:04:07
Speaker
So there's kind of two things we looked at in that, which was, you know, the pouches are recyclable.
Sustainability and Pre-Cycling
00:04:13
Speaker
But we kind of tend to think about the idea of pre-cycling.
00:04:19
Speaker
which is, you know, so, so pre-cycling just means that we, you know, people start to think about the raw materials in the energy that's used to produce the pouches in the first place or, or any, any product.
00:04:32
Speaker
No.
00:04:32
Speaker
So like when you think about like what it takes to make the packaging that, that any product comes in.
00:04:38
Speaker
So like our pouches, I think they use about 73% less energy to make than glass.
00:04:44
Speaker
So, you know, about 80% less CO2.
00:04:46
Speaker
So,
00:04:48
Speaker
So there's recycling is important, but pre-cycling we think is super important as well.
00:04:54
Speaker
Oh my God, definitely.
00:04:55
Speaker
I completely agree.
00:04:56
Speaker
And does the wine last longer in the pouches?
00:04:59
Speaker
Because I know if you get a boxed wine, it can last for up to 30 days once opened.
00:05:04
Speaker
Is it a similar concept with those pouches or is it slightly different?
00:05:08
Speaker
Yeah, well, because it's a glass, it's kind of not...
00:05:11
Speaker
It's not like a product's not something you're going to put in the cellar and, you know, blow the dust off it in 10 years' time.
00:05:19
Speaker
They're all pretty, you know, it's kind of about, well, it's about discovery, so trying lots of wines by the glass, but there's also about convenience as well.
00:05:28
Speaker
So, you know, there's this whole thing that kind of I really wanted, which was to enjoy a glass of wine with dinner without having to open a bottle.
00:05:37
Speaker
So I think we encourage people, you know, when they try these wines that they're going to consume them within a, you know, literally in the one glass.
00:05:44
Speaker
I mean, it's 200 mils.
00:05:46
Speaker
So we say it's...
00:05:47
Speaker
it's, you know, it's a glass of wine plus an extra 50 mils, you know, just to enjoy that little bit more.
00:05:54
Speaker
Yeah.
00:05:54
Speaker
A generous glass.
00:05:55
Speaker
It's a large glass.
00:05:56
Speaker
A generous glass.
00:05:57
Speaker
Yes.
00:05:58
Speaker
It's a generous glass.
00:05:59
Speaker
Or, you know, sometimes like it can be between two people as well.
00:06:03
Speaker
So, you know, if you're 100 mils between each of you.
00:06:06
Speaker
Everybody has their kind of different reason why they like it.
00:06:09
Speaker
Some people just, you know, like if your partner prefers red and you love wine, you know,
00:06:14
Speaker
then what are the choices?
00:06:15
Speaker
You either split up as a couple or you end up having a glass of wine, you can have a glass of red and you don't have to fight over which bottle to open.
00:06:24
Speaker
That's actually a very good point because my boyfriend only drinks red wine.
00:06:29
Speaker
And I mean, I like red sometimes, but I don't want it all the time, but he won't drink anything else.
00:06:34
Speaker
So I feel like I'm always the one that sacrifices and goes, oh, okay, we'll get a bottle of red because I know he's not going to have a white or a rosé with me.
00:06:41
Speaker
So that's actually such a great idea for that too, because I feel like so many couples have that issue.
00:06:47
Speaker
Yeah, it's one less issue to have to deal with.
00:06:49
Speaker
Oh my God, definitely.
00:06:51
Speaker
Have you always worked in the wine industry?
00:06:54
Speaker
No, I've never worked in the wine industry previously.
00:06:57
Speaker
Oh, awesome.
00:06:58
Speaker
So I've worked in creative industry.
00:07:00
Speaker
So my previous life was a creative director.
00:07:03
Speaker
I'm kind of used to connecting consumers with ideas.
00:07:06
Speaker
So I started a glass off really because I
00:07:09
Speaker
I wanted to think about what was missing from a customer's point of view.
00:07:14
Speaker
And sort of rather than thinking about it from the winemaker's point of view or a wine company's point of view, I went like, what would I like that I don't have?
00:07:23
Speaker
And we built this company around,
Subscription Flexibility and Customer Choice
00:07:26
Speaker
you know, what would I like or what would we like?
00:07:28
Speaker
that doesn't really exist and and that's the same you talked about a subscription service before so we don't actually offer a subscription at the moment okay we might do in the future if people want it but um again you know we kind of started with the business which is i i don't really want to be locked into another subscription you know i've got a gym subscription and this subscription and a
00:07:52
Speaker
Apple music subscription and I kind of feel like if you like our product then you'll buy it and then if you like it again then you you'll you'll buy it again you'll buy it again and and so it's really up to the people to come back to us if that's what they'd like to do rather than us forcing you you know a product upon you every month
00:08:12
Speaker
No, I actually really like that because I feel, yeah, with some other, like some actual wine subscription services, I'm like, oh, that sounds so interesting, but I don't know if I want to do that every month.
00:08:22
Speaker
So I kind of like that, yeah, if you want to do it, you can.
00:08:25
Speaker
And then obviously if people like it, then they'll keep buying it because they don't feel pressured to do it.
00:08:30
Speaker
Yeah, that's right.
00:08:31
Speaker
So everything is built around what would we like that isn't in the world at the moment.
00:08:36
Speaker
Yeah, no, I actually really like that idea and I can't believe this is your first venture into wine.
00:08:41
Speaker
Why wine as well?
00:08:43
Speaker
Well, I've kind of, in my previous life, I really wanted to connect local independent artisans, you know, whether that was in music or art.
00:08:53
Speaker
Yeah.
00:08:53
Speaker
And wine is just another craft.
00:08:56
Speaker
So, you know, as little as I know about wine, what I do know is how to support local industries.
00:09:03
Speaker
And I think, you know, winemakers are incredibly great and the really great ones are fantastic farmers in a way.
00:09:10
Speaker
They're dedicated to their craft and really a glass of is just a brought to you by business.
00:09:17
Speaker
All we're doing is connecting great winemakers with people who are really interested in trying new wines and learning more about the winemaker.
00:09:25
Speaker
Yeah.
00:09:26
Speaker
Yeah, no, that's great.
00:09:27
Speaker
I love that idea.
00:09:28
Speaker
And yeah, whenever I do wine tasting or anything, I love to hear from the winemaker or like about their history.
00:09:34
Speaker
So yeah, I think it's a great way to introduce people to maybe wineries that they might not have heard of as well, that aren't like the big ones that everyone visits.
00:09:43
Speaker
Yeah, that's really, I guess what we're trying to do is support those local independent winemakers and
00:09:49
Speaker
In the same, discovering in the same way that you might come across a gallery, you know, whether it's in, I don't know, Newtown or in North Fitzroy and you come across it.
00:10:00
Speaker
an artist that you've never heard of before and you fall in love with the art and then you really want to learn a little bit about the art and about the artist and the more you learn the more you appreciate it and that's all we that's all we're doing so a lot of what we try to do is is a get people to try the wines but also learn a lot more about the winemaker and and really introduce them directly to the winemaker themselves
00:10:25
Speaker
Yeah, so if someone was to like one of the pouches, would they be able to buy the wine through you or would they go straight to the winemaker?
00:10:34
Speaker
Yes, it's a really good question.
00:10:38
Speaker
So we sell wine by a five-pack, which is curated by a sommelier.
00:10:42
Speaker
So she or he chooses their five favourite wines.
00:10:46
Speaker
And when you receive them, you get a wine tasting notes, which obviously talks about the wines.
00:10:52
Speaker
But what we do is we also include the personal email address of the winemaker.com.
00:10:58
Speaker
So we encourage you to email them directly and say, hey, you know, I love the wine or and really it's a way of closing the loop between the maker and the, you know, the end consumer.
00:11:11
Speaker
And from that we really encourage them to go and buy, you know, if they love that wine, as you say, for them to go and buy a bottle directly from the winemaker so that more money goes directly into their pockets.
00:11:22
Speaker
Yeah, no, I really like that.
00:11:23
Speaker
And I guess as well, that's great because if they like one from that winemaker, they might be more tempted to buy a couple of bottles and try some different things.
00:11:31
Speaker
So yeah, I think that's such a lovely idea to get them to go back to the winemaker themselves.
00:11:36
Speaker
Absolutely.
00:11:37
Speaker
Yeah.
00:11:38
Speaker
So I guess it's sharing it around.
00:11:40
Speaker
So we're just introducing people to lots of different wines and
00:11:44
Speaker
And then they can go and have, you know, a relationship directly with that winemaker.
00:11:48
Speaker
And as you say, by, you know, by a case or whatever they like from that, from the winemaker directly.
00:11:53
Speaker
No, it's such a great idea.
00:11:54
Speaker
I love it.
00:11:56
Speaker
What's been your most memorable moment or experience that you've had doing this business?
00:12:01
Speaker
Because I know you guys are pretty new.
00:12:04
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:12:06
Speaker
I think it's been the, there's probably, there's probably one specific moment, which maybe I'll get to in a sec, but I think generally speaking,
00:12:14
Speaker
I think in the journey I'm surprised and really humbled, I guess, by how well it's been adopted by everybody.
00:12:22
Speaker
So the winemakers have been incredibly genuine with their time.
00:12:28
Speaker
And we've spent, you know, maybe two years in R&D with them and they've been brilliant.
00:12:33
Speaker
So we've built really strong relationships with, you know, the winemakers.
00:12:37
Speaker
And sommeliers have been amazing too.
00:12:39
Speaker
So they've given up a lot of their time and their expertise and,
00:12:43
Speaker
And then the end consumer, you know, the customer is, you know, the most important part of the process have been fantastic.
00:12:49
Speaker
So, you know, we get emails and DMs on our Instagram all the time saying, oh, my God, I love this wine.
00:12:56
Speaker
I would never have found it unless I come across it.
00:12:59
Speaker
So from that point, it's been a real joy to help lots of different people connect.
00:13:05
Speaker
And that's really what the purpose was, was to connect all these groups of, you know, the hospo industry, the winemakers and customers together in a way that probably hasn't been done before.
00:13:17
Speaker
So I really, really love
Global Recognition and International Interest
00:13:19
Speaker
that part of the journey so far.
00:13:21
Speaker
I think there was a specific moment that was quite fun was we were, I think it was a couple of weeks ago, we were nominated as the, um,
00:13:28
Speaker
global innovation of the day by trend watching in I think it's the US or the UK oh congratulations it was fun because we didn't know but our Instagram yeah started to just go nuts and we couldn't figure out why we were why we were becoming you know why our phones were lining up all night long
00:13:47
Speaker
And so from a moment in time, that was probably a defining moment because all of a sudden we were getting lots of calls from around the world wanting to distribute for us and all those good things.
00:13:58
Speaker
So with the mini goons, do you send the sacks to the winemakers and then they fill them and send them back to you?
00:14:06
Speaker
Wine is sent to us and we process that in our facility in Melbourne.
00:14:11
Speaker
Okay, perfect.
00:14:12
Speaker
I was just thinking in my head, I was like, how would that work?
00:14:14
Speaker
Yeah.
00:14:15
Speaker
Yeah.
00:14:16
Speaker
But I guess the important thing is that everything is locally produced, so we try and support local, obviously local winemakers and local printers, and we try and keep everything as local as we possibly can.
00:14:29
Speaker
Local as possible, which is lovely as well.
00:14:32
Speaker
I love supporting fully Australian businesses.
00:14:34
Speaker
I think it's great.
00:14:36
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, same.
00:14:37
Speaker
How do you pick which sommeliers choose the wines each month?
00:14:41
Speaker
Because is a different sommelier a month, or is it...
00:14:44
Speaker
Yeah, it's a good question.
00:14:45
Speaker
So we don't pick the sommeliers.
00:14:47
Speaker
The sommeliers pick the sommeliers.
00:14:51
Speaker
Okay, that makes sense.
00:14:52
Speaker
Yeah, so I think that's, you know, the sommeliers, it's their role because they know wine better than anybody.
00:15:00
Speaker
So the first sommelier was Gabby Webster, so she's the head somm at Bondi Icebergs.
00:15:06
Speaker
Okay, yeah.
00:15:07
Speaker
And so she chose some of her, you know, favourite five wines in which we put them into a glass of.
00:15:14
Speaker
But then she's just about to nominate the next sommelier.
00:15:17
Speaker
And so we'll announce that pretty soon.
00:15:20
Speaker
And then that sommelier will nominate the next sommelier and on and on and go.
00:15:23
Speaker
So it becomes circular.
00:15:25
Speaker
It becomes a community, right?
00:15:26
Speaker
So, which I love about the wine industry itself.
00:15:29
Speaker
You know, the more we get to know about it, the more we realise it's a really tight-knit community of really great people.
00:15:37
Speaker
And so for sommeliers to effectively run our business,
00:15:43
Speaker
from a wine perspective, I think makes a lot of sense.
00:15:45
Speaker
And what it does is it allows the people who enjoy the wines to try lots of different wines from lots of different sommeliers from restaurants that they love.
00:15:55
Speaker
And also it gets to share it around the country.
00:15:58
Speaker
So, you know, the sommelier will go from, so Gabby's in obviously Bondi Icebergs in Sydney, and then the next one will either be Melbourne or Hobart, and then it'll bounce to Adelaide and it'll bounce to WA.
00:16:10
Speaker
So,
00:16:11
Speaker
It becomes a really interesting business, I think, when we get a really diverse range of sommeliers' opinions and their choices and moving around the country as well.
00:16:22
Speaker
No, definitely.
00:16:22
Speaker
I love that because I feel like each sommelier would have such a different opinion or different taste on what wine that they wanted to showcase.
00:16:29
Speaker
So it's so great to see like loads of different ones.
00:16:32
Speaker
The wines that she's picked, are some of them on the wine list at Bondi Icebergs or is it just her favourites that she loves?
00:16:39
Speaker
That's a good question.
00:16:40
Speaker
No, I think she chose it exclusively for us.
00:16:44
Speaker
So they may or may not pop on there, but it certainly wasn't our brief.
00:16:47
Speaker
We just said, you know, this is our business.
00:16:50
Speaker
So we spoke to Gabby for probably about a year before we began production and she put an amazing list together.
00:16:59
Speaker
Our brief was just some red wine, please, some white wine and a rosé, and then she went off and built the list as, you know, she's done everything.
00:17:08
Speaker
her previous life and she's an amazing well she's an amazing sommelier and an amazing person as well so it's been um it's been really great fun to work with her i can imagine definitely even though you don't get to pick do you have a dream sommelier that you would love to work with a glass of
00:17:25
Speaker
No, not at all.
00:17:27
Speaker
It's entirely up to the sommeliers to choose themselves and to choose their wines.
00:17:32
Speaker
And I think from that point of view, we're really hands off and they know their craft and so we leave it entirely up to their discretion.
00:17:42
Speaker
Which is good as well.
00:17:43
Speaker
I feel like they would definitely appreciate that.
00:17:46
Speaker
Yeah, that's right.
00:17:47
Speaker
I mean, you know, like as a business, our role is just to connect people
00:17:53
Speaker
connect great wine with great people who are interested in it and so we have a really clear role as to what we provide and the sommeliers do their thing so everybody kind of compliments each other's skills I guess.
00:18:06
Speaker
So you're partnered with Unyoked which I saw online and which is amazing so I feel like the whole sustainability approach fits so well together and what does this partnership involve?
Partnership with Unyoked and Sustainability Values
00:18:17
Speaker
Yeah, so the Unyoked have been amazing.
00:18:19
Speaker
So there is, I don't know whether you know them, but they're an amazing bunch of people.
00:18:24
Speaker
And I guess we were so aligned from a values point of view from the beginning.
00:18:28
Speaker
So they were very, very supportive of us.
00:18:31
Speaker
In fact, they were one of our first customers.
00:18:34
Speaker
Yeah.
00:18:34
Speaker
And we both kind of were really keen to do the right thing by our customers and also the planet.
00:18:40
Speaker
So I guess from that point of view, you know, we're very, very similar.
00:18:44
Speaker
So you'll find a glass of wines in all their cabins, which is terrific.
00:18:50
Speaker
And then in the future, we'll start to have lots of fun with them.
00:18:53
Speaker
So our sommeliers will stay in their cabins and do some social Instagrammy stuff with them.
00:18:59
Speaker
And so we'll kind of just keep broadening out that relationship.
00:19:03
Speaker
No, which I love their cabins.
00:19:05
Speaker
I mean, I've never stayed with them.
00:19:06
Speaker
I've stayed with a couple of other sort of similar companies, but no, their cabins look amazing.
00:19:13
Speaker
Yeah.
00:19:13
Speaker
I mean, you know, you look on their Instagram and you just kind of want to leave the city immediately.
00:19:19
Speaker
Do any of them, because I know I've stayed with, I did some stuff with Into the Wild and I know a couple of theirs are on wineries.
00:19:26
Speaker
Is that the same with Unyoke?
00:19:27
Speaker
Do they have any that are on wineries or close to wineries?
00:19:31
Speaker
Yeah, I think they do.
00:19:32
Speaker
So one of the things we're talking to them at the moment is how do we curate some wines geographically to their cabins as well.
00:19:40
Speaker
So that's something we'll certainly look at the future.
00:19:43
Speaker
At the moment, you know, we're only really just in our infancy of production.
00:19:47
Speaker
So at the moment on our website, there are five wines to choose from in Gabby's first wine list.
00:19:54
Speaker
And then when she nominates the next sommelier, we'll roll out very soon that
00:19:58
Speaker
the next run of wines and then we expand.
00:20:01
Speaker
So in the future, you'll really be able to choose lots of different pick and pack your own.
00:20:06
Speaker
So it might be a glass of the Clare Valley or, you know, a glass of the Mornington Peninsula or a glass of Pinots.
00:20:14
Speaker
So you'll be able to cut it however way you like it.
00:20:17
Speaker
You know, it could be a glass of wines with tractors on the label.
00:20:21
Speaker
So once Gabby picks a new sommelier, do her wines disappear from the website or do they stay up there?
00:20:28
Speaker
So they'll stay up there until they're sold out and then they might come back by popular demand in the future or we'll update them with Alex or Nick or the other winemakers, new ones.
00:20:43
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely.
00:20:44
Speaker
You know, we spent a couple of days with Alex Ratief and Nick Spencer in Sydney two weeks ago, literally helping out and observing what they're doing.
00:20:56
Speaker
So I guess we're pretty kind of, we like to stay as close as we can to the winemakers and learn as we go from them.
00:21:04
Speaker
So just for anyone that's interested, with the sommeliers, is it up to their discretion how long it is between them picking the new one or is it sort of every month, every couple of months?
00:21:16
Speaker
So at the moment we'll probably run every couple of months because we want people to have a chance to try those wines from the sommeliers before we move on to the next range.
00:21:29
Speaker
So we haven't really got, we haven't really defined a timetable.
00:21:33
Speaker
I suspect in the future, perhaps as you're right, it might be monthly.
00:21:37
Speaker
At the moment, it'll probably be something like quarterly, I imagine.
00:21:40
Speaker
I feel like that gives people enough time to try them and then
00:21:44
Speaker
be ready and waiting for the next one.
00:21:46
Speaker
That's right.
00:21:46
Speaker
And to share with their friends.
00:21:48
Speaker
And so we see a lot of that on the site where somebody, you know, buys a pack of five wines and they kind of put it on the Insta and then we can see, you know, a bunch of their friends buy out straight after that.
00:22:01
Speaker
So we kind of want people, the time for them to enjoy the wines and talk about it with their friends and hang out with them a bit before we move on to the next selection.
00:22:11
Speaker
Yeah, no, that makes complete sense.
00:22:13
Speaker
I think that's such a great way of doing it.
00:22:15
Speaker
Even though you haven't been in the wine industry for very long, what do you think the wine industry will see more or less of in 2021?
00:22:22
Speaker
Yeah, well, as you say, I mean, I'm probably not, you know, I'm not the best to ask, but I can certainly talk from a consumer's perspective because I've spent, you know, most of my life representing wine.
00:22:35
Speaker
what they need really so i think i think the biggest trend from a from a customer perspective is drinking less but better wine and i think that's definite and it's it's across the board i think and not just wine but in lots of lots of different industries so i think we we fit we fit that trend really well where people are really um keen to try
00:22:58
Speaker
new wines and spend, you know, spend the money to try interesting and new wines that are really good quality and that they really enjoy and really savor.
00:23:07
Speaker
And so I think that's a big trend that we'll continue to see.
00:23:10
Speaker
I think there's a Providence thing as well, maybe.
00:23:13
Speaker
You know, we talked about it a little bit earlier, but connecting the person to the winemaker and learning, and you see that again in art and music and things like that, is people really want to know where that wine came from and who made it and why did they make it in the way it did.
00:23:30
Speaker
And I think that's kind of super important.
00:23:32
Speaker
as a consumer and talking about it from a consumer point of view, what are your thoughts on the sort of low alcohol and non-alcoholic wine industry that's booming at the moment?
00:23:42
Speaker
Will you guys look into doing something or doing something around that or are you going to just stay clear of it?
00:23:49
Speaker
No, no, I think it's a great thing.
00:23:50
Speaker
Look, any innovation in a category and disruption I think is healthy.
00:23:55
Speaker
So we're fully supportive of, you know, low alcohol, no alcohol, interesting varietals, I think.
00:24:04
Speaker
Yeah.
00:24:04
Speaker
And that's kind of, that kind of speaks to the discovery thing that, you know, you and I talked about at the beginning of the conversation.
00:24:13
Speaker
So, you know, I think,
00:24:15
Speaker
Anything that's new and interesting is something that we would advocate for and we'll jump on and support the winemakers and allow people to try lots of different things.
00:24:26
Speaker
Yeah, no, it's great for people to broaden their horizons and try something they wouldn't normally try.
00:24:31
Speaker
Because I know I'm definitely guilty of it and I know a lot of my friends are.
00:24:35
Speaker
But if we go to a bottle shop and what we normally get isn't there, or I guess I'm getting better at it, but we'll just go, oh, what label's the prettiest?
00:24:43
Speaker
Oh, okay, this one looks the prettiest.
00:24:45
Speaker
I'll grab this.
00:24:46
Speaker
So I feel like...
00:24:47
Speaker
doing something like this instead is actually a great way to discover new wines and then discover a new winery and winemaker along the way.
00:24:55
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely.
00:24:56
Speaker
I mean, I think we're all guilty of that.
00:24:58
Speaker
You know, like I think, you know, I've had my go-to wines that I know.
00:25:03
Speaker
I know I can rely on, I know they're great.
00:25:06
Speaker
And you default to the kind of conservative choice, whereas I think now I've learned a lot more about wine by talking to these different winemakers and trying wines I would never have tried before.
00:25:18
Speaker
And I think
00:25:19
Speaker
And I think that's the opportunities.
00:25:21
Speaker
Now you can buy, you know, five interesting different wines for the price of a, you know, a good bottle of wine anyway.
00:25:29
Speaker
So I think there's definitely a freedom in going, you know, I'm really keen to try that rather than that, oh, well, if I buy this, you know, what am I going to do, turn this into, you know, bolognese, you know.
00:25:43
Speaker
a recipe wine rather than you know rather than just de-risking it and enjoying the wine for anyone that's listening that's interested how much are the five mini goons yeah so so they're five
Pricing and Future Options for A Glass Of
00:25:56
Speaker
five different wines so two reds two whites and a rosé so it's five for 45 dollars um how awesome and deliveries free across australia
00:26:07
Speaker
Oh, that's even better.
00:26:08
Speaker
Yeah, and we're looking at the moment.
00:26:10
Speaker
So we might do a three-pack as well.
00:26:14
Speaker
So we might divide the world into, you know, the red wine world and the white wine world.
00:26:19
Speaker
So we might end up doing a three-pack pretty soon as well in the not-too-distant future for those that just love the whites or just love the reds.
00:26:27
Speaker
No, I think that's a good idea because there are some people like my boyfriend who are never going to, I just know he's never going to try anything else.
00:26:34
Speaker
Like the only time he will is if we go to a degustation restaurant and it's matching wines and he has to, but he's never, unless it's that, he's never going to like move off the red.
00:26:45
Speaker
So yeah, I think that's a really good idea for the more stubborn people who just like what they like and want to discover more in that category.
00:26:52
Speaker
Yeah.
00:26:52
Speaker
Yeah, that's right.
00:26:53
Speaker
So, you know, even with a five-pack, you can give half to your boyfriend and you keep half to yourself.
00:26:59
Speaker
So, again, it's kind of like I think the freedom is really the secret to this business and trying lots of different wines.
00:27:09
Speaker
And, you know, if you don't like it, well, it's not because it was a bad wine.
00:27:12
Speaker
It's just because it wasn't to your taste.
00:27:15
Speaker
You know, at 200 mils, it's not going to make you cry.
00:27:18
Speaker
What wines are you drinking right now?
00:27:21
Speaker
Well, I'm drinking a glass of, what did I have?
00:27:24
Speaker
So we had Easter lunch the other day.
00:27:28
Speaker
So I had a roast chicken and I had Nick Spencer's Chardonnay, which is amazing.
00:27:36
Speaker
It's an incredible wine.
00:27:39
Speaker
It's one of the best Chardonnays I've ever had.
00:27:41
Speaker
So that's what I'm having at the moment.
00:27:43
Speaker
Oh, really?
00:27:44
Speaker
I'm going to have to try it because I used to hate Chardonnay, but just recently I've started to really like it.
00:27:49
Speaker
So I'm kind of trying to buy more Chardonnays than anything else and try all of them.
00:27:55
Speaker
And yeah, so I'll have to add that one to my list.
00:27:58
Speaker
Definitely.
00:27:59
Speaker
You will love Nick's Chardonnay.
00:28:01
Speaker
It's, yeah, it's, well, Gabby chose it, so it's good.
00:28:05
Speaker
But I love it personally as well.
00:28:08
Speaker
What would you say, what does it sort of taste like?
00:28:11
Speaker
According to Gab, I mean, I love it because it's got a buttery feel to it.
00:28:17
Speaker
So it's really, it's a beautiful, gentle wine that goes really well with meals as well, which is, I'm always surprised, and I guess that's part of the wine education, which is where you start to pair, you know, wine and food together.
00:28:35
Speaker
So with the,
00:28:38
Speaker
chicken that we had the other day it was an amazing combination and it just makes the wine even better I think to be honest the more you know about the winemaker the more you you the more you fall in love with the wine as well yeah I think there's something kind of
00:28:54
Speaker
emotional that you become attached to it um that just makes the experience a little bit better when you know when you know the person that that kind of put their their sweat behind it and where the wine came from and the weed region and all that kind of stuff as well makes it even more enjoyable
00:29:10
Speaker
Yeah, definitely having that emotional attachment and wanting to support them even more because you've met them.
00:29:15
Speaker
Yeah, I completely get that.
00:29:16
Speaker
Well, I'm guessing you sort of already answered this question, but what's your favourite from a glass of current selection?
00:29:24
Speaker
That's a hard one.
00:29:26
Speaker
It's a bit like saying which of your favourite children?
00:29:29
Speaker
Yeah, I know.
00:29:30
Speaker
Which one do you love the most, the eldest?
00:29:34
Speaker
I think I love them for different reasons.
00:29:36
Speaker
So Ben Gould's Blind Corner, so he's Chien and Blanc,
00:29:40
Speaker
which I'd never really known that much about before.
00:29:44
Speaker
I didn't, I didn't, I must admit, I didn't love it the first time I tried it, but then I let it breathe for just a few minutes because it was in the fridge.
00:29:53
Speaker
And then it has this kind of zingy, like almost like a gingery kind of aftertaste.
00:29:59
Speaker
Oh, wow.
00:30:00
Speaker
Which I absolutely love now, particularly on a, on a summers, like a, you know, like a summer, late autumn barbecue or something like that.
00:30:09
Speaker
And so it,
00:30:10
Speaker
It really creeps up on you.
00:30:12
Speaker
It's an amazing, amazing wine.
00:30:14
Speaker
So I'm a big fan of that.
00:30:18
Speaker
Will Gilbert, who is one of the young, brilliant winemakers.
00:30:23
Speaker
He's a fifth generation, I think it is now.
00:30:25
Speaker
Oh, wow.
00:30:26
Speaker
Yeah.
00:30:27
Speaker
So the rosé, so his rosé, and I'm a fan of rosé anyway.
00:30:32
Speaker
Me too.
00:30:32
Speaker
Yeah, so his colour, the colour of that will blow your mind.
00:30:37
Speaker
Oh, wow.
00:30:38
Speaker
It's an incredible colour and the kind of taste matches the colour.
00:30:43
Speaker
So I'm a huge, huge fan of that.
00:30:46
Speaker
I mean, I love them all.
00:30:47
Speaker
You know, it's just different occasions.
00:30:48
Speaker
Like Alex's Shiraz, he'll top Shiraz is amazing with, you know, with Emile.
00:30:53
Speaker
Neil's Pinot is fantastic.
00:30:56
Speaker
is fantastic um he's from Gippsland and you know he's he's an amazing um an amazing individual he makes fantastic pinot down there and Nick Spencer I guess I've you know we spoke about before if you don't like Chardonnay you will love Nick's Chardonnay love this Chardonnay
00:31:14
Speaker
But again, because they're samples, it's not really what I like or what you like or what anyone likes.
00:31:22
Speaker
It's so individual in that taste.
00:31:24
Speaker
And that's the beauty of, I guess, of trying a glass of is that people will find their own loves.
00:31:31
Speaker
And that's really, I think, the joy of being a part of this business is...
00:31:37
Speaker
is allowing people to find what they love and not necessarily just read about it in a book and go, well, that got five stars, therefore it must be good.
00:31:46
Speaker
A lot of people, they'll just go off like a holiday wine recommendation and be like, oh, this one got 98, this got 95, so therefore I'll go for the 98 one, when in actual fact some of them don't even get judged.
00:31:56
Speaker
So, yeah, it's kind of nice to try the different ones that people haven't heard of.
00:32:01
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, and the best wines are the wines that you love personally.
00:32:06
Speaker
Yeah, definitely.
00:32:07
Speaker
It makes no sense, well, no sense to me as a novice to really buy into the –
00:32:16
Speaker
the wine wank for one of the better terms of the industry.
00:32:20
Speaker
It's like you either love it or you don't and you'll find your own reasons to love it.
00:32:25
Speaker
And I think that's all we want to do is allow people to try different wines and find the ones they love.
00:32:33
Speaker
You know, it is a learning exercise for, you know, for people, well, particularly for myself who don't know that much about wine and not knowing about wine
00:32:44
Speaker
kind of gives us an edge in a way because we do things in a way that is for the everyday person who just wants to try different wines.
00:32:56
Speaker
Coming up to our last question, thank you so much for joining me today.
00:33:00
Speaker
It's a pleasure.
00:33:00
Speaker
Actually, no, sorry, it's not our last question.
00:33:02
Speaker
It's our second last question.
00:33:04
Speaker
Skipping ahead of myself.
00:33:06
Speaker
So firstly, what's your favorite food and wine pairing?
00:33:10
Speaker
I would have to say the roast chicken with the Nick Spencer Chardonnay.
00:33:13
Speaker
I think that's pretty hard to beat.
00:33:16
Speaker
Yeah, that sounds amazing.
00:33:17
Speaker
Now I want roast chicken as well.
00:33:20
Speaker
Amazing.
00:33:21
Speaker
And then the last question.
00:33:23
Speaker
From the current selection, and if you were, if you love, say you love them all and you were to buy a bottle of them, which bottle would you take to a dinner party, a barbecue
Wine Selection Preferences for Events
00:33:36
Speaker
and a movie night and have for a movie night at home?
00:33:40
Speaker
Well, I probably wouldn't take a bottle, right?
00:33:42
Speaker
I'd probably take a glass of a few wines and enjoy.
00:33:46
Speaker
Ah, that's a good idea.
00:33:48
Speaker
Enjoy a selection over the night.
00:33:51
Speaker
So I'd probably start with one wine and then carry on to another depending on, you know, how the evening's going or what I was eating or.
00:33:58
Speaker
or how long I was there.
00:33:59
Speaker
So, but I guess if I had to pick one, so if I was going to a dinner, I'd probably say Alex Retief's Hilltop Shiraz, I think would be my go-to.
00:34:11
Speaker
And if I was a movie night, I would probably say Will's Rosé, I would say for, particularly in summer and then maybe
00:34:23
Speaker
followed by Nick Spencer's Chardonnay, I think that would be a good movie night.
00:34:29
Speaker
Yeah, definitely.
00:34:30
Speaker
And then if it was kind of like the autumn-winter night in, then Neil's Judy Baker, I think, his Pinot from Gippsland would be a really good choice.
00:34:41
Speaker
Yeah.
00:34:42
Speaker
But again, you know, it's whatever you want.
00:34:47
Speaker
Yeah.
00:34:48
Speaker
It's your decision.
00:34:51
Speaker
But that would be my go-tos at the moment.
00:34:53
Speaker
Amazing.
00:34:54
Speaker
No, thank you.
00:34:55
Speaker
And thank you so much for joining me today.
00:34:57
Speaker
I actually am like I want to go and buy this a glass of.
00:34:59
Speaker
It sounds amazing.
00:35:00
Speaker
I really want to try all of the wines after you describe them.
00:35:04
Speaker
But, yeah, thank you so much.
00:35:05
Speaker
Have you got anything planned for this week?
00:35:07
Speaker
Has the business got anything planned?
00:35:09
Speaker
Yeah, it's a very busy
International Expansion Plans
00:35:12
Speaker
week.
00:35:12
Speaker
So we're just in the throes of setting up Lane Crawford department store in Hong Kong want us to do a pop up shop in Hong Kong.
00:35:21
Speaker
So we're just in the kind of throes of planning the visual merchandising and packing up the wines to send over to Hong Kong.
00:35:30
Speaker
So that's pretty exciting.
00:35:31
Speaker
Yes.
00:35:32
Speaker
And again, I guess, again, one of the great things is we're starting to, you know, that'll be our first opportunity to introduce local independent winemakers to the world.
00:35:43
Speaker
Yes.
00:35:44
Speaker
So that's really, I guess that's a good way to spend a week.
00:35:48
Speaker
Oh, definitely.
00:35:49
Speaker
Congratulations.
00:35:50
Speaker
You guys are doing so well.
00:35:51
Speaker
I feel like it's being very well received, which is great.
00:35:54
Speaker
Yeah, it has.
00:35:55
Speaker
It's been great.
00:35:55
Speaker
We're very fortunate, I think.
00:35:58
Speaker
Well, good luck with it.
00:35:59
Speaker
I hope you have a lovely week and thank you again for joining me.
00:36:03
Speaker
Pleasure.
00:36:03
Speaker
Thanks for the opportunity.
00:36:05
Speaker
Thank you so much for listening.
00:36:07
Speaker
Please rate, review, subscribe and share with your friends.
00:36:10
Speaker
I'll see you next week for another closer look into the wine industry.
00:36:14
Speaker
Now go and grab that glass of wine.
00:36:16
Speaker
You deserve it.