Cardwell Cellars

Synchronicity is a fine thing. When a geographer who’s interested in wine meets a sommelier who’s interested in geography – and, in a sure sign, their names are uncannily similar – why wouldn’t they open a wine shop together?

Geographer Martin von Wyss and somm Andrew Wyse did just that – opening Cardwell Cellars on Victoria Street in Abbotsford in 2023.

But Cardwell Cellars isn’t like most bottle shops. With a degree in French and a masters in geography, von Wyss spent 15 years designing maps – and, more recently, maps of wine regions. Then, a self-described “lockdown obsession” led to the ambitious worldwineregions.com – an atlas of 2500 of the world’s wine regions – and, eventually, plans for a shop. His vision was to fill the shelves with wines sourced from under-represented regions around the world.

Bottles, housed on eucalyptus-green library shelving, are categorised according to global regions – starting with America near the front door, through to New Zealand on the way out to the courtyard. Small producers working with sustainable and/or biodynamic practices are favoured.

Wyse and von Wyss will happily open a bottle of whatever you want to try. Sample the goods while perched on oak and black leather bar stools at the long timber-top table stretching down the middle of the high-ceilinged, exposed-brick room. Or at a wooden counter by the window looking out onto Victoria Street.

To eat, there’s a tight menu of wine-friendly cheese and charcuterie, plus packets of Chappy’s chips and an extensive selection of tinned garfish, octopus, sardines, anchovies, pickles, Grampians olives, and more. Or bring in your own food – or order in from a neighbouring restaurant – and the staff at Cardwell will provide forks, knives and plates.