Olivine

When Pentridge opened as a penitentiary 1851, it would have been hard to imagine the site as it looks today. Hard mattresses have been traded for plush velvet couches and bluestone prison cells transformed into a wine bar, Olivine.

The venue – which is part of Pentridge’s Adina Apartment Hotel – highlights wines from both longstanding celebrated producers and emerging local ones. The list is encyclopaedic, and includes more than 500 bottles from Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany and Italy. Each section includes anecdotes about the different regions and producers, and maps by Melbourne artist Elizabeth Nicholls depicting landmarks, bottles, cellars, landscapes and table settings from each.

The snacky menu follows the lead of sibling restaurant North & Common with past highlights of smoked cream-cheese choux with caviar, delicate scallop and yuzu tarts, and hibachi-charred cucumbers on a bed of cashew cream and sorrel pesto.