First Look: Melbourne’s Newest Wine Bar Just Opened Behind a Roller Door in Northcote

In 2012, Matt and Leni Purbrick founded Grown & Gathered, a closed-loop sustainable farm in Tabilk growing produce and flowers for Melbourne restaurants. Through the business, the husband-and-wife team also sold produce boxes, advocated for eating seasonally and published two cookbooks.

They moved to Sardinia in 2018 and, in 2019, and started splitting their time between Europe and Australia as they launched Minimum Wines, a brand that makes organic, vegan wines from a vineyard in Goulburn Valley.

After stints in Germany and Denmark, the Purbricks returned to Melbourne permanently last year to set up an urban winery in Northcote. In addition to creating production space, they wanted to open the kind of venue they’d come to rely on overseas. It’s not your typical Melbourne wine bar, but a neighbourhood space where you’d spend an unplanned afternoon with friends and linger over a bottle of wine and a wedge of cheese. Community Wine House, attached to the urban winery, is the manifestation of that dream.

“We’re missing casual [in Melbourne],” says Matt. “People can just come in, calm down and hang out.” In keeping with the relaxed approach, the room is uncomplicated. Wine barrels sit stacked at the back, shelves are stocked with bottles, fresh bread and pantry staples, and the roller door stays open. Long communal tables anchor the warehouse, while the working winery remains very much part of the space.

There’s no traditional kitchen. Instead, items on the shelves and in the fridge are what’s on the menu. Ricotta, burrata and local cheeses are cut to order, served alongside jars of pickles, organic olives, tins of premium seafood from Spain and Portugal and crusty bread from Ovens Street bakery. It’s simple food designed for sharing and stretching one bottle of wine into a full afternoon.

The drinks list celebrates Minimum Wines, with more than 30 bottles available alongside changing by-the-glass pours, Sobremesa beers, non-alcoholic drinks from Mischief Brew and Small Batch filter coffee.

Community Wine House offers the kind of hospitality Purbrick misses from living across Italy, Germany and Denmark, where neighbourhood wine bars often double as grocers. Here, stopping in for bread, cheese and a bottle of wine feels just as natural as settling in for the afternoon. “We just want people to feel safe,” Matt says. “Safe around wine, safe hanging out, safe even if they don't know anything about wine.”

Outside service hours, the warehouse takes on another purpose. Community groups will be able to use the space free of charge, while wine talks, analogue nights, movie screenings, workshops and tastings are all part of the vision. “Our house is your house,” Matt adds.

Community Wine House
7/177 Beavers Road, Northcote
0494 653 783

Hours:
Fri 4pm–10pm
Sat midday–10pm
Sun midday–6pm

minimumwines.com