Now Open in Abbotsford: Cardwell Cellars, a Tiny Wine Bar, Bottle Shop and Gallery Where You Can BYO Food

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 have done just that – opening Cardwell Cellars on Victoria Street in Abbotsford late last year. Von Wyss found Wyse (ex- Gaea, Lume) when he was looking for the right person to help him realise his dream of opening a “mapped” wine shop.

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.

“We like to say that we stock from near and far,” says von Wyss. “From 800 metres away and wine from Studley Park Vineyard, to 14,000 kilometres and Turkish, Georgian and Croatian wines.” The 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.

Wyse favours smaller producers working with sustainable and, where possible, biodynamic practices. “My mission is to get people to drink good wine and also to support small producers,” he says. “I want to build a set that has lots of surprises – things people may not have tried before and exploring wine regions that are less well trodden.”

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. Architects Trower Falvo oversaw the redesign of the space, which had been vacant for six years. (Over its 132-year history, it has been home to a tobacconist, a tailor, a Greek club, an embroiderer, a cobbler, and a confectioner called Mrs L Cardwell – hence the name.)

There’s a tight menu of wine-friendly cheese and charcuterie, plus snacks by Atelier Josun (a project by chefs Jo Chan and Jasper Chui), including black garlic canelés, gougères, oolong citrus tea cake, and mochi. You'll also find packets of cheesy Bret’s chips imported from Brittany, and an extensive selection of tinned garfish, octopus, sardines, anchovies, stuffed calamari, 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.

Above the bottle shop is a light and airy gallery space, where the team from 2 Mayfield Street – a nearby arts hub and community space – will program monthly displays. The upstairs space will also host wine tastings and poetry slams – or you can just take a book and sit on the plush red-velvet antique sofa to sip, read and stare out over the roofs of Abbotsford.

Cardwell Cellars
461 Victoria Street, Abbotsford

Hours
Mon to Sat 11am–late
Sun 12pm–6pm

cardwellcellars.com
@cardwellcellars