When Olivia Moore left her job as a wine importer in London to come to Adelaide to work a vintage season at d’Arenberg, she only intended to stay a short while. But Moore, who grew up in north-west England, quickly fell in love with the city, its wine culture and accessibility to world-class wine regions. So she cancelled her return ticket.

Three years on, she’s worked at some of Adelaide’s best venues, including Clever Little Tailor, Mother Vine and Low & Slow. And she’s accumulated plenty of knowledge of South Australian wines. Now, she’s bringing her favourites together in a new online booze store called Loc Bottle Shop.

The plan to open a physical store – in line with the indie bottle shops dotted across Sydney, Melbourne and Perth – has been in the works for a year or so, but red tape has slowed the progress. As an interim measure Moore started working on an online shop, which, as luck would have it, was ready to go when the Covid-19 crisis began to unfold. “It’s been strangely fortunate,” she tells Broadsheet. “This is a nice way to start – people are wanting to drink at home right now. I mean, they don’t have a choice, but I think they’re really enjoying it.”

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Loc stands for left-of-centre, which hints at the sorts of wines she’s flogging. It’s a select list of delicious lo-fi drops from across Australia and Europe – a mix of hard-to-find gems, boundary-pushers and local favourites that can be delivered anywhere in Australia.

“Loc is for wine enthusiasts as well as people who just want good booze delivered to them without much fuss,” says Moore. “[It’s] a place to browse, experiment, test the waters, try a wine or two that you don’t normally see at your local bottle-o, and have a bit of fun. I’m hoping it’s a nice little avenue, when you can’t go out to restaurants and rely on the staff to choose for you.”

The collection of more than 160 wines includes drops from SA producers such as Gentle Folk, Borachio, Jauma and Shobbrook, plus old-world stunners from l’Octavin, Alice & Olivier de Moor, Cantina Giardino, Tschida and Gut Oggau. Moore’s current recommendation? Austrian producer Claus Preisinger’s Putsza Libre. “It has a little more body than the wines I normally drink, but it’s got a tiny spritz to it with nice acid. It’s a bright winter wine.”

Moore has been working with a range of well-respected suppliers from all over Australia to get hold of drops that are not only delicious but sustainable. (This philosophy will extend to beer, spirits and non-alcoholics when they’re added to the mix, too).

“All of the wines are organically farmed and some are biodynamic … We buy our wines from thoughtful producers who put care and consideration into their wines, allowing the fruit to speak for itself,” she says.

“All the wines I would call natural, some have minimal sulphur but no other adds. The wines I enjoy drinking have a great deal of energy and vibrancy to them – I believe this comes from the vineyards, the fruit, and skilled winemaking – often with a lot of consideration around timing. These are the wines I want to champion.”

Moore will be delivering the wines herself within Adelaide. Same-day delivery is available for orders over $100. Delivery is also available Australia-wide.

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