When you browse the shelves at Newcastle’s Vera Wine, you’ll find hand-written tasting notes on each bottle of vino with the producer, vintage and grape variety on it. Also, a fun little spiel, like this one penned by co-owner Josh Di Stefano for local dessert royalty (and former Masterchef contestant) Reece Hignell:

“Do you know Reece from Cakeboi? He loves this wine more than cake. We cannot confirm if this is true or not. This lightly sparkling alicante bouschet is really awesome, fruit-forward with lots of bright red cherries and a lovely, palate-cleansing finish.”

Personal touches and a stylish, welcoming space were key for Di Stefano and Florence Diffey when they opened the smart Beaumont Street wine shop in April. The duo had just moved from Melbourne to Newcastle with their three kids and were eager to showcase the wines they’d been drinking – and working with – back in Victoria.

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“The stock we carry is unique to Newcastle, so we didn’t want it to be intimidating to anyone,” Di Stefano tells Broadsheet. “The wines are delicious and we want to share them, and the best way to share them is through a warm, friendly and inviting experience.”

Among the 600-odd wines at Vera, there’s a good spread of classic and lo-fi natural styles, many of them vibrant reds and saline whites that speak to Newcastle’s coastal climate. And while big-name Hunter Valley winemakers are well represented in local bottle shops, Vera highlights smaller vignerons from the region, some Di Stefano and Diffey know personally.

“For us there’s so much amazing Hunter Valley wine that’s not represented locally,” Diffey says. “So that’s what we’re offering, and we don’t really have any competition in that sense. We stock Vinden and Margan Wines, and also some wines by Hart & Hunter that are only available to their members. We’re the only retailer that sells them.”

Not unlike the wines they sell, Di Stefano and Diffey both have interesting back stories: Di Stefano is a Newcastle native who moved to Melbourne to learn about coffee but ultimately fell into the world of wine. He worked on the wine programs at Dinner by Heston and the well-regarded Bar Liberty, then managed the Collingwood branch of new-wave bottle shop chain Blackhearts & Sparrows once he and Diffey started having kids.

Wine is in Diffey’s blood. She’s the daughter of Gerald Diffey – founder of influential Melbourne venue Gerald’s Bar – and lived above her father’s business before taking her hospo career to Europe and back again. She’s helped pick and process grapes in Sicily, and done stints at top Melbourne venues Marion, Bar Americano and, naturally, her Dad’s place.

They’ve brought all that experience into the shop, which was brought to life by H3 Projects and Brik Design Studio. The left side is lined with shelves devoted to red varieties, opposite a generous counter primed for an afternoon tasting. Up the back are fridges filled with whites. The otherwise minimal space – a former swimwear shop – gets a pop of green from the devil’s ivy hanging from the blond timber shelves – punctuated by those warm and welcoming little tasting notes.

Vera Wine
67 Beaumont Street, Hamilton
(02) 4927 6376

Hours
Mon to Thu 11am–8pm
Fri & Sat 11am–9pm
Sun 10am–7pm

verawine.com.au