New Hire: Vincent Griffiths Is Sixpenny’s New Head Sommelier

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Sixpenny is a small restaurant with a small team, and people don’t leave very often. So new hires aren’t very common. But a few months ago, when head sommelier Alexandrea Fladhamer moved back to Canada, a rare vacancy opened up. It was quickly filled by her longstanding understudy at the restaurant, Vincent Griffiths.

Now that he’s a few months into the job, we caught up with Griffiths to hear about how we got here, his philosophy around wine, and where he plans on taking one of Australia’s most esteemed beverage programs in the future.

What’s your job title, and what do you do?

I’ve been the head sommelier at Sixpenny since August. I do all the wines by the glass and the bottle, and steer the pairings, working with our head chef Tony Schifilliti. And then also cocktails and digestifs. Previously, I was working as a junior sommelier here, so I’ve been doing all the pairings and bottle service for a few years – so it was a natural progression into this role.

How did you first get into wine?

My first job, when I was maybe 18, was working at corporate events at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Big law firms or banks would hire the gallery out for dinners or cocktail parties. And some events had Grange as the table wine. Trying that for the first time – I think it was a 2013 – was insane. Like synaesthesia, where you taste colours. I was like, “Wow”. That really sparked my interest.

And when did you start working in restaurants?

The events business sort of closed because of Covid, so I went to a restaurant in North Sydney called Green Moustache. They have a very substantial bar with over 300 wines on the list. I started as a section waiter, then I was assistant restaurant manager, and also sommelier at the same time. Then I got into wine tastings and buying for the venue.

When did you leave for Sixpenny?

Then, nearly three years ago, I saw a role come up at Sixpenny. I didn’t think I had enough experience to get the job, but I wanted to throw my hat in the ring – and they hired me as junior somm. That’s how I’ve gotten here. It’s a lot of work, but I like the challenge, and the very high standard of service. It’s a beautiful team, and a beautiful place, and I really want to be a good representative of the venue. It’s taken me a while to settle into the fact that I’m doing what I love and that I don’t need to look for something anymore – I just need to stay on this path. I feel like I am where I should be.

Will you be changing the list much?

I think the list was in a really good state: a beautiful offering with a lot of intrigue and nuance to it – but also classic styles that people are familiar with. I think it’s very important to have both of those in a restaurant. There are a few pockets on the list I’d like to flesh out more – styles of wine that I think go well with the food, like Bordeaux blanc, Loire Valley sancerre, Australian semillon. Beautiful gastronomic wines. But it’s in an incredible spot. I’d like to maintain that.

How do you approach pairings?

We have two wine pairings. The first, the Sixpenny pairing, focuses mainly on Australian producers. It can be from well-established wineries and regions – like Tyrells from the Hunter Valley or Woodlands from Margaret River – but it’ll also have young, up-and-coming winemakers. It’s trying to show the history of the Australian winemaking landscape – but also, what’s happening now? And then the sommelier’s wine pairing focuses on international benchmark regions around the world – France, Italy – but also premium emerging countries. Regions that people know about, but also something for wine enthusiasts to explore what will be coming up in the next few years. A progression in a guest’s drinking journey will follow the same trajectory as their food, so that helps us stay on track and make sure we don’t confuse the palate.

Where are you interested in taking the beverage program in future?

Something that’s taken my interest in the last couple of months is wines made by Australians, but they’re made overseas. For example, David Fletcher at Fletcher Wines makes wine in South Australia, but also goes over to Italy to make barbaresco. Another one is Jane Eyre, who makes wines in Victoria and in Burgundy. Another book, The Australian Ark, by Andrew Caillard has given me a lot of inspiration for finding diamond-in-the-rough wines from lesser-known regions. I love sharing stories like that with guests.

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