HOUSED in a former inner-city bank complete with a vault packed with bottles and a 300-strong wine list, Newcastle's Reserve Wine Bar has stepped out of the shadow of Sydney and the Hunter Valley to put Newcastle's wine culture on the map.
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The Newcastle CBD bar, at 102 Hunter Street, was awarded the maximum - and much coveted - three-glass rating in the Gourmet Traveller Wine Wine List of The Year Awards.
The award puts the Hunter Street bar at the forefront of Newcastle's wine bars as one of only two establishments outside Sydney with such an accolade. The three-glass rating also puts the bar in good company with the likes of Aria, Rockpool, Bentley Bar and Grill and Sepia in terms of their wine offering.
The magazine was full of praise for the Reserve team: "Newcastle takes on Sydney in the wine bar stakes with a hot list that "facilitates the fun and fascination of the grape"," said the judges.
"Either descend on the Hunter and NSW wines, enjoy exotic drops and or be guided by fabulous riesling, chardonnay, cabernet and shiraz from Australia and beyond. 'Reds Of Intrigue' do indeed sound intriguing and the list of wines by the glass is outstanding."
Reserve also earned a nod as one of just five bars nominated in the Best Wine Bar List category alongside the likes of winner Cru Bar + Cellar, Brisbane, and Sydney's Love, Tilly Devine.
Reserve wine director and "general cork dork" Patrick Haddock said the awards were a pat on the back for the wine bar's team who work hard on the bar's extensive wine offering, which numbers at about 300.
"It's a validation of all the work that goes into putting together such an extensive wine list," Haddock told Food & Wine. "We are the only ones outside Sydney with the three-glass rating and we hope it will bring people from further afield . . . Newcastle is coming along so quickly and all these venues are opening, we want to be up there with the best."
Reserve wants to continue to offer a top-shelf wine and dining experience for hardcore wine lovers and complete novices alike. "The whole thing about wine is that terrible snob factor or it can be slightly intimidating, but the main thing is we want to try to find something to suit everyone's palate. At the end of the day it's just fermented grapes," Haddock said.
He said the judge's singling out of the by-the-glass offering was similarly affirming: this offering changes every three weeks, compared to many establishments, which might only change it seasonally.
"It is a Herculean task to change it every three weeks but staff love it and so do our customers. People will come in and say, just pour me something, which is a great relationship to have developed."
Despite being at the top of their game, the Reserve team - headed by Haddock, Tim Bohlsen, and Justin Oliver - won't rest on its laurels. They are propelling the Hunter wine bar scene forward with their offering of aged wines under coravin, which allows a wine to be poured by the glass without pulling the cork. It's not only a way to check the wine as it ages, but a chance to offer wine lovers premium wines without having to buy a whole bottle. Wines under coravin include Lake's Folly Cabernets, Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz 1998 Multi region, Wynn's John Riddoch 1998 Coonawarra, Lindemans Pyrus 1998 Coonawarra, and Tyrrell's Rufus Stone Shiraz 1996.
Haddock said the Reserve team will continue its wine events such as the Briar Ridge and Peppertree Wines lunch on August 29.
The kitchen team, headed by chef Wayne Isaac, has also introduced $15 lunch specials and coffee by Newcastle's Drop Bear Coffee Roasters. A cocktail list is also in the offing.
