First look – Stickybeak, a new breed of pour-your-own wine bar, arrives in Woolloongabba
Attention wine lovers, there’s a brand-new wine bar set to open next week and it’s a doozy. Stickybeak in Woolloongabba is giving sippers a primo personalised drinking experience, showcasing 80 bottles of some of the best vino from Australia and abroad in ten state-of-the-art self-serve wine dispensers. We got a sneak peek inside ahead of its official launch – here’s what we saw …
Anthony McConnel has seen and done a lot during his 30-odd-year career in the wine industry, but he’s never run a wine bar – especially not one like Stickybeak.
Next week, Anthony and the BTG Wine team will pull back the curtain on their anticipated two-level, 60-seat haunt, which is situated at the tip of Woolloongabba’s famed Logan Road cul-de-sac. While every wine bar is different, Stickybeak stands out from the pack. Why? Well, for a start, it’s one of the few joints in town where you have free rein over the vino offering. The bar is living up to its name by giving inquisitive oenophiles the chance to explore an 80-strong wine list via cutting-edge self-serve wine dispensers, which takes the hassle out of corking, pouring and storing.
This kind of technology is becoming more popular across the globe, though it has only gained a foothold in Brisbane in recent years. While the apparatus is widely praised for its ease of use and ability to preserve wine through precise temperature controls, for Anthony and the Stickybeak team, the true magic comes from the machine’s unrivalled ability to put the customer in charge of their wine-drinking experience.
“The real core of [Stickybeak], what we’re really passionate about, is the fact that [these machines] give you so much ability to show people wine – especially at all different price points,” says Anthony, who worked as the Australian business manager for Craggy Range Winery before establishing his own business dedicated to exporting Australian wine to Singapore. From Anthony’s point of view, the increased uptake of these machines is the latest evolutionary step for the wine business, which has always been an industry of constant change.
“It’s definitely something I see growing. There’s less of a hang up these days about pulling the cork. First it was screw caps, but now everyone accepts screw caps. The next phase, I think, is these wine machines,” says Anthony.
So, how does a self-serve wine bar operate? Stickybeak is equipped with ten WineEmotion machines, each equipped to hold and dispense eight wines apiece. After presenting themselves to the ground-floor bar and approving a pre-authorisation of their payment method, guests are provided with a glass and a special RFID card (with a pre-set spend limit) that allows them to interact with the machines. Simply insert the card into one of WineEmotion dispensers, select between a tasting portion (25 ml), half glass (75 ml) and full glass (150 ml) of your wine of choice, and let rip. Each transaction will tell you how much you’ve spent so far, so there’s no surprises at the end of your visit. While guests are also free to order a whole bottle, Stickybeak’s system helps alleviate one headache commonly associated with drinking with friends – being unable to agree on a bottle to split.
“It’s typically better to get a bottle than a glass, so someone usually compromises,” says Anthony. “Here, you don’t compromise – everyone gets what they want. We’ve actually done the pricing so that you’re not advantaged or disadvantaged by buying a wine by the glass or by the bottle.”
Two machines are situated downstairs next to the main bar area, while another eight can be found upstairs. The rest of the space is given over to various seating areas, including a street-side alfresco terrace on terra firma, a lounge space on the upstairs balcony and a more intimate room overlooking the intersection of Stanley Street and Main Street. Different areas can be closed off for private functions and special meet-the-winemaker and tasting events.
“Downstairs is more for those who just want to come in and have a nice little easy glass of wine,” Anthony explains. “If you want to be a little bit more engaged in the wine side, or you just want to be in a nicer environment, sit upstairs. You’ve got some really different areas to enjoy.”
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Anthony has been working on the wine list for the past year, putting in place a blueprint that the team will build off and expand upon as time goes on. Stickybeak is going to bat for Australian wines, with Anthony estimating roughly 80 percent of the offering being sourced domestically. He’s also gone to great lengths to secure vino from small-scale producers with a great story behind them.
When asked about some of the makers Stickybeak is showcasing upon launch, Anthony namechecks a few gems that best represent Stickybeak’s producer-forward curatorial ethos, including Samantha Connew from Tasmania-based Stargazer Wine, father-son duo Dave and Callum Powell from minimalist Barossa winemaker Powell & Son, Andrew Hardy of Ox Hardy Wines in Blewitt Springs, and Margaret River producer Julian Langworthy’s Nocturne Wines.
“We are very strongly focused on Australian wines and we’re always looking for those smaller producers, because they’ve got that great fabric to them,” says Anthony. “The one thing I really wanted to make sure we did was represent Australia in Australia – it is so tough in the international market, so let’s be really supportive at home. We obviously want to allow people to see and compare Australian and international wines, so we’re trying to also have a little bit of international flavour in there.”
An as-yet-unutilised space offers room for two more machines, which Anthony hints will be used for a rotating winemaker or region showcase.
“We’ve tried to cover most bases – we’ve got everything from your sort of lighter styles and aromatics to your heavier wines. I went with a fairly tight band of suppliers [to start], but then as we grow we’ll develop and we’ll bring in more interesting things,” Anthony adds.
Beyond wine, Stickybeak is serving tinnies (including suds from neighbour Easy Times Brewing.) and a selection of curated morsels to nibble on while sipping.
“The focus is the wine, but we want to have food that complements it,” says Anthony. “It’s very charcuterie and tapas centric – warm olives, cheese platters and various different deli items. It’s just about nibbling and grazing away.”
Stickybeak Wine is set to open next week – keep an eye on the bar’s social media pages for updates!