Hot foot it to Wild Legs Wine Room, a cosy haunt serving natural vino in the heart of Newstead
Last week, Wild Legs – the brand-new wine bar from the Adela team – opened in the heart of Newstead and locals wasted no time checking it out. As its name suggests, Wild Legs is all about kicking up your heels and raising a glass or two, with a sturdy selection of biodynamic, organic and sustainable drops on offer alongside a menu prepared by chefs who have cooked for royalty. We popped in for a peek at the opening-week action – here’s what we saw …
This time last year, if you asked Adela Wine Bar’s co-owners Silvana Calil, Manolo Lopez and Holly Tite if they had any plans to expand, they’d have told you no. Content with having spent the past two years building Adela into a local institution beloved by Albion’s vino-loving populace, the crew was in no rush to put more on its plate. But then, as it often does, opportunity unexpectedly knocked.
In late 2024 the Adela team was approached with an offer to take over a vacant bar space on Wyandra Street in Newstead – formerly home to Ardo’s Wine. Primed and ready for new custodians to move in and operate, it was a deal that was too good to refuse and, after a short deliberation, Silvana, Manolo and Holly decided to jump in head first.
“It just came out of the blue,” says Manolo of the opportunity. “We were all sitting together evaluating the proposal that was sort of put in front of us, and Holly goes, ‘Let’s just do it’.”
Fast forward a few months to Wednesday March 19 – the opening night of Wild Legs Wine Room. Those passing by that evening reported a busy scene, with Newstead locals flocking in droves to claim one of the bar’s street-side tables or a perch inside. The bar is even busier when we visit a few nights later, with every available seat occupied and hopeful guests patiently waiting for a table to clear. Though packed, the bar still feels approachable, with Manolo and his team taking the time to chat with each table when dropping off freshly filled wine glasses and plates of appetising fare from the kitchen. According to Manolo, that was the aim from the moment they signed on to take over the space.
“Our goal here is to create an atmosphere that feels like a haven – one where people can just relax and enjoy themselves,” says Manolo. “Sometimes when you walk into an establishment, you feel intimidated. You don’t know what to drink or you don’t know much about wine. We want to remove that by stripping away the pretension.”
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Wild Legs Wine Room retains the chic bones of its predecessor (including its blush-hued marble table tops and rendered-concrete walls), with the team electing to apply only a few cosmetic adjustments. The interior – bracketed by the bar on one side and a wall-spanning shelf display on the other – is intimate, with groups rubbing shoulders around a central table and couples getting cosy in the corners. Outside, guests can savour the evening breeze while sitting at low-top tables, perched around converted timber barrels or squished in along the banquette beneath the street-facing window. Fairy light-wrapped trees gleam as the afternoon gives way to dusk, casting the venue in a magic-like glow and beckoning in wayward wine seekers.
“The venue was basically set up, so we’ve just added some finer touches to make it that special place,” says Manolo. “It needed to evoke a casual atmosphere, so if someone’s walking by with their dog, they’re going to feel comfortable enough to sit down, have a sip and continue on.”
When it came to Wild Legs’ wine offering, Silvana, Holly and Manolo had no designs to replicate Adela’s curatorial approach. Here, less is more – natural wine is the bar’s primary area of specialty, with a razor-sharp focus on indigenous and unheard grape varietals set to become the venue’s calling card.
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“We want to focus on serving tasty, uncomplicated wines,” says Manolo of the Wild Legs range. “You’re not going to get your typical shiraz or a cab sav here – we’re passionate about showcasing sustainable, organic and biodynamic wines.”
Where Adela stocks approximately 250 wines, Wine Legs is keeping things more concise, with a list nudging 80 bottles. Approximately 90 percent of the wines listed are characterised as organic, biodynamic, sustainable, vegan or from wineries transitioning from a conventional to a holistic approach. A quick thumb through the Wild Legs list reveals the considered nature of the offering. You’ll spy a textural savagnin from Barossa Valley label Yetti & The Kokonut, a silky verdelho from Balancing Heart in the Granite Belt and a punchy pinot noir from Adelaide Hills’ Emmalene. As the list evolves, Manolo and the team are eager to champion Australian wines more fiercely, so expect Aussie drops to become a greater focus of the offering.
“It’s a real challenge out there for our winemakers,” says Manolo. “It’s a really difficult market and there are some outstanding winemakers out there that just can’t get through.”
The Wild Legs list also has a global reach, with guest also able to quaff French rosé, rieslings from Mosel, Chilean chasselas, Argentinian malbec and event some weighty barolos and Super Tuscan wines from Italy. On the cocktail front, the bar is serving a clutch of crafted concoctions like The Granny Smith (freshly juiced Granny Smith apples with Chartruese) and the signature Jabuticaba Spritzer – a refreshing number boasting jabuticaba liquor (made in-house) and fresh berries.
Helming the Wild Legs kitchen is husband-and-wife chef duo Jean-Antoine Jeffrey and Priscila Hoerau – a talented tandem with some serious bona fides. In addition to cooking for HRH Prince Michael of Kent, the duo has also catered for the likes of Bill Gates and Boris Johnson. At Wild Legs, Jean-Antoine and Priscila are applying their classical training in French and modern-European cuisine to an easy-to-navigate menu. Snacks like focaccia with whipped butter, gildas and mortadella brioche buns lead into small plates of duck-liver parfait, stracciatella with roasted pineapple and beetroot tartare with blackberry gel and Tête de Moine. More substantial options include cheese souffle with onion jam, lamb merguez with labneh and fermented hot sauce, and cheese and charcuterie selections.
At its core, Wild Legs Wine Room is a bar with the community front of mind. Framed as the perfect option for an impromptu post-work tipple, last-minute catch up with friends or a date-night destination, Manolo is fine with Wild Legs being used as needed.
“We love to sit down with people and just enjoy good food, good wine and great company – that’s that’s part of our culture,” says Manolo. “You don’t need to dress up. It’s like you’re hanging out in your backyard with friends. We’re creating something homely.”
Wild Legs Wine Room is now open to the public – head to The Directory for operating hours and other important details.