Federation Square 2 Swanston St Melbourne, Vic, 3000 03 9807 3266 Located in ‘the Victorian Wine Precinct’ at Federation Square in Melbourne, The Wine Bar is a genuine specialist in the wines of its own state, Victoria. Around forty are available by the glass, with a selection by the bottle numbering around 200. The list begins with a series of ‘wine flights’ consisting of a thoughtful selection of three 75 ml tastes of different wines with a common theme, to indulge yourself or more presumably, share. Some comments, with which I would not always entirely agree, accompany the flights. The selection by the glass does change regularly, and does cross a range of styles, varieties and price points. The list, which is presented variety by variety, contains most of the classics, some of the ‘could-be’s’ and most of the ‘wannabe’s’ of Victorian wine. Prices are generally good to high, although the $283 for Mount Mary Pinot Noir is simply crazy. Sometimes you just need to drop your margin occasionally to sell wine; but perhaps they don’t really want to sell this one. There’s some basic introductory copy at the header for each varietal section, but perhaps an establishment looking to stamp itself as the permanent display of Victorian wine could deliver a little more.
