Where’s the wine?†asked customers who wanted to be able to buy everything they required for a dinner party or lunch from one stop at Hill Street Grocer.
Brothers Marco and Nick Nikitaras are usually quick to respond to customers’ requests, but they took their time over this one and gave long thought to how they wanted to sell wine once they were granted a licence to sell Tasmanian wines.
They wanted to be able to offer good value at an affordable price, they wanted bargains along with the best quality, they wanted consistent quality and they wanted to encourage the small wineries - who might not have even their own cellar-door sales - as opposed to the bigger companies who can find their own place in the market.
The highly regarded owner and wine maker at Domaine A Stoney Vineyard at Campania, Peter Althaus, was commissioned to select wines - both bargains and the best available - from across the state for the Hill Street Grocer collection.
As well as making the first selection, Peter provided the first co-labelled wine - a 1999 cabernet sauvignon that bears both his Stoney Vineyard label and Hill Street Grocer’s label.
Normally, this drop sells for $28 a bottle, but because Hill Street Grocer bought in bulk and paid for the labelling and bottling, we are able to offer it at $19 a bottle. Eventually, a co-labelled pinot noir, a sauvignon blanc, a riesling and a sparkling Tasmanian wine will be available for customers.
Peter Althaus has also held two training sessions with the Hill Street Grocer staff to increase their wine knowledge. The next step is for the staff to visit the vineyard and see the wine being made.
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