"People liken our bar to an old English pub, where you will always see a recognisable face who is up for a chat"
When thinking about the hotspots for hospitality in Torquay, Gilbert Street, Bell Street and The Esplanade often come to mind for their mix of bars, breweries and eateries, but for the locals, the suburbs have some of the best hidden gems. One of the pearls of the Surf Coast is Mr Archer Wine Bar, an intimate date-night location tucked into The Dunes Village in Torquay’s North.
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Mr Archer Wine Bar has been curating an extensive selection of wine and refining their cuisine pairings for years but last December saw a change of ownership to wine-enthusiasts, Emma Aitken Alexander and her husband Rob Aitken.
“12 months ago we had the amazing opportunity to plant a vineyard in October of last year on Emma’s parents property in the Barrabool Hills (Peppercorn Ridge Ceres), which is the site where some of the original 1860 vineyards in Geelong were located. This was the next step towards establishing ourselves within the wine industry. Whilst we were spending all of our weekends working on the vineyard, we were sent the ad for ‘Wine Bar for Sale in Torquay’ and we both definitely thought, ‘in for a penny, in for a pound’,” explains Rob Aitken.
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With strong backgrounds in hospitality and extensive knowledge in the wine-tasting department having travelled far and beyond to wine country across the world including Bordeaux, Champagne, Burgundy, Piedmont, Tuscany and Portugal, the couple have capsuled that wine-appreciation into Mr Archer Wine Bar in an effort to bring the best of the wine world to the local community.
“We’ve been working tirelessly to bring the Torquay community a venue that has amazing, great value wine. Anything from a local pinot noir to Premier Cru Burgundy, there is something for everyone,” explains Emma Aitken Alexander.
It’s not an exaggeration to say their range has something for everyone. Their curation of wine within the bar is built for locals but crafted by the community with a list that boasts of over 170 local, Australian, and international boutique wines. To assist the sampling process, Mr Archer offers an ‘Icons By The Glass’ selection which features a premier wine from renowned producers such as Bannockburn Vineyards or Yarra Yerrin without having to splurge on their usual by the bottle pricing. They also hold ‘Producer Spotlight Wine Tastings’ every Saturday, which, in similar fashion to a cellar door, allows you into the world of a selected wine producer. It’s Emma Aitken Alexander and Rob Aitkens way of allowing locals to devleop their own palettes and form their own wine opinions.
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“We see that one of our roles in this bar is to allow people to build their own opinions of wine, rather than being told what to expect and enjoy. And the only way you can build up that opinion, is to try a variety of things!”
Of the mammoth over 170 selection of wines, local sits at the forefront of Mr Archer’s curation, celebrating the Greater Geelong and surrounds wine region. From the Bellarine’s excellence, across Geelong to the Moorabool Valley and around the Surf Coast, Geelong’s wine is top-tier, earning many awards across the board.
“We believe strongly in supporting our community by celebrating local winemakers, brewers and food suppliers, because a dollar kept in the community is a dollar better spent,” says Aitkens.
“We firmly believe that the Geelong Wine Region is crafting wines of exceptional calibre, poised to rival renowned Victorian, Australian, and global counterparts. Our mission is to honour this achievement by providing you with an opportunity to not only enjoy these delicious Geelong wines but also to compare them with wines from some of the world’s most treasured sites. Our curated selection prominently showcases the varietals in which Geelong excels: Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Gamay, Pinot Meunier, Riesling, and Syrah.”
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That local focus extends into their beverage offerings outside of wine, with fellow Torquay drink specialists Blackmans Beer appearing on tap, and into their produce selections for their on-site kitchen Ayala. Perfectly feeding into their limited kitchen space, local produce allows for collection of fresh seasonal ingredients on Saturday mornings for their incredible chefs to prepare five courses for the day, embodying the ideas of Basque hospitality – shared meals, a passion for high quality ingredients in a relaxed, unhurried atmosphere.
“Ayala came about as we found there was a huge gap in the market for dinner offerings in North Torquay. However, those who have seen our kitchen space will know how small it is! You will see there is a huge travel theme to this story, but when we were in San Sabastian, chefs were working in even smaller spaces to create delicious fresh and seasonal tapas. So if they can do it, why can’t we!”
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It’s the communal setting that Emma Aitken Alexander and Rob Aitken are trying to achieve as they anchor to Torquay’s North. With added special events, including Trivia nights every month, live music every Friday and Saturday night, Happy Hour on Friday’s for after work knock-offs and wine education in the form of masterclasses, tasting sessions and special dining events including an upcoming Bannokburn Vineyards dinner, where Gus Pollard will be in attendance to take guests through their newly released S.R.H Chardonnay and Serré Pinot Noir, Mr Archer aims to be hub for hang-outs surrounded by impeccable hospitality.
“Moving forward, we hope Mr Archer is seen as a local neighbourhood wine bar, where you can drink exceptionally great value wine, enjoy delicious food and be part of a welcoming community. We have been fortunate enough to travel to and dine at some amazing places around the globe, and we have picked our favourite parts of these experiences and tried to bring them together into an unpretentious wine bar space.”
Learn more about Mr Archer Wine Bar here and be sure to head on down over the weekend to join their exciting events.
