The Wine Emporium

I am one of those people that can easily wander around a good wine shop for an hour or so. Unfortunately, Brisbane is now dominated by places like BWS, Liquorland and Vintage Cellars that sell some pretty average wine at very scary prices. I buy most of my wine on-line, simply because it's the cheapest way to buy wine. There are some great wine shops down south, like Winestar, Cloudwine and Boccaccio Cellars, that have fantastic ranges, low prices and deliver to Brisbane for free.

Having said that, there are a couple of really good wine shops in Brisbane that stand out from the predictable supermarket chains. My favourite place to buy a special bottle in Brisbane is at The Wine Emporium. Personally I find the whole Emporium complex a bit pretentious, but every now and again I get dragged along there and always sneak into The Wine Emporium (and end up spending way too much money).

I'm a bit of a Champagne fan, and I think The Wine Emporium has the best selection of Champagne in Brisbane. They have Champagnes from about $40 a bottle upwards, including some that you just can't find anywhere else in Brisbane. Recently I bought a bottle of 1996 Bruno Paillard for about $105. I had it for lunch with some friends at Harvey's (which I'll eventually get to post about) and it was terrific. The 1996 Champagne vintage is regarded as one of the two best vintages in the last century and whenever I see one in a shop, I buy it. I'm yet to be disappointed by a 1996 Champagne and many of them will continue to cellar for another 10 years or so.

If you're not into Champagne, there are French, Spanish, Italian and American wines, together with plenty of local Australian bottles. Walk in here and you'll find loads of bottles that don't even register on a BWS catalogue.

The Wine Emporium has free tastings every Saturday, and the tastings vary from week to week. To give you an idea, this week you can walk in and taste the new release Boireann wines from Stanthorpe (which I think are the best red wines in Queensland), but next week its one of the most famous producers in the world - Louis Latour from Burgundy.

The Wine Emporium also conducts wine education classes, led by the amazing Bernadette O'Shea. Bernadette is probably the leading Champagne authority in Australia, and her passion for Champagne never ceases to amaze me.

Next time you pop into Emporium, make sure you have a look at The Wine Emporium. If you're after a special bottle, or just something different, it won't let you down.

The Wine Emporium
Shop 47, Emporium
1000 Ann Street
Fortitude Valley 4006
P - 07 3252 1117
E - thevalley@thewineemporium.com.au
W - http://www.thewineemporium.com.au/