Act of Wine

Since 2018, this Fanning Street shop has built its list around small-batch and family-owned producers, favouring wines made with minimal intervention over anything mass-produced. The range runs from reds and whites to orange, skin-contact and sparkling styles, alongside a tight selection of spirits, all chosen on the same logic: quality over quantity, sustainability over shortcuts. It sits in Southbank, a strip of Melbourne better known for apartment towers and casino lights than considered wine retail, which makes the shop's focus on grower Champagne and biodynamic bottles more pointed. Customers can also open a bottle in-store for a small markup and drink it on the spot, a habit that has built a loyal local following beyond the online orders the shop ships nationwide. Open daily from 11am, closing between 5 and 8pm depending on the night — a rare independent anchor in a part of the city dominated by chains.