South Melbourne

Some bottle shops chase breadth; this one has drawn a firm border around the map, and it happens to be the continent that invented most of the wine styles worth arguing about. The focus here is squarely on Europe's producers — French, Spanish, Italian, German, Austrian and Portuguese bottles arranged by region rather than by grape or price point, which suits browsers who already know roughly what they're after and shoppers who don't but like the idea of being guided there. A wine club offers a way to let someone else do the choosing on a rolling basis, and there are tastings and short courses run on-site for those who want the reasoning behind the recommendations, not just the bottle. It reads as a shop built by people who spend as much time thinking about Riesling from the Mosel or Nebbiolo from Piedmont as they do about turnover — a place for the customer who wants a Loire Chenin or a Rioja with some age on it, rather than whatever's stacked highest at the supermarket. Corporate accounts and shipping across the country point to a business that has grown beyond a single fridge of favourites, but the South Melbourne shopfront remains the anchor: a European cellar, translated for a Melbourne street.

Open since 1999 beside the South Melbourne Market, and the fragrance is the reason to go: L'Orchestre Parfum, Maison Matine and Parle Moi, with sample vials if you want to live with something before committing. Elsewhere it is St Marc linen, mohair knitwear from Luna Gallery, incense by Gentle Habits, and a house loungewear label cut from cotton and European linen, pre-washed so it arrives already soft.