Bars

Peel Street’s Jennie Wine Bar awarded best wine bar in Australia

By Ebony Raymond

Posted on September 15, 2023

Jennie Wine Bar is celebrating after taking home Wine Bar of the Year at the Bartender Australia Bar Awards in Sydney.

Shortly after celebrating their 1st birthday, Jennie Wine Bar has been awarded the Wine Bar of the Year 2023 at the Bartender Australia Bar Awards.

The award was presented in Sydney during Sydney Bar Week, which celebrates bringing the Australian bar industry together through education, parties, the awards and more.

“We were honestly very shocked, we have only just celebrated our first birthday so we were sill kind of reeling in that. We are very proud and very humbled about the fact that we were not only nominated by our peers, but also able to take home the award,” Jennie Wine Bar co-owner Lachlan says.

“A massive thank you to all our distributors, who helped us facilitate creating the wine list, and our amazing staff.”

Jennie opened on September 1st last year and is the brainchild of barman Scott Taddeo, who’s managed Alfred’s Bar on Peel Street, and Scott Quick, owner of Alfred’s and nearby Malt & Juniper.

Joined by business partners Matt Holding from Malt & Juniper and brothers Lachlan and Matt Harrison, who are also previously from Alfred’s.

Lachlan says the whole scope of the bar is to broaden people’s horizons into international wine at an affordable rate, and their passion for good hospitality is one of the factors that drove them to success during such a short time.

“I think what has kept us in good stead is having a passion for good hospitality, that is our staple in the bar. You can walk in having a wealth of knowledge about wine or no knowledge at all, come relax, hang out and still get that fine dining-esque level of service in a casual environment. It creates an environment that allows people to enjoy themselves and tailor-make their experience,” he says.

“We have Scott Tadeo who has done his diploma of wine and is an absolute wealth of knowledge when it comes to putting the wine list together and he shares his knowledge, educating everybody in a palatable manner.”

Don’t be fooled by it’s bougee wine bottles, Jennie is a ‘no frills’ wine bar located in the cosy nook between Peet St Restaurant and Gondola Gondola.

Named after the term for a 500-millilitre wine bottle, Jennie serves approximately 200 international and locally-made wines on rotation alongside a short (but sweet) beer and cocktail list.

Jennie was designed by the owners themselves, taking interior inspo from Perth favourite Wines of While and Melbourne bar The Alps, and was built by Sam Weckert of Tiger Build alongside by local designers and artists Alex Bellas and Jess Purcell.

Tiger Build is the local business behind venue renovations such as the Smokelovers, 1000 Island, Sunnys, Part Time Lover, Bottega Bandito, Anchovy Bandit, and more.

A floor-to-ceiling wall of wine with nearly every wine bottle on the menu on display and a long African mahogany table to take centre stage. The bar boasts dark mahogany features, leather interiors, clean lines, and no frills – just like the wine menu.

Their food menu is kept simple, sticking to snacks such as charcuterie, anchovies, olives and terrines. If you’re looking for a more substantial meal, use Jennie for your sneaky tipple before heading over to Bead & Bone or Sit Lo for the main food event.