Newcastle gets upmarket wine bar

Reserve Wine Bar will open its doors in Newcastle next week, bringing a top-notch wine experience to the city.

A collaboration between local businessmen Tim Bohlsen, Justin Oliver and wine journalist Patrick Haddock, Reserve Wine Bar sits on the corner of Hunter and Bolton Streets in the historic ANZ bank building, right in the heart of the revitalised and bustling dining precinct.

Co-owner Patrick Haddock said Reserve's wine list and menu will have a strong focus on local producers, giving it a distinct Hunter region flavour.

The Reserve Wine Bar team

"Reserve is going to bring a very exciting depth of wine offering to a city that up until now has been bereft of good options for wine drinkers," he told TheShout.

"Our wine list has a real focus on Australian wine in all its glory, with 70 New South Wales wines and 175 Australian wines on the list all up. A quarter of our list does feature imports as there is always a need for them, but my focus is to put Australian wine first."

Haddock said that despite the trend towards wine from overseas, Australian drinkers are some of the luckiest in the world, with a wealth of styles to choose from, something he intends to showcase at Reserve Wine Bar.

"There is so much talk about sommeliers offering all of this imported wine, and I can't help but find it ironic that here I am – a Pom – that is so eager to show that we need to support Australian wine because it has never been better."

Rounding out the team at Reserve Wine Bar is chef, Jose Miguel, who recently manned the pans at Arnott's Bakehouse in Morpeth and also headed up the kitchen at Margan in the Hunter Valley, along with experience at Cadmus and Banc in Sydney.

Front of house will be steered by Joshua Anlezark, who spent five years at Ezard restaurant in Melbourne.

Reserve Wine Bar will open on Wednesday 2 October.

Source: The Shout, 25 September 2013