Seddon Wine Store

Seddon Wine Store
2/101 Victoria St
Seddon VIC 3011
ph:9687 4817
www.seddonwinestore.com.au
(ok, don't judge it by the website... read on)

Today I went to what looks like one of the best wine shops – in the world. A kind of eno teca, without the wanky Toorak feel… because it’s in Seddon. Yes, you heard me correctly. Seddon. On the same strip as the bakery with the woman who has the largest mole you have ever seen (Waldie’s bakery – top doughnuts, pies and white bread, plenty of cakes, in a tuck shop kind of way, five and a half tentacles!).

“Whoa, easy boy, I’ve been to wine shops before. Big deal,” I hear you think: though I note you fail to admonish me for the mole remark above, for which I am truly sorry and apologise (incidentally – though it is amazing, and a source of local mythology).

I first heard about this wine shop because a friend bought me a bottle of wine from there that was, really, pretty good. So good, in fact, I thought I might like another one. A French number, 2001, delish. Do you think you could buy one on the internet? Nah. So I rang the shop, and they had the last bottle in stock, probably in Australia, for forty bucks. Would I like them to put it aside for me?

“Great,” I replied. “I’ll swing by tomorrow.”

Gee, the Seddon shopping strip on Victoria St has gone up in the world in the last fifteen years, let me tell you (Waldie's aside). That’s where Basset + Lobaza architects are (Blue Vapours patrons – hi!), and they've known it for years.

I practically fell in love with the Seddon Wine Store when I walked in the door; it looks like the kind of place I would open and then accidentally lock myself in for a long weekend. Blokes drinking wine at a bar, an electric ham slicer lives behind the bench, there's booze, it's basically the things dreams are made of.

They do tapas (well, cold stuff they can put together behind the counter) while you drink a bottle there. A few things off their blackboard:
Tuna Belly
Cured Meats
Sardines
Terrine
Olives
Smoked Salmon
Parfait
Various Cheeses

The pics I took are a bit blurry (I must have been a bit excited), but here’s what they’ve got written on the blackboard outside:

Well ya see, Norm, it’s like this… A herd of buffalo can only move as fast as the slowest buffalo. And when the herd is hunted, it’s the slowest and weakest ones at the back that are killed first. This natural selection is good for the herd as a whole, because the general speed and health of the whole group keeps improving by the regular killing of the weakest members. In much the same way, the human brain can only operate as fast as the slowest brain cells. Excessive intake of alcohol, as we know, kills brain cells. But naturally, it attacks the slowest and weakest brain cells first. In this way, regular consumption of beer eliminates the weaker brain cells, making the brain a faster and more efficient machine. That’s why you’ll always feel smarter after a few beers.’ -Cliff Clavin

I just Googled it. He’s the postman from Cheers.

Plus they had a wine I like. Good on you, Seddon wine shop! I give it seven tentacles out of eight, and plan a lunch there shortly.