Bourke Street Bakery Launches Micro-Winery

The brains behind Bourke Street Bakery, one of Sydney's most popular bakeries, have continued to knead the idea-dough and create new wholemealsome fun for the city's residents, this time launching a micro-winery within their Potts Point establishment.

Paul Allam and David McGuinness, the bread moguls behind Bourke Street, have teamed up with Potts Point local Alex Retief of boutique NSW wine label A. Retief Wines to create the suburb's only micro-winery, which perfectly suits their highly successful After Hours program. They have transplanted half a tonne of Cabernet Sauvignon grapes from Tertini Wines in the Southern Highlands to the floor of Bourke Street Bakery Potts Point where they are currently fermenting, waiting to be transformed into delicious croissant-complementing wine.

Bread and wine go together perfectly — just ask Jesus — and this is the perfect spot for wine production, with the wild yeast spores from the bakery's air allowing for natural fermentation. Alex also frequents the store daily to plunge the grapes, but you do not need expert wine-making hands to join in the fun. "We are keeping the plunger beside the grapes and we encourage anyone in the area to pop in, have a peek and to plunge the grapes themselves," says McGuinness.

This interactive initiative will also feature a series of evening talks held on site with a range of winemakers, including Centennial Vineyards, BK Wines and A. Retief Wines themselves, where locals will be able taste the bakery's produce throughout the fermentation process. Finally, a chance to smell your wine, swirl your glass and practice being a wine expert.