Shane Delia’s glam new cocktail bar Jayda will open next door to Maha in city this spring

Off the back of his successful Middle Eastern restaurant empire, Shane Delia will open his first CBD venue in 14 years this spring.

Melbourne restaurant king Shane Delia will open his first CBD venue in 14 years this November.

Off the back of his successful Middle Eastern restaurant empire, Delia will open Jayda, a glamorous cocktail bar next door to Maha in time for the festive season.

Shane Delia will open Jayda in November.

Jayda will live next door to Delia’s first restaurant Maha on Bond St. Picture: Brook James

Named after his eldest daughter, Delia said the 50-seater space was an “evolution of Maha” but would carry its own identity.

“The fit-out is breathtaking: it’s contemporary, modern and has a loose Middle Eastern accent,” he said.

“I wouldn’t be opening Jayda if it were a stand-alone business on the other side of the city. I’m opening this as I know that our customers have been begging us for years to do this.”

Group head chef Daniel Giraldo will curate Jayda’s food and drink offering.

“It’s not a sit down, fork and knife kind of place. There’ll be caviar, cured meats and lots of snacks and finger food. We’ll also have a couple of off-menu items that you’ll have to know to ask for, plus every good bar has a good bowl of salty shoestring fries.”

World’s Best Bartender and drinks whiz Orlando Marzo has curated the cocktail list, shaking up eight signatures, while vino-lovers will be given access to Maha’s wine cellar.

Jayda, 19 Bond St, Melbourne, opening early November

East Pole founder Dylan Alexander with Damian Wegener and Wil Derham. Picture: Mark Stewart

Mid-strength energy

First came no-booze beers, wine and gin, now local distilleries are getting in the spirit of the mid-strength craze.

Melbourne’s moderate-alcohol movement has taken hold, with a slew of homegrown producers pumping out products – including a Japanese-style spirit boasting the same ABV as a bottle of wine.

Epping’s East Pole is the first Australian distillery making only mid-strength spirits, with half the alcohol of a full strength 40 per cent ABV gin.

Founder Dylan Alexander launched the product two months ago, having coined the idea in lockdown 18 months earlier.

“Like everything with Covid, consumption went up and people were drinking a lot more at home,” he said.

“It made me think there had to be something more in-between, because at the moment it’s all (alcohol) or nothing (non-alcoholic).”

The classic dry and pink grapefruit flavours w

ere part of East Pole’s first release and last month they launched two new kakadu plum and desert lime infused gins.

Hamish Nugent and Rachel Reed.

Reed and Co’s new low-ABV yuzushu made from Koji spirits.

Dylan, who also founded beverage companies Melbourne Martini and Naughty Booch, said mid-strength gin was only the first stop.

“I’d like to see that mid-strength proposition in other spirit styles, we may head down the cane spirit path,” he said.

Further north, Bright distillery Reed and Co has been making lesser known Japanese spirit, shochu, since 2018.

Owners Hamish Nugent and Rachel Reed are entering the next phase of their business after closing down lockdown pop-up KojiBird earlier this year.

The duo released their first koji (grain-born fungus) and yuzu (Japanese citrus) spirit, yuzushu, and have more on the way.

“If we started releasing shochu four years ago, I don’t think people would have been ready for it,” Hamish said.

“People are looking outwards a bit more, that includes bartenders and consumers, about the things they like to drink.”

Reed and Co make a traditional yuzushu, blending equal parts shochu and yuzu juice, which usually results in a low-alcohol product (7-9 per cent ABV), but Hamish bumps his up to 11 per cent.

“We don’t use preservatives so it’s a much safer place for us,” he said.

Kate and Nina Day have launched a wine label called In Two Minds.

Double trouble

What do two working mums and best mates named Kate, who married identical twin brothers, do in their spare time?

They create not one, but two, new wine labels.

Kathryn (Kate) and Katherine (Nina) Day are winemakers by trade and launched their first joint label Two Pairs under Naked Wines earlier this year.

But wanting to do something more led to the release of another label, In Two Minds, last month.

“We had a desire to do this together and it was such a great route to the market,” Kate said.

“It was absolutely perfect for us in that point in time.”

They’ve made five wine styles using grapes sourced from their Australia-wide web of connections. This includes a Provence-style rose made with mouvedre and grenache, prosecco, pinot gris from southern New South Wales, unoaked McLaren Vale grenache and a shiraz made from a blend of grapes from both Nina’s central Victorian vineyard and Heathcote.

“We also source from growers we’ve known from our previous consulting roles,” Kate said.

“This lets us duck and weave when there are smoky years or bad rain.”

In Two Minds wines start at $19.95 a bottle and available online only.

intwominds.com.au