Former Merivale group sommelier Adrian Filiuta has opened Hunters Hill Wine Room, the suburban start-up part of a new breed of business models aiming to compete against the giants of wine retail.

“I’m trying to bring a sommelier-like experience to buying wine, looking at it with a hospitality lens,” says Filiuta, who is one of just six Master Sommeliers in Australia.

With big wine retailers controlling about 80 per cent of the off-trade retail market in Australia according to a recent report from Wine Australia, Filiuta says independents can’t compete with buying power alone so have turned to hospitality skills. Wine shops that blur the line with tasting rooms or wine bars are a good example of profitable value-adding.

“There’s East End Cellars in Adelaide, and Melbourne seems to have so many more of them than we have here,” Filiuta says before pointing to a notable local arrival.

Last year, the landmark approval of a hybrid liquor licence saw Sydney hospitality group Odd Culture open Spon, a Newtown bar in a bottleshop where customers can drink wine by the glass at an affordable price. You can even get a plate of LP’s Quality Meats on the side.

It’s a direction Filiuta might explore down the track at Hunters Hill Wine Room. For now, his venue has a tasting room where customers can drop in on Friday and Saturday afternoons to try certain wines. In the long term, Filiuta hopes to host walk-in tastings daily.

The economic environment during the pandemic helped rewire how we purchase our wine, as authorities in NSW relaxed takeaway alcohol laws in bars and restaurants.

“We don’t have the buying power of the big chains, so I have to rely on my experience and contacts to spot [and stock] up-and-coming wines, where there’s still good value,” says Filiuta, who points to the Gentle Folk Gamay from the Adelaide Hills, which he stocks as a cult wine on the rise.

Hunters Hill Wine Room opened in the heritage building where Ottimo restaurant previously traded, and is already luring local wine buffs with its mix of Australian and foreign wines, as well as spirits.

Filiuta is impressed by customers’ wine knowledge and thirst for the more obscure wines. “It’s just the seventh day, but we’ve already had a lot of people come in with very specific questions and requests,” he says.

Open Tue-Wed 11am-8pm; Thu-Sat 11am-9pm; Sun-Mon 11am-7pm

35 Alexandra Street, Hunters Hill, huntershillwineroom.com.au