PLEASED TO MEET GLOU
If you’veevertakenouttherecyclingfollowinga wine-fuelled
party,you’llbewellawareofhowmanyglassbottlesquickly
stackup– soimaginethescaleofwastefora winebarandthe
greaterindustry.Collingwood’snewsustainablewinestoreand
bar,Glou,is seekingtoaddressthisandtackle other sustainability
issuestheindustryfacesona dailybasis.
Glou(takenfromtheonomatopoeicsoundofwinebeing
poured)exclusivelysellswineontap,workingdirectlywithlocal
producerstokegtheirvinousgoodsbeforebeingdistributedin
store.“Wewantedtotrytofinda resolutionforthatdisconnect
betweenhowwineis madeandhowwesellit andconsume it,”
saysRonDavis,whofoundedthe store alongside Rahel
Goldmann(picturedabove).
Afterspendingyearsworkingintheindustry,Davisnoticed
thelengthsthatwinemakersandgrowersweregoingtoinorder
tobemoreenvironmentallyconscious.“Weverymuchhita wall
whenit comestoputtingthesewinesinsingle-useglass,corks
andpackaging,”saysDavis.“Andtheamountofcardboard we
throwoutinthisindustryis absolutelyinsane.”
Tothatend,Glousells500ml,1 litreand2 litreglassbottles,
whichcustomersbuyandthenrefillfromthe 16 winetaps.
Alongwiththispledgetoreducepackaging,theretailformat
alsodrasticallyreducestheweight and miles attached to
transportingthewineaswell.
Instore,punterscancomeinandsitfora glassofwine,
alongwithsnacksbyJapaneseeateryMonoXO.“Wearevery
much at the intersection of retail and hospitality. You basicallygettochoosewhatexperienceyou’reafter,”saysDavis.
Thepairis keentostressthatsustainabledoesn’thave
tomeanexpensive,withwinescostingjust$8fora glass to
drinkin,andaveragingat$27a litretotakehome.
“Sustainabilityhasthisreputationthatit’salwaysexpensive,
whichit reallydoesn’thavetobe.It’sjust a matter of what scale
andformatyousellit,”saysDavis.
Whenit comestothevino,thetapswillchangemonthly,
championingsmall-tomedium-scaleAustralianwinemakers.
“We’vebeensofortunatetoseetheenthusiasmfromsome
winemakersI havelongadmired.We’vegotCharlotteDalton
fromtheAdelaideHillsandTimandLawrenceScanlonfrom
DirtyBlackDenim.”OtherwinemakersincludeAlexByrnefrom
NoisyRitual,PhilipLobleyWinesandAndyCumminsandEmma
WellingofBarossaValley’sRasa. Varietals will change with the
moodandseason,too.
“Everysingleproducerwe’vespokentohasreallybeen
supportiveandwantedtobea partofit,”saysDavis.
WhiletheretailandtastingroomarethecoreofGlou,the
teamis alsoexcitedtostrengthenthelocalcommunityaround
thestore,througheducationandconnectingwinemakers
directlytothecustomers.“Webelievethatsocietalchange
towardsa moreenvironmentallyfriendlyandsustainablefuture
reallyneedstobecreatedbythecommunity,”saysGoldmann.
“Noonepersoncandoit alone.Andwewanttocreate
a strongcommunityofbothdrinkersandmakers.”
310 Smith St, Collingwood, Vic, glou.com.auGOURMET TRAVELLER 21News
PHOTOGRAPHY PARKER BLAIN (GLOU).