TRADE & PRODUCERS

Bar Septimus · 220 Grenfell Street · Adelaide East End

We’re a teaching bar. Most people who come in want to know more about wine than they did when they walked through the door, so the list is organised by varietal, region and producer. A Chablis sits near an Adelaide Hills chardonnay because the comparison is the point.

That decides most of what we buy. A wine doing the teaching has to be clear about where it’s from and what it is, so we lean classical. Benchmarks and reference points make up the bulk of the list and the more adventurous wines sit around them.

We run winemaker masterclasses monthly, Cellar Door Sundays, pop-ups, and the South Australian Wine Options League, which is our blind tasting championship. Producers who show us something good usually end up pouring it themselves. We’re a White Star on Star Wine List and we’re working towards more.

WHAT WE LIST

Varietal, region and producer are the cornerstone. We’re not trying to plug gaps so much as find wines that hold their own next to what’s already sitting beside them.

• Typicity. We’d rather a wine showed plainly what its grape and its dirt do than surprised us. We’re more traditional than most on this and it’s worth knowing that before you come in.
• France and South Australia lead, though good wine from anywhere else still gets a hearing.
• Our own backyard first. The Hills, Barossa, Clare, McLaren Vale, Eden and the Coonawarra. Our guests are interested in the people working them.
• Back vintages and museum stock. We’re more interested in depth than in new releases, and if you’re sitting on library stock we’d like to hear about it.
• Grower Champagne and small-parcel sparkling are a current focus.
• By the glass changes weekly, so small parcels are fine. A dozen bottles of something good will get poured and talked about rather than sit in the racks waiting for a hand sell.
• Larger parcels can move quietly. Between the online cellar, our reserve list and the clubs we supply, we can sell volume direct to drinkers without it turning up discounted on a shelf. If you have a parcel you’d rather move without making noise about it, talk to us.
• Two lists, bought separately. The bar, and the cellar and distribution. Tell us which you’re after, or both.
• Numbers. Trade price, case price, the real allocation, and whether you can keep supplying it.

BOOK A TASTING

You’ll be tasting with Edward Rava, our Bar Manager and Wine Director. Ed is studying Viticulture and Oenology at Adelaide and builds both lists, so a yes from Ed is a yes.

Thirty minutes, four wines at most, in the quiet before service. Thursday and Friday afternoons suit us best.

Nothing suitable? Email ed@septimus.au and we’ll sort something out.

WHAT TO BRING

Four wines is about right. Bring more than that and the later ones don’t get the attention they deserve. Whatever information you have on them is welcome, though we’d rather hear you talk about the wines than read about them.

Trade pricing either way, and be straight about the allocation so we don’t fall for something that’s already committed elsewhere. Say early if a wine could work for the cellar as well as the bar. They’re bought separately and plenty of producers won’t do online at all, which is no obstacle, we’d just rather know early.

Leave samples if you can. A lot of the decisions get made later, when someone on the floor pulls the cork again during a service. If you can’t, no drama, just say so when you book.

POUR FOR OUR GUESTS

Being on the list matters less than being in the room. Guests remember the producer who stood behind the bar and told them why they made it, and we run three formats where that can happen.

• Winemaker Masterclass: monthly, seated and guided. You pour and talk, we run the room.
• Cellar Door Sundays: informal and walk-up, drinkers rather than buyers.
• South Australian Wine Options League: blind tasting championship, first Monday of the month, 24 seats.

Mention it when you book, or have a look at what’s coming up on our events calendar.

MEDIA & INDUSTRY

Writers, sommeliers and guide contributors are always welcome. Email hi@septimus.au and we’ll make sure someone who knows the list is on the floor when you come in. Photos and background on the room, the building and the wine program are available on request.