Help the environment one bottle at a time.
Ask any Melburnian and they’ll often have an assortment of reusable coffee cups. And while you can order a good turmeric latte and enjoy it waste-free, you can’t always do that with wine or beer.
ReWine is here to change the game and help you become a more sustainable, eco-friendly drinker. Find this family-owned bottle shop at three locations around Melbourne, and use them to reduce your waste footprint when you feel like a tipple. After you buy your first bottle, go back and reuse it over and over again. Cheers to that!
Save the world one bottle at a time at ReWine
Discover locally-sourced wines straight from the barrel at ReWine. After you buy your first drink, go back with the same bottle and they’ll refill it with anything they have on offer. Their bottles are sourced from a recycled glass manufacturer, so that they’re sustainable every step of the way.
This idea came to life when Marshall Waters, dad of the group, supplied wholesale wine to restaurants. The family then decided to adapt the idea and sell the wine directly to customers. They decided that bottles should be reused, so that everything stays waste-free and you can drink with a clear conscience.
“It’s a perfect triple bottom line where everyone wins,” said Charlie Waters, ReWine representative. “The wineries love us because we are no fuss to deal with, and we often pay them more because we can and we like to look after wine makers. Then we offer the wines cheaper to the consumer than they could find in a bottle shop.”
ReWine used to allow customers to refill their wine in any container. However, that had to stop before it got out of control.
“It did get a bit wild,” said Charlie. “People were rocking up with jerry cans, water bottles and all sorts, so we decided to only fill our own bottles to maintain control over the image and brand and not promote getting silly.”
As environmentally-conscious traders, using their own bottles instead of random jerry cans keeps the environment at the forefront of their customers’ minds. It’s more important to them that they stay sustainable, and prevent items from going into landfill.
What can you get at ReWine?
Most return customers come to ReWine with a six pack in a bag that the shop provides. Then, every fortnight or so, they refill the bottles with a mix of reds, whites, rosés, beer and sparkling prosecco. Their most popular drink of choice is their nebbiolo, an Italian red wine.
Outside of lockdown, they also sell pizzas and cheese boards for dine-in. However, because of current restrictions, they only offer takeaway pizza at their Lygon Street store.
Just last week, they opened a third store in Fitzroy. As a bottle shop, they are classed as an essential service, so business is doing well.
According to Charlie, the downtime created by lockdown helped locals shift their focus towards sustainability.
“The lockdown helped reinforce the importance of the environment, and people increased their awareness of their impact,” said Charlie. “We probably increased our customer base and awareness [during lockdown], and helped a lot of people reduce their waste footprint.”
Where can you find them?
ReWine have three locations, so check them out if they’re within your 1okm.
You can find them at:
- Queen Victoria Market
- 522 Lygon St, Brunswick VIC 3056
- 43 Rose St, Fitzroy VIC 3065
Click here for more information.