STORY BY LARISSA DUBECKI, PHOTOS BY CHRIS TURNER

Location counts – sometimes so much that it makes you do unexpected things. That’s how Jen Latta found herself at the end of June throwing open the doors on Daylesford’s newest wine bar and deli. 

“The owner of the building is a customer and he was pretty persuasive in convincing us doing a walk-through of the building,” she says. “I just fell in love. Our goal was always to create an iconic venue, and this is the place.”

Taking over an elegant nineteenth-century building in a prominent corner on Daylesford’s main thoroughfare was not part of the life plan of Jen and her husband Owen Latta, owner and winemaker at Eastern Peake winery. Together they had opened boutique a wine shop Wine And The Country seven years ago, just a block south on Vincent Street. Four years later they added Dos Deli, its small but perfectly formed bookend. “We loved our little holes in the wall,” says Jenny. “But this was too good an opportunity to pass up.” 

Opened on June 26, Winespeake Cellar + Deli (the extra ‘e’ is a knowing nod to Eastern Peake) brings together the ethos and style of the two former businesses into one captivating package. 

The building itself, for years an IGA supermarket until 2014, when parts of the building were condemned by the council, had engendered controversy; some locals had even suggested it be torn down and turned into a carpark. Thankfully its rescue has restored it to its former glory, albeit with a twenty-first-century veneer. “We’re going for a clean feel,” says Jen. “Wine bottles take up a significant amount of space but there’s a lot of vintage tan leather on bar stools plus a bright red neon sign. It’s modern but with a vintage twist.” 

Positioning itself as a European-style wine bar, Winespeake keeps things simple with a food focus on sharing platters of salumi, paté and cheeses. Take a seat (there are around 20) to sample anywhere between 12 to 15 wines available by the glass. 

Expect a significant focus on natural and organic producers, from both the celebrated Macedon Ranges wine region to much further afield. “We love small batch, really unique wines. There’s so much choice in this region it would be silly not to showcase it thoroughly.”

Like the Latta family’s all-organic Eastern Peake winery in nearby Coghills Creek in the Ballarat Highlands, the wines showcased at Winespeake will be about “the handmade and the conscientious”.

“We might only get a dozen of something but we do want to showcase it so we might only be able to pour it for a week. We change our pour list frequently so every time you come in you can try something different.” 

Feel like drinking a whole bottle in-house or taking something to go? With around 600 drops on the list there’s a surfeit of choice, along with pre-batched cocktails from Melbourne heroes the Everleigh and seasonally minded libations.

“Coming into winter had me thinking about mulled wine,” says Jen, “so that’s definitely going on our opening menu.”

Winespeake Cellar + Deli                                            

26 Vincent Street, Daylesford                                                                   

0458 617 025                                                                         

winespeake.com.au                                                       

Open Monday to Friday 10am-10pm; Saturday 9am to 10pm; Sunday 10am to 9pm