Why Closing City Winery Reignited My Passion for Winemaking
Here’s the brutal truth: closing City Winery broke my heart.
After five years of pouring everything into Brisbane’s first inner-city winery — and later expanding into the Ardo’s wine bars — it all came to a sudden halt in September 2024. The combination of rising operational costs, shifting consumer behaviour, and the sheer scale of new competition made it impossible to keep going.
But from that loss came a powerful realisation:
I still wanted to make wine — not manage venues, but craft wine with care and purpose.
From City Winery to The Wine Revival
When we launched City Winery in Fortitude Valley, the goal was simple: bring real winemaking into the heart of Brisbane. We sourced grapes from all over Australia, made the wine in-house, and let customers experience the full process. It wasn’t just a bar — it was a living, breathing winery.
We later expanded to neighbourhood wine bars under the Ardo’s name in Newstead, Graceville, Hawthorne, and Milton. Each space was built with love, and the community support was incredible.
But in late 2024, the financial pressures became too much. Increased labour costs, skyrocketing expenses, and the opening of mega-venues like Queen’s Wharf were the final nails. We had to close — and it was devastating.
What Closing Taught Me
In the quiet aftermath of the closure, surrounded by barrels and silence, something became clear:
🍷 I’m not done making wine.
🍷 I just need to do it differently.
That realisation gave birth to The Wine Revival — a new way of doing things, built on honesty, connection, and damn good Australian wine delivered straight from the winemaker to the drinker.
Welcome to The Wine Revival
At The Wine Revival, we’re cutting through outdated wine distribution models and going straight to the source — from winemaker to your door. No middlemen. No markups. Just small-batch Australian wine crafted with care, and a story worth sharing.
This is more than a wine brand. It’s a revival — for the wine, the craft, and for me, the winemaker.
Thanks for being part of this next chapter.
If you care about where your wine comes from — and love a good story in every bottle — you’re in the right place.
→ [Explore our wines]
→ [Read my full story here]