We are, as always, very excited when a new container arrives, and we are even luckier after landing a container just before the end of the 2019. We feel like kid’s in a candy store, like its Christmas morning, our birthday… you get the picture. There are a bunch of new vintages from some of […]
PLEASE NOTE THAT A QUALIFICATION IN WSET LEVEL 2 AWARD IN WINE AND SPIRITS IS A STRICT PREREQUISITE TO ENROLLING IN THIS COURSE.MONDAY EVENINGS, 6-8PM FROM THE 3 FEB to 20 APRIL 2020 (EXAM ON THIS DAY).WITH TWO SATURDAY INTENSIVE LECTURE DATES ON THE 29TH FEB & 21ST MARCH, 9:30AM-5:00PM.Classes to be held at Prince Wine […]
TUESDAY EVENINGS, 6-8PM FROM THE 4th FEBRUARY TO 31ST MARCH 2020 (EXAM ON THIS DAY).The WSET Level 2 Award in Wines is intended for those with little previous experience in the field of wine and spirits. Students will also be introduced to the main styles of wines produced by key grape varieties and a specific number of […]
The Prince Wine Store Introductory Wine Course has been developed in order to teach interested consumers, amateurs and industry beginners about the various aspects of wine, simply and informally. While the course covers topics such as basic wine history, wine making, great wine regions of the world and the buying and storing of wine, a […]
Marquis Sauvage is the hard-rocking owner and visionary behind Burn Cottage and is paying us a visit in February. Hailing from Kansas, Marquis and Dianne Sauvage have successfully operated a wine distribution firm in four states in the United States but were so taken by New Zealand and its wines during a visit in 2001 […]
Festa del Barolo has grown in 2019. Originally a seven day series of events in Melbourne, this year it expands to Adelaide and Sydney Hosted by a collective of Australia’s most important importers of Italian wine. Over the course of nine dinners, and two tastings we will highlight each of the most significant communes of […]
Read More >London’s traditional wine merchants were an inspiration for the early visions Michael had for a business that he would later grow as Prince Wine Store. After completing degrees in Journalism and Industrial Relations at Deakin and Melbourne Universities respectively, Michael moved to London where he worked with UK independent wine retailer Odd Binns at the height of its popularity. Returning to Australia, he worked across wine retail and importing, moving into the role of Imported Wine Buyer at Philip Murphy Wine & Spirits where he met future business partner Alex Wilcox. The two bonded over a shared vision in growing the customer base for high-end wines such as Bordeaux and Burgundy beyond the elite. His time as a partner at Italian wine wholesaler Trembath & Taylor refined his vision, but it was his buy-in of the Prince Wine Store in 2003 that allowed him to explore the potential of a retailer growing beyond its scope. Michael has played a key role in the group’s growth beyond its humble beginnings, and into the bigger picture it projects today. Now with retail stores in Melbourne and Sydney, Michael is passionate about growing the group’s impressive portfolio of producers, and profiling these in their Melbourne wine bar, Bellota and its upcoming Sydney equivalent.
Law school didn’t stand a chance with Alex Wilcox, when a cycling trip through the vineyards of Europe during university sent Alex off in a new direction towards what would become a lifelong career in the world of wine. Whilst completing an Honours Degree in Agricultural Economics at the University of Sydney, with a year spent at California’s UC Davis focusing on Wine Trade, Alex worked wine vintages in France, Tuscany and Western Australia. Realising he wasn’t destined to inherit a European vineyard, Alex followed his future wife to Melbourne where he went onto work across all aspects of wine trade, including service, retail and importing. It was during his time working at Phillip Murphy Wine & Spirits in the late 1990s that Alex met future business partner Michael McNamara; a partnership that was formalized when the two bought into the Prince Wine Store a number of years later. Over the last 13 years, Alex has been instrumental in the growth not just of the group and its breadth of offerings, but of lesser-known, quality wine producers he has worked with Michael to source and develop. With stores now in Victoria and NSW, Alex looks forward to expanding the Prince Wine Store’s customer experience to Sydney and beyond.
