Blackhearts & Sparrows Wine Purveyors

It’s a slightly new location (one door down) but it’s definitely a completely new whizzbang store. Recently renovated and with a new fit out, Blackhearts are going form absolute strength to strength opening up 3 new stores in the first half of 2015. The Scotchmer Street store is probably my favourite, as I’ve been visiting for about 4 years now on and off. Without any exaggeration, I could spend upwards of $ 4000 here without really trying. The have some great stuff. Fantastic labels, both local and international for wines and craft beers. They also have an excellent spirits/​liqueur selection as well. It is worth pointing out, however, that I’m pretty biased towards this store, in a very positive way. Anyways, always worth the visit if you’re after a range of great drinking high qaulity alcoholic products.

Really ordinary selection compared to several others around and felt I was paying way over the odds for the expensive fitout. Wine knowledge was really limited also.
Craft beers are everywhere now so not that hard to find with Purvis on Bridge Rd being the ultimate and well priced.
Surprised and disapointed really.

Best wine shop in town. Especially the Scotchmer Street venue (they have a couple of other shops all over Melbourne including in St Kilda). All the staff know their wines/​beers/​etc inside out and are fantastic guides to find you what you are looking for.
Saturdays and some fridays they have tastings which are always really great. Join their mailing list so you know what is coming up. This place is definitely more than just a bottle shop– its like a community meeting spot and wine educator. They are also huge supporters of smaller craft producers. If you are on their mailing list you will see their great mix ⁶⁄₁₂ deals on interesting wines (its worth joining with little spam I promise!).
And their beer collection is varied and really interesting. A little on the ex-​y side but they have beers from all around the world.

The expression «like a kid in a candy shop» springs to mind when describing Blackhearts & Sparrows. As far as I’m concerned, you can’t go wrong here. They take care in choosing what they stock and it doesn’t matter who you ask for advice, it will be honest & well informed. But what really gets me is the range in price. You really can shop here on a budget & get quality beer, wine, cider, spirits…

I don’t often go anywhere else now if I’m looking for something a bit special for a gift or just a good drop to celebrate this thing called life. The beer selection here is the tops, they have a wide range in the coolers towards the front, as well as some room temperature selections in the room at the back.
No slabs of piss here, good quality beer from local breweries as well as imports from around the globe. They keep it fairly seasonal as well, with the selection rotating. They will ask if you want any help but are happy to let you browse to your heart’s content.
Nice wine section as well, though I’m not as well versed in wine as I am beer. I get the feeling though they select their stock thoughtfully and it’s not as overwhelming an experience as it can be at larger wine shops.
I always enjoy a visit here and jump at any excuse to peruse the shelves.

This was my second visit here, i was drawn back by their amazing selection of craft beer. They have a large selection of beers in the fridge and also lots more just on the shelf. The range of beers change all the time and they seem to keep up to date with the latest releases. One of the great things about this place is their rotating kegs. You can buy a growler (2Lt bottle that you can takeaway and bring back anytime to refil) and get it filled with whatever beer they have on rotation. They have a lot of great beers come through on the kegs!
They also have regular beer tastings there, so you can try out new beers and breweries. A plus for patrons of summer music festivals, they have «can season» where they bring in a huge assortment of slabs of cans, so that you can take into the festival (as glass not allowed).
If you buy 6 or more single bottles they also offer you a 10% discount, which has definately a bonus!
They have a fairly large selection of wine here, but i can’ t say i have looked as i’m too drawn into the beers!
The only downside to this place is my bank balance at the end of my visit.

Blackhearts and sparrows is hands down the best wine shop I have ever frequented in Melbourne. The wine selection is amazing, as is the selections of beers, the prices are very reasonable, but above all the staff are extremely helpful and always steer you in the right direction. Every single wine I’ve bought here (there have been quite a few) has been delicious!
More importantly the staff are friendly, knowledgable and make you feel comfortable no matter how much or little you know about wine. They often have tastings on a Saturday afternoon which are definitely worth checking out.
They also have a smaller store in Lygon St, East Brunswick (also excellent) and one in Windsor (although I’ve never been). I wish all wine stores were like this one, but then Blackhearts and Sparrows wouldn’t be as special.

Could well be the best beer selection this side of the Yarra. Heaps of local brews, and well-​sourced international options. And very early movers on the growler poor front.

With various locations throughout Melbourne, Blackhearts & Sparrows Wine Purveyors carry a great selection of wines and beers.
Luckily for its customers in Fitzroy North, it also provides approachable tasting notes on wines so you can actually get through their selections and come to a decision. With cheap wines ($ 10) to really expensive wines, you’ll be able to find a bottle you like. Do you want to know whether you should guzzle, sip, or ponder your wine? Blackhearts & Sparrows also assists with this in their tasting notes.
Their beer selection is fantastic — from American ales to Belgian ales — they have a great selection of beers from around the world. Also, you get an instore discount of 10% if you mix and match 6 or more beers and ciders. They also offer a rotating growler selection — come in on a Saturday or Sunday with a 2-​litre growler and fill up with something cool such as Hitachino or Hargreaves.
Blackhearts & Sparrows is also the sister establishment to one of my favourite Brunswick East bar, Atticus Finch.

I’ve noticed a few of these joints pop up over the last couple of years and I gotta say I was bloody sceptical to begin with. All of this ‘Hmmm,’ chin rub, ‘it’s got a real passionfruit texture and a sense a bit of chocolate in the after palette’ gives me the shits to no end. So I avoided the joint for want of not promoting this kind of overt wankery and wine snobbery. Then I discovered they have beer inside. Not just any beer neither, Blackhearts & Sparrows stock a wild range of brews from around the world and they actually know their shit.
I’m a sucker for the ‘big’ beers: IPAs, stouts and the likes. These dudes not only stock a huge range of these kinds of ‘speciality’ beers, but they offer tastings and steer you in the direction of what’s good, or new, or, exciting. They don’t get pushy if you’re on a budget and, yes, their wine selection is pretty impressive. If you’re into that kind of shit.