Ultimo Wine Centre

Hidden away in Jones Street, Ultimo, the UWC isn’t just a «good wine shop» — it’s insanely good. It’s a wine connoisseur’s heaven. It’s a veritable Sydney institution.
Eeep, that probably sounds a bit scary. Don’t fret — this is not a particularly intimidating shop to enter. Nobody will scoff at you for buying the cheapest bottle on the shelf — partly because even the cheap stuff can be really good, depending on the discount of the day.
If they’re not too busy, the staff are happy to help, and I’ve found them to be fairly non-​judgmental. You can walk in and say to a staff member,
«I’m going to a party with snobby people, and I need a fancy looking French wine, quite drinkable, for around $ 25.»
And they’ll say, sure… and find a DELIGHTFUL French wine in that price point.
I’ve even walked in and said I needed a cooking wine, and, amazingly, they were quite polite and didn’t kick me out.
The UWC have Australian wines, but one of the things that I like about this place is the amazing variety of import wines, particularly European ones. French reds. Wow. Some very special French reds. And Spanish too.
The UWC has serious collector bottles (over $ 1000 range) … right down to $ 7 cleanskins. They have AMAZING 2-​hour specials, where things are massively discounted, and you can get seriously good quality wine for as low as $ 10 a bottle.
They also have an extensive selection of sake, about which I know very little.

Established in 1994, the Ultimo Wine Centre is one of Australia’s leading wine retailers. There are opportunities to wine taste every Saturday from 12:30pm and also to attend master classes and speciality dinners for wine enthusiasts. There are also beautiful wine products and books that would make extraordinary gifts for loved ones.
They have very knowledgeable staff with over 25 years and more experience so I feel very comfortable in asking them my very vague questions without feeling silly.
They sell an extensive range of boutique Australian wines with price points to suit every wine enthusiast’s budget. On this day I have champagne enthusiasm on a beer budget and when I walk over to the Chateauneuf du pape section to admire the beauties and consider one to take home as a quaffer, however the cool but to be expected price tag has me putting it back on the wall like I have just picked up a block of ice. Maybe a 375ml bottle of Rockfords Basket Press will appease the enthusiast in me.
It’s nice to finally know a place that where it will be hard not to walk away without a quality wine and highly recommend the Wine Centre as your only stop for that special drop.