If you’ve ordered a bottle of wine at a Sydney restaurant in the last handful of years – and let’s face it, who hasn’t? – there’s every chance you’ll know the names James Audas and Tom Sheer. The two sommeliers have clocked time popping bottles at some of the city’s finest establishments, including Love, Tilly Devine, Oscillate Wildly, LP’s Quality Meats and Silvereye, and Audas made headlines when he landed a job on the floor at Copenhagen’s Noma at the age of 24.
These days, the duo are the driving force behind Lo-Fi Wines – an import and distribution company focused on ethically farmed grapes handled with minimal intervention, from both here and abroad. Audas and Sheer are also winemakers themselves and collaborate on the Das Juice collection, which has proven to be a budget-friendly favourite at Newtown’s P&V Merchants and online via DRNKS, the natural-wine delivery service. Audas also produces wines under the A.R.C banner, sourced from vineyards across Victoria. Now, hard on the heels of opening retail outlets in Gippsland and Byron Bay, Audas and Sheer are throwing their hats in the subscription service ring, too, with the launch of the Borough Box.
“Sanitised, drop-at-the-door home deliveries means our communities have an easier way to self-isolate,” Sheer says, “and still enjoy some of the best wines in the world. James and I are pulling out all the stops here.”
Each month, the pair will put together a selection of six wines – a couple of whites, an orange, a rosé, some red and the odd sparkling – for $180 and deliver it directly to you. They’re working closely with their networks to ensure that hygiene and safe handling are a priority, and no-contact delivery is also an option for those choosing to self-isolate.
Styles will vary from month to month, but all bottles will come with an insert featuring tasting notes and explaining where it’s from, who made it and how. As for what’s inside, you can expect goodies from South Australian cult favourites like Good Intentions Wine Co and Jauma, as well as European heroes such as Austria’s Gut Oggau and Lammidia in Italy. Many of the makers they work with produce very limited quantities, so rarity and excitement will always be front and centre.
There’s absolutely no commitment, and you can opt out at any time, but with a portfolio as dynamic as this one, you’ll probably double your order.
To place an order or find out more about the Borough Box, click here.