Discover a different way to buy your wine

Just about every wine store in the world offers a similar format: a section for chardonnay, another section for shiraz, a different section for imports. 

New Melbourne store Drop Shop, which opens its doors today, is doing things differently. 

Drop Shop is challenging decades of liquor retail convention with a simple idea: most people don’t buy wines by grape variety or region - they buy by occasion and budget.

Founded by Pinot Palooza creator and Wine Victoria chair Dan Sims, drinks retail specialist Courtney Keegan and Common State founder Luke McKinnon, the new concept aims to replace overwhelming choice with a tightly curated range organised into three intuitive categories:

Choose from: 

* Weekday from $15 to $25
* Party from $25 to $40
* Fancy from $40+

“We want to create a new category,” says McKinnon, ex Dan Murphy's and Blackheart and Sparrows. 

"We've gone for an occasion-based liquor format that strips out the clutter and speaks directly to the individual who’s tired of choosing between a warehouse and a wine lecture.

”With this guiding logic, the offer is deliberately simple. Wines are presented in three distinct categories with Victorian and rising producers front and centre."

The same equation applies across wine, beer, RTDs, spirits, as well as non-alcoholic options. 

The 60sqm store is designed by We Are Humble and inspired by Japanese konbini culture. 

Drop Shop is described as a convenience store for drinks that’s designed like Aesop, run like 7-Eleven, and organised to take the guesswork out of buying booze. 

“Most retailers would probably describe themselves as highly curated,” Sims says. "But the average bottle shop stocks more than 1000 wines. At Drop Shop, we literally only have room for 150, so everything has to really earn its spot on the shelf. Think of each category as its own shortlist. The idea isn’t to limit choice - it’s to make choosing easier."

Drop Shop is at 70 Lygon Street (corner of St Phillip Street), Brunswick East, 3057. Opening hours:
Monday to Thursday: 11am-9pm, Friday and Saturday: 11am-10pm, Sunday: 11am-8pm.

See www.dropshopdrinks.com