Small things count. The smile and wave you give to an elderly neighbour, the pinch of salt added to a dish, the diamond ring to accompany your proposal, fine chocolates and rosé to toast the acceptance. Life would not be the same without these small things.
Sometimes though, life doesn’t follow a beaten track. We stray beyond the open road to wilder habitats. When a celebration takes place in a boat, beside a waterfall or even at a poolside bar, what then? Little touches are more difficult to accomplish, our usual style harder to achieve.
Great new businesses are built on solutions.
There was the problem to ponder: How can a fine wine experience be made more accessible regardless of lifestyle?
Ian Batt, a Margaret River winemaker, had a business solution that he believed was the answer: to successfully produce quality wine in a can to suit a particular market of consumers: the rebels, the romantics and the risk takers who wanted to enjoy wine, not limited by the container it came in.
Introduced by a mutual friend, he teamed up with Gold Coast’s Cleve Robinson (sales and operations) and Michael Powers (brand design) from Rainbow Beach as partners in Small Things Wine.
In March 2019, the trio met in Fremantle, co-founding the venture as partners. While each one brought different skills sets to the business from their professional backgrounds, they also shared things in common. All of them were stay-at-home dads, and all were passionate about their mission and sharing the journey together.
Within their first year of operation, the newly founded Small Things Wine produced two vintages of single origin, minimal intervention natural wine.
To date, Small Things Wine comes in a range of five varietals: chardonnay rich with the aromas of stone fruit and toasted cashews balanced by the crispness of green apples, sauvignon blanc abundant with the flavours of fruit salad in a glass, riesling brimming with tropical fruit and lime to take to a summer barbeque, rosé with notes of strawberries and cream to sweeten a romance, and a deep ruby shiraz to accompany tapas.
Made with grapes from a single Margaret River vineyard, this is vegan-friendly wine made without fining or filtration, a handcrafted user-friendly product that is presented in a limited edition can decorated with artwork of the Margaret River landscape.
The ultimate user-friendly portable drink, you can pop the 250ml can into your backpack or handbag to accompany you on your journey, as you #chooseyourownadventure camping, hiking, boating, jetskiing, fishing, horseback riding or canoeing. Perfect for events and parties where you only require your own drink, or where glass may be a hazard, the wine can is compact and durable in a gift hamper with canning ensuring a shelf life of over a year in light crushable recyclable aluminium.
Convenience aside, our drink choice comes down to why we choose to drink wine instead of a mixed drink in the first place. It’s about the nuances of flavour gained from terroir, climate and winemaking that make each wine unique and interesting. We choose to be different. After all, in the end, #smallthingscount
Small Things Wine is available from Quince Fromagerie Cellar, Currumbin and Backbone Bar, Tugun or at their online shop. Want a special commemorative or fundraising edition of wine? Contact Small Things Wine direct.