Wine, art and zine combine at this innovative Melbourne company

Words by Joanne Brookfield

What’s the point of being a sophisticated inner-city wine drinker if you can’t enjoy your vino with some quality conversation about the latest emerging creatives?

Thankfully, Grapeful understands that a good drop is best paired with information and insights about the world of artists to take your tête-à-tête to that next level.

Grapeful is an online wine shop specialising in organic, biodynamic and artisanal wines. “This style of wine more often than not has a tendency to taste like their postcode,” explains Grapeful director Baxter Pickard, on why they focus on this niche.

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“I’ve found that people are more open, more experimental to trying new things, and there’s a keener interest on where wines are sourced and their environmental impact,” he says of their carefully curated range, which allows you to sample regional delights from around 250 producers from across the globe.

Pickard adds that from an industry point of view “so many more young people have entered the industry, so we’re now seeing a different energy and outlook on what wine is and means!”

What this means for you, is that Grapeful provides the option to have these wonderful wines delivered straight to your door. As a Melbourne-based company, if you reside locally (i.e. within the metropolitan area) and place an order before 1pm, you’ll get same-day delivery and if you live a little further north, they also offer same-day dispatch from Sydney.

Better yet is their Good Grapes Subscription service, so you can sign up and basically ‘set and forget’ and then by the magic of other people doing things for you, each month you’ll have a bundle of bottles arriving at your door.

The subscription bundles also come with a side serving of culture in an exclusive zine. Featuring all-important tasting notes and food pairing information to help you maximise your enjoyment of the wine, each month the zine also showcases an emerging artist, with an interview feature so you can learn more about their work while also enjoying viewing it – as each month the featured artist is commissioned to create an A3 Grapeful x Artist print and every box comes with one of those.

The August issue will feature Sydney-based, award-winning illustrator, artist and designer Elin Matilda. “We’ve had the privilege of working with some other inspiring artists that include the likes of Abbey Rich, Glen Miralles, Nico Nicoson, Micke Lindebergh, and Kate Florence,” explains Pickard.

Bundles come in a choice of either three, six or twelve and you can choose from red, white or if you want to experiment with the many options available, you can also opt for a mixed selection. Regardless of the bundle you choose, the zine and art print are part of that package.

While the Good Grapes Subscription service is monthly, it’s also flexible, meaning you can pause or cancel your delivery frequency whenever you like. The other good news is that every purchase goes towards making a positive difference, with 5% of the total Good Grapes Club revenue donated to a mental health charity each month.

“Mental health is something close to us at Grapeful. I think especially during and post-COVID, the importance and promotion of positivity is fundamental. Times were, and still are, tough. We need to be there and show our support where we can,” explains Pickard.

“We’re also aiming to tackle the tricky correlation between alcohol consumption and mental repercussions – we want to spread the importance of safe drinking, stimulate conversation, and create positive friendships and experiences through our amazing wine industry,” he says.

Promoting organic, biodynamic and artisanal wines means Grapeful’s extensive collection is already diverse, quirky, global, fun and constantly expanding. “We’re always out to try and get new things in the cellar,” he says. “I think people have made a shift to drinking better quality and less volume, which ultimately is what our fantastic producers are serving up!”

Combine that with collaborations with international artists and a Good Grapes Subscription allows you to do good, feel good and travel the world without leaving your home. We’ll raise a glass to that!

Discover the Grapeful range at the website here.

This article was made in partnership with Grapeful.