New Lune rising: Meet the crew uncorking a new era at La Lune Wine Co.
Pouring from a similar playbook was always going to be the key to La Lune Wine Co.’s next chapter. As the new custodians of the celebrated Fish Lane wine bar, Andy Day and Merrick Peisley are proving that sometimes the smartest move isn’t to start over, but to build on an already exceptional foundation.
Taking over a successful venue is no easy task – especially when that venue has the pedigree of La Lune Wine Co. Since Paul McGivern and Bailee Dewes opened the Fish Lane haunt in 2017, the bar has racked up numerous awards and accolades for its wine list, hailed for blending on-trend drops with classic varietals.
When Paul and Bailee announced their intention to sell La Lune to a new owner earlier this year, the majority of the scuttlebutt centred around one question – what kind of operator could realistically maintain the high standards set by the couple across food, wine and service?
The answer, it turns out, was someone equally well acquainted with those lofty standards.
Since June, La Lune has been under the ownership of Andy Day and Merrick Peisley. While their names might not be familiar, Andy’s Canberra-based wine bar Rizla might strike a chord with well-read (or well-travelled) oenophiles. Recently, the bar took out the award for Australia’s Best Wine List (Max 100 Wines).
It was Merrick, a self-confessed Rizla regular and lover of the small-grower wines the venue champions, who first floated the idea of going into business with Andy. When a career change brought Merrick and his wife to Brisbane, serendipitous fortune quickly brought him to La Lune, where he marvelled at the similarities in service style and offering between the South Brisbane bar and Rizla.
“Andy told me he might be interested in going to Brisbane, so I said, ‘Why don’t we see what happens?'” Merrick reveals.
“My wife and I fell in love with [La Lune] – it’s got a warm vibe and the food was great. I messaged Andy and said, ‘Maybe we’ve got something.’ He came up, we had dinner here, and we looked at each other and went, ‘Yeah, we could make it work.'”
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When we caught up with Bailee and Paul in May, the duo told us that they were “looking for a unicorn” to pass the torch to. In Andy, they found the perfect ideological match. Aligned in taste and operational style, by all reports the transition thus far has been seamless – something Andy and Merrick have worked hard to achieve.
“We wouldn’t be in control here if Paul didn’t believe in the transition,” says Andy. “His philosophy and principles of hospitality are so similar to mine, so it was a really easy transition. The same goes for Bailee – she’s been super focused on high-quality, small-producer wines, which is exactly your market for these kinds of bars.”
So far, Andy and Merrick have been focused on getting to know La Lune’s regular clientele, keeping the ship steady while they survey the scene and get a firm grasp of market demands. While the urge to make changes is understandable, the duo are also firm believers in the old adage, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”.
“I’m arrogant, but I’m not so arrogant that I can walk in here and show people how to do things because I’m way better,” says Andy, with a chuckle. “You don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater – you continue the themes and the principles that it was built on.
“[At La Lune], you don’t need to change much whatsoever – it’s a well-oiled machine. To walk in with a base of regulars that this place has built over nine years, there’s a lot to love about that. Overall, it is the same customer-facing experience and that’s exactly what we want.”
That said, guests can already spy some slight tweaks to La Lune’s kitchen offering, with a clutch of new snacks earning rave reviews since being introduced. Think slow-braised beef cheek and house pickles on toast, John Dory ceviche with gribiche, burnt onion and verjus, and barley crumpets topped with rainbow trout, creme fraiche and chives.
On the wine front, Andy and Merrick are keeping things producer-focused, with the pinot- and chardonnay-led list (still boasting a slight Burgundian lean) favouring small-scale makers from Australia and beyond. The relationship with Nick Farr’s Farr Rising label is continuing, with La Lune ‘From A Farr’ chardonnay available by the glass and bottle.
Subscribe for updatesAndy will apply his own curatorial lens to the offering over time, implementing adjustments here and there based on market demand and his personal tastes.
“It’s about listening to the market first – seeing what customers enjoy most and not imposing my will,” says Andy. “The list that Bailee has built over the years is around 200 wines, which, for a 50-seat venue, is crazy big. I’d probably look to trim that down over time, but again, I’ll just listen to what the market tells me.
“The changes will be focused on introducing producers from great regions and then showing potentially a new variety or a new producer from a similar region. We’ll also slowly but surely introduce wines that I would put my mortgage on being successful.”
Wine dinners will also continue to be a focus, as will La Lune’s own bottle shop, which is expected to grow and evolve in exciting new ways.
“We’re developing that into a wine club for our regulars who want to buy those impossible-to-get, super-exclusive, small-production wines that we can source and share under the wine licence,” says Andy.
As far as ownership transitions go, the commencement of La Lune’s new era has been as smooth as one could hope. If there’s anything Andy and Merrick are eager to stress at this crucial juncture, it’s that both of them harbour a deep desire to not only maintain La Lune’s strong legacy, but also contribute to Brisbane’s ongoing growth.
Ask Merrick, and he’ll tell you there’s no one more capable of guiding La Lune into the future than Andy. He points to Rizla’s standing as one of Canberra’s best venues as proof.
“Every time we went to Rizla, we had a great night,” says Merrick. “I think it’s due to a combination of warmth, personality and consistency. I think Andy brings a lot of that to [La Lune]. He knows not just about running a business – he knows how to make people have a great night.
“For us, it’s not about the money or the investment. It was actually about being a part of something special.”
For La Lune’s operating hours, booking details and menu info, head to The Directory.
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