You mightn’t know Pierre Stock by name, but if you’ve had a rambunctious night at South Yarra’s French institution France-Soir, it’s likely the passionate Frenchman’s wine expertise has fuelled it.

For the past decade, Stock was the bistro’s sommelier and wine buyer, presiding over the burgeoning, almost encyclopaedic wine program of more than 2000 bottles. It runs the gamut from big, bold and French to entirely lo-fi, in line with the tastes of France-Soir’s charismatic owner Jean-Paul Prunetti.

It was a role Stock fell into, filling in on wine-list duties one fateful day 10 years ago, then getting sucked into an all-encompassing vortex of vino. He and Prunetti soon went on to establish French-wine importing business France-Soir Wine Selections together – but after Covid everything changed.

We think you might like Access. For $12 a month, join our membership program to stay in the know.

SIGN UP

“The [importing] business was booming, and France-Soir was so busy,” Stock says. Something had to give. Though Stock can’t understate that he’s where he is today because of Prunetti, he decided to leave the restaurant and took sole directorship of the importing operation, which he’s since rechristened Pierre Stock Wine Selections.

Now it has a public face, with Stock opening a new appointment-only wine destination in Camberwell Junction. But it’s not a bar or bottle shop in the traditional sense.

“It’s hard to explain,” Stock admits. The space acts as a “wine tailor”, so you won’t leave with a bottle or case. Instead, Stock will offer recommendations sur mesure (“tailored to you, bespoke”, he explains) that you can then buy through him online and get delivered.

The experience, then, involves plonking yourself alongside Stock in cushy armchair, snacking on cheese and charcuterie, and sipping on something great while you get into the nitty-gritty of your wine preferences in a space that’s “like my living room”, he says – “very warm, very welcoming and a bit homey”. It was designed by Hunter & Richards and is filled with greenery by Mannix.

It couldn’t be less transactional – and that’s the point. “Being a wholesaler wasn’t enough,” Stock says. “I come from a very old-school hospo background; I’ve worked in all these Michelin-starred restaurants including France’s Paul Bocuse.

“For me, it’s about connection,” he goes on. “Winemaking is very personal, and I want to extend that to [the buying]. I’m going to shoot myself in the foot but, with the online stuff, we’re missing that connection.”

Importantly, though, Stock wants to dispel any doubts about the venue’s exclusivity.
“This isn’t only for the rich,” he says. “I can look after everyone with every budget.”

His suggestion could range from a $29.50 grenache-syrah-mourvèdre-counoise blend – which he calls “an impossible-value Côtes du Rhône” – to an opulent 2009 Chateau Mouton Rothschild Pauillac with a whopping $3274 price tag, plus cru and grand cru standouts.

Pierre Stock Wine Selections is open by appointment only. Book via email or by calling 0466 342 208.

Pierre Stock Wine Selections
7 Evans Place, Camberwell Junction

pswineselections.com.au