The Lubiana family extend their influence from winemaking to hospitality with the stylish Hobart wine shop and bistro Motlo. Its elegant setting forms the appropriate pedestal for an extraordinary list of more than 600 fine and rare wines along with stylish food from chef Ryan Dolan.
By-the-glass wine listings rotate each week, but always ask staff if something special is open, because you just might find a rare Burgundy or GG riesling behind the bar – and if, not they’ll probably be persuaded to open something unexpected.
It defined the stylish look of Motlo, which came to life under the direction of their son Marco and his fiancé Phoebe Jamison, initially as a fine wine cellar with a small bar attached offering wine and a selection of smallgoods. However, the arrival of venue manager Ben Devereux (ex-Fico Hobart and Aria Sydney) saw the venture change direction to incorporate a more serious food offering.
Trialling a month-long pop-up restaurant with chef Ryan Dolan paved the way for Molto version 2.0 to emerge, defining modern bistronomy with a hyper seasonal a la carte menu that changes each week, built around exceptional locally-sourced produce. While the dishes present modern takes on classic techniques, the dining style is casual, allowing patrons to graze on a few plates or have a six-course dinner, and it’s all designed to showcase the outstanding wine collection on offer.
Marco began sourcing wine for the Molto project in 2018, building on the Lubiana family’s passion for biodynamic and organic wines to embrace local and domestic producers focused on minimal intervention and good vineyard practices. It adds up to Hobart’s most extensive
collection of fine and rare wines, with more than 600 wines and at least 30 available by the glass. Bottles can also be purchased at retail prices from the bottle shop and drunk at Motlo with a corkage fee.
“Expect to see wines you won’t see anywhere else in Australia,” says Marco. “If you want classic, we have it. If you want iconic, it’s here in abundance, and if you want the local guys making exceptional wines in their garage, we’ll open one for you to try and probably give you their phone number. We are mad about wine and we want to share our love through an educational platform for people without pushing any sort of dogma or agenda.”
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