Commerce Torquay sips and socialises

COMMERCE Torquay enjoyed an evening amid the bottles at their latest after 5 networking event.

The town’s business advocacy group invited members and the wider community to the Torquay Wine Store in Gilbert Street to its Winter Warmer Business Connect event, sponsored by Coulter Legal.

The July 27 event brought together about 60 people from the Torquay business community, who tried some of the many wines available at the venue.

With Matt Worland from the Times News Group acting as MC, attendees heard from Commerce Torquay president Jeff Crow, Coulter Legal lawyer and Surf Coast legal operations manager Sarah Minter, and Torquay Wine Store proprietor Mick Dowling, who revealed he was still counting his tenure in the recently-opened business in months.

 

“19 months now, still counting in months like a baby – once we get to 24, we’ll say two years,” he quipped.

Mr Dowling worked in the wine industry for about 20 years before deciding to open a shop of his own.

“I’ve always loved wine, and this sort of business appealed to me, and it sort of materialised over the course of a couple of years, where we started to go from a dream to something that could be a reality,” he said.

He said there were several good mid-strength beers and non-alcoholic beers – some of which the business stocks – for those looking for a less heavy drink, but the same could not be said for wine.

“Sadly, I’m yet to find a non-alcoholic wine – or a mid-strength wine for that matter – that’s worth its salt.

“Unfortunately it’s a very carefully scientific and exhaustive process to basically make wine, then strip the alcohol out of it, then add this pureed stuff back into it that kind of makes it look like wine, but most of them smell and taste like that juice you get in tinned spaghetti; they’re really, really poor.

“But I can promise you I’ve had half a dozen examples of non-alcoholic beers that look, smell and taste exactly like beer.”

For more information on Commerce Torquay, head to facebook.com/commercetorquay or commercetorquay.com.au