Jen Latta has opened Leggatt St Wine Bar in Daylesford, an indoor-outdoor spot by Lake Daylesford. The bar offers a rotating menu of snacks like wood-fired focaccia and cheese platters, along with 300 wines including 20 available by the glass. Located in a building formerly occupied by Bookbarn bookstore, Leggatt St Wine Bar features warm timber finishes and a terraced deck overlooking the lake. The venue aims to provide an accessible approach to wine appreciation and opens daily from September 17, 11am to sunset.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-15,
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same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Jen Latta, owner of Winespeake Cellar & Deli in Daylesford, has opened Leggatt St Wine Bar, a new all-day indoor-outdoor wine spot overlooking Lake Daylesford. The venue started welcoming guests on Thursday, September 17 and is open daily from 11am to sunset. The menu features rotating snacks such as wood-fired focaccia, cheese platters, and mortadella skewers. With warm timber finishes and a terraced deck close to the lake, the bar offers cozy indoor seating by a fireplace on colder days. Additionally, Table Bar & Bistro in nearby Castlemaine has also recently opened, run by Ali Currey-Voumard, formerly of Agrarian Kitchen.
Written for “Daylesfords New Wine Bar Opens” on 2026-09-17,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
The crew behind Daylesford’s much-loved food store and bottle shop Winespeake Cellar & Deli have opened Leggatt St Wine Bar, an all-day indoor-outdoor spot overlooking Lake Daylesford.
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crew → love → Daylesford
“It’s a place for people who enjoy thoughtful produce and wines, like we do at Winespeake,” says owner Jen Latta.
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“We’re bringing that energy to the lake.”
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The menu is snacky, with wood-fired focaccia, gildas, cheese platters and mortadella skewers with fior di latte and pesto.
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“We work with producers we love, and the snack menu will be forever rotating,” says Latta.
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A two-level room steps down towards the water with warm timber finishes and textured brick walls giving a vintage country cottage feeling.
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“We’ve captured the view,” says Latta.
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“It’s the perfect place to watch the sun go down or finish your walk around the lake with a glass of wine.
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On cold days, a fireplace will keep the interior cosy, and a wood oven will be used for braised dishes as the team beds in.
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The 40-seat bar is in the timber building that housed the beloved Bookbarn, a second-hand bookstore which closed in 2019, after which the building slowly fell into disrepair.
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“A lot of people have fond memories of the place back to the 1990s,” says Latta.
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“I saw a ‘for lease’ sign in the window in May and a week later it was signed, sealed and delivered.”
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Then the hard work began.
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“It was very dangerous, hanging by a thread, shingles falling off, a project where you correct something only for something else to be uncovered.”
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An experienced team, led by venue manager Marty Hinck (also from Winespeake), can talk visitors through the offerings in a friendly manner.
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Her husband Owen was born into a wine family and makes wines under the Latta Vino label, as well as his family’s Eastern Peake brand.
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But it definitely wasn’t wine that brought the couple together.
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“I met Owen when I was living in a share house, drinking from goon boxes,” she says.
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“The first time he showed me the Eastern Peake chardonnay, I poured it in a glass and added orange juice.
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It’s amazing he stuck around.”
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Open daily 11am-sunset, from Thursday, September 17
1 Leggatt Street, Daylesford, instagram.com/leggatt.st.bar
Also new in Central Victoria
Table Bar & Bistro, Castlemaine
Ali Currey-Voumard (ex-Agrarian Kitchen) has turned her pop-up at Table Records into a restaurant, open Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.
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A recent spring offering leaned southern French, with moules frites and a trio of ice-creams, including Meyer lemon sorbet.
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16 Hargraves Street, Castlemaine, instagram.com/table.bar.bistro
Ruhe, Kyneton
Esteemed chef Rob Kabboord (ex-Quay) and restaurateur Daniel Saligari have opened Ruhe in the space that was the latter’s Marchesa.
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Ruhe (say “roo-eh”, it’s German for “quiet” or “peace”) is a 20-seat bistro for seasonal dining with European leanings.
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We love the BYO rule: corkage is $50 and if you bring a (special) bottle, you must buy a bottle too.
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58A Piper Street, Kyneton, ruhe-restaurant.com
Dear Eliza, Ballarat
Ballarat has a new laneway wine bar or, as its owners say, “adult sanctuary”.
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Hidden down a laneway beside the old George Hotel, you can snack on croquettes and dumplings while sipping cocktails like the Golden Hour, with gin, bourbon and chocolate bitters.
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Games include darts, pool, shuffleboard and cards.
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The Aporia
