General News
13 August, 2025
Shed is more than a cellar door
AN eclectic social venue has popped up in Pomonal with the opening of local winemakers Black & Ginger’s cellar door sales outlet on Ararat- Halls Gap Road.
When you walk into Wine Shed, right next door to much-loved Pomonal institution Barney’s, there’s a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere which operator Lucy Black says she hopes will make people feel as comfortable as they do in their own loungeroom.
It’s a surprisingly large venue, with a capacity of 200 people across the indoor space and the expansive outdoor area which gives Wine Shed a lot of flexibility to cater for functions and special events.
“We’ve got a general licence, so we’re licenced until 1am,” Lucy said.
Weekly operating hours are currently noon until 6pm Thursday to Sunday, with Lucy encouraging locals to drop in for a knock-off drink after work on a Thursday and Friday night.
Punters who want to enjoy some wine with lunch on the weekend will be taken care of by the team at Barney’s.
“Food can be ordered from next door and they’ll bring it in, so we tell customers to pop in next door to order and pay and then they’ll bring it over,” Lucy said.
Wine Shed was packed last week for a board game night that was so popular, the entire venue was booked out.
“We’ve got a whole cupboard there of board games, we did our first board game night last week and it went really well,” said Lucy.
“We’re not charging people to come but asking for bookings because we don’t want people just rocking up expecting there to be table for them.
“I had a call from someone at 4.30 just before the event asking if we’re still doing our bord game night and I said yes we are but I’m sorry, we’re booked out.”
This month, Wine Shed is getting into the spirit of Glow Halls Gap with a one-of-a-kind workshop, turning locally sourced sheep skulls into glowing works of art using a mix of acrylics and glow-in-the-dark paints.
“We’re doing something I’ve called Neon Relics as part of Glow Halls Gap,” said Lucy, “I’ve seen a lot of art online painting skulls and a friend of mine, she’s a neighbour who’s very into art, is going to join us and we’re going to paint sheep skulls, some fun sustainable art.”
Fun, community-minded events that bring people together is something Lucy is passionate about but for her and husband Haydn Black, winemaker at Black & Ginger, it’s important that the venue highlights the things that make Black & Ginger a unique wine brand.
“We still want this to be known as a cellar door,” she said, “It’s our public- facing space.”
“We focus on alternate varieties, different blends, we have a core range of products but Hayden likes to experiment each year so there might be something new on the list, but it might only be around until we run out of stock and then we move on.”
Read More: Pomonal