In breaking news, Councillor Mark Di Pasquale has officially placed the Watsy Wine Bar concept on the agenda. Di Pasquale took the heroic step last night during Banyule’s live-streamed Ordinary Council Meeting, which explains the collective cheer that many local residents heard ringing out across both the Watsonia and Watsonia North areas at the same time.

Watsonia’s ongoing mission to establish a cosy little wine bar in its CBD has been well-documented, and local wine enthusiasts are getting excited about this latest council-sanctioned push. The possibility of the long-awaited wine bar was tabled in last night’s meeting when an application for a new bottle shop on the site of the old newsagency was rejected.

Coincidentally, we’d already reported on a bold planning proposal that was submitted to council early last year to build an oversized wine cask on Watsonia Road. Code-named the “Watsy Wine Cask”, the monument was expected to serve the dual purpose of tourist attraction and community hub. Now that the bottle shop proposal has been road-blocked, is it time for the “Watsy Wine Cask” to be revisited? We think so.

Note: the image above has been digitally altered.

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