When Aravina Estate opened their new museum wine room at their Margaret River cellar door, they needed a system that could do justice to some incredibly special wines. Not just preserve it – but present it.
The answer was a Unica Start 8, and the results have exceeded expectations.
The Challenge: Museum Wines Deserve More Than a Cork Pull
Museum wines sit at the heart of any serious wine program. They're the bottles that tell the story of a place, a vintage, a moment in time. But serving them by the glass has always been a problem.
Open a bottle, and the clock starts ticking. You've got 24 hours (maybe) before oxidation starts working against you. That means limiting service, accepting waste, or just not opening the bottles at all and leaving museum wines locked behind a "by appointment only" experience that most visitors never access.
Aravina Estate had a better idea.
Eight Wines Open, Perfectly Preserved
The Unica Start 8 holds eight bottles simultaneously, each sealed with inert argon gas after every pour. No oxidation. No spoilage. Wine preserved exactly as it was when the bottle was first opened.
For Aravina, that's opened up an entirely new way to serve their museum collection. As Cellar Door Manager Amanda Dawe puts it:
"Having eight wines open and perfectly preserved allows us to offer museum tasting flights, winemaker-led experiences, and museum wines by the glass in the restaurant – all with fast, seamless service. Even after three weeks, the wines are still tasting beautifully."
Three weeks. The same wines, still tasting beautifully – because that's what preservation does when it's done properly. Compare that to the 24-hour window you're working with from an opened bottle, and the difference to the economics of a museum wine program is immediately obvious.
What a Unica Start 8 Looks Like in Practice
The Unica Start is the staff-operated model in the Enomatic range – clean, fast, and simple. Staff press the button, the wine pours. No cards, no software, no complexity at the point of service.
For a tasting room environment, that simplicity matters. Cellar door teams move quickly through flights, answer questions, and manage multiple guests at once. A system that slows them down isn't a system worth having.
At Aravina, the new black finish fits the aesthetic of their new museum wine room – it's a statement piece as much as a functional one. And in the words of the team: "It looks stunning."
The practical outcomes speak just as clearly:
- Museum tasting flights — a structured, premium offering that wasn't possible before
- Winemaker-led experiences — with access to eight open bottles, winemakers can take guests through a curated journey without logistics becoming the story
- Museum wines by the glass in the restaurant — a revenue stream and a point of difference that sets the dining experience apart
- Fast, seamless service — no delays, no theatre around opening bottles mid-flight
Why Cellar Doors Are a Natural Fit for Enomatic
The cellar door is one of the most compelling environments for an Enomatic system, and museum wine programs in particular are where the value becomes obvious fastest.
Think about what a serious cellar door wants to offer: depth of range, premium experiences, accessible entry points, and the ability to flex between tastings, restaurant service, and private events – all from the same wine inventory. An Enomatic makes all of that possible simultaneously, without staffing complexity or waste sitting in the background quietly eating margin.
About the Unica Start 8
The Unica Start 8 is an 8-bottle, staff-operated wine serving system. It uses high-purity argon to preserve open bottles, maintains serving temperature, and allows for calibrated pours (such as 30ml taste, 75ml small, 150ml standard – or whatever combination works for your program).
No software is required. No customer-facing cards or systems. It sits in service and your team operates it just like any other piece of equipment – except it keeps every bottle fresh for weeks after opening.
Available in two finishes, including the Black Charm used at Aravina Estate.
Interested in Something Similar for Your Cellar Door?
If you're running a cellar door, wine bar, or restaurant and you've been thinking about a museum wine program – or you already have one but want to expand access beyond occasional by-appointment pours – we'd love to talk through what's possible.
Contact us here, and we'll work out whether an Enomatic makes sense for your venue, your program, and your numbers. No pressure, no sales pitch.
Aravina Estate is located in the Margaret River wine region, Western Australia. Their tasting room and restaurant are open to visitors. Learn more at aravinaestate.com
