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Jimmy Watson's Wine Bar

This bar and bistro at 333 Lygon Street, Carlton, is a well-known local meeting place. James Calexte Watson (born 1903 in Outtrim, Victoria) opened J.C. Watson Wine Merchant in 1935. His aim was to introduce patrons to fine wines, and to help improve the somewhat negative public perception of wine bars at the time. After Jimmy Watson's death in 1962, his only son Allan took over the running of the establishment, and would be followed by his own two sons, Nigel and Simon. The Jimmy Watson Trophy, established in 1962, commemorates Watson's service to the Australian wine industry.

Carmel Murphy

References
Poliness, Grania, Jimmy Watson's wine bar, Grapevine, Melbourne, 1989. Details