Wine is not merely a drink. It is a coordinate, a point on a map, a moment in a season, a decision made by someone who gave everything to a single pursuit. To open a bottle of wine made by someone who has vino as their career, their life, and their passion, all bundled into one tunnel-visioned dream, is to hold something quietly extraordinary.
ONIV exists because of that belief.
Alex came to wine the way most great things are found; sideways, and unexpectedly.
Growing up near the Yarra Valley, weekends meant watching his parents and their friends hop from winery to winery while he and his brother could reliably be found at the Yarra Valley Chocolaterie. The wine was background noise then. It wouldn’t stay that way.
From a young age, Alex had one dream: the corner office. The kind you see in an episode of Suits. He pursued it with singular focus, graduating in law and being sworn in with every intention of living that dream. What followed was not what he imagined. The corporate world left him underwhelmed and quietly unfulfilled, and each evening he came home to the one thing that never disappointed — wine.
It was a single university elective at Bond that changed everything. Under the guidance of David Stevens-Castro, co-author of Paired:Champagne & Sparkling Wines, Alex discovered a world beyond the industrialised and commercialised. He found the boutique, the unknown, the quietly exceptional, wines made by people who had chosen a life of singular dedication to their craft.
His true internal calling has always been wine. Through his partner, whose family roots remain in Tasmania’s Coal River Valley, he has tasted the vino from far and wide across this remarkable country. From the Yarra Valley to the Coal River, from the familiar to the undiscovered.
He wants to share that with the world.
ONIV — vino, spelt backwards — was established in 2023 with a simple purpose: to connect exceptional Australian wine with the international venues, collectors, and importers who deserve to know it exists.
Australia makes wine that is undeniably unique. Shaped by ancient soils, dramatic climates, and the hands of people who chose this life with their whole heart. It deserves a global audience.
We are here to make that introduction.