Comfort & Longevity with
Yuri Zinenk0
13 August 2025
Anyone who’s had the pleasure of being served by Yuri Zinenko at Vinoshis will know, all too well, how comfortable he’s able to make you feel—how at home. It’s a gift that regulars of the esteemed neighbourhood wine bar seek out in equal measure to the wine that he selects for them. In fact, sitting at a corner table on a bustling Friday, I felt a little sorry for the waiter when overhearing the question, “so what can I get you?”, being repeatedly met with the same answer, “oh, I’ll just wait for Yuri, he always knows what I like”… These locals take it seriously, and they only have eyes for him. In this way, it’s a venue that has woven itself into the fabric of Ivanhoe East, and Yuri is at its core.
This ‘home-away-from-home’ atmosphere, however, isn’t one cultivated by Yuri alone. Credit is, in very large part, owing to Jasmine—a formidable wine mind that also happens to be Yuri’s wife, business partner, and winemaking parter. They do it all together. And with their combined knowledge and passion for wine, unwavering hospitality and thoughtfully curated shelves, they have slowly built something truly special. From the wine they pour to the food they serve, the venue is brimming with beautifully made things, and while you will definitely find a long line-up of international suspects, the duo make special efforts to champion small, independent Australian producers doing interesting things. So, with this in mind, it was no surprise when Yuri jumped at an opportunity to collaborate on a pair of jeans.
In his work as a winemaker, Yuri produces under the label Calyx and has recently merged with Jasmine’s Le Timbre Wines to make Calyx et le Timbre. Until April this year, the winemaking couple were operating out of a shed in Keilor, and it was there that we travelled to help with the final days of bottling, before moving all their equipment to its forever home at their property in the Yarra Valley. Yuri wore his jeans and we caught a glimpse of the couple at work.
When it came to our collaboration, Yuri’s requirements were simple, he wanted a long-lasting pair of jeans he could be comfortable wearing in the cellar, in the garden, at Vinoshis, and even out to dinner. He was less interested in the pocket shape, he just wanted to make sure he had one for his wine knife—easy.
Yuri selected a sturdy 16oz Japanese denim from Yoshiwa Mills in the Ibara region of Okayama. The denim twill is expertly woven on old shuttle looms, maintaining an extremely loose warp tension. This is a slow and dangerous process as, if the warp tension is too weak, the shuttle often gets caught in the warp threads and can even shoot out of the loom. As a result, the denim is quite rare and has a special, textural quality to it, developing a distinct cross-hatch effect with age. To complement the natural quality of the denim and, in spite of the fact that they will require more regular maintenance as a result, Yuri selected 100% cotton stitching to ensure they are made of completely natural fibres. This also rendered any remnants or detritus from the making process completely biodegradable.
Both Yuri and Jasmine work within a Négociant model—purchasing grapes from vineyards around Victoria to then make and bottle wine under their own labels. All their wines are wild fermented on indigenous yeasts, unfined and unfiltered, with minimal, if any, additions of So2. For me, that’s a good list. Watching Yuri and Jasmine at work, racking, blending, bottling, fixing equipment on the fly, it was clear to see how their complementary styles have led them from strength to strength. Equally, you begin to understand the inherent qualities of each cuvée—from their individual training to their personalities, as in any hand-crafts, you can see resonances of the maker.
The varietal qualities of the fruit not withstanding, Yuri’s wine speaks volumes. There is a generosity and conviviality carried through in the glass that makes perfect sense when drinking it at Vinoshis. Sitting at my corner table, Yuri poured me a chilled glass of his red-white blend (Syrah and Viognier) that is at once, unpretentious, playful and full of interest. This co-fermented combination is far from unusual, however this Viognier heavy interpretation puts the traditional ratios in reverse. It’s a brightly fruited wine with mouthwatering, cherry acidity and it won me over immediately—just like the man that made it. All of Yuri’s wines offer intrigue for those that seek it, and ease of drinking for all. Unlike many other wines made with similar methods and principles, they don’t carry the same dogmatic impenetrability. They are open and welcoming, just like Yuri and just like Vinoshis. If you want a truly comfortable experience, visit Vinoshis, Yuri and Jasmine have you covered. And hopefully, Mellor Bespoke might live up to their standards.
