Dan Sims

Director, Bottle Shop Concepts

Melbourne

Dan Sims is a wino. Albeit a professional one. As a wine commentator, educator, promoter and personality, Dan has been consumed with all things vinous for over two decades. Known for being outspoken on the subject of making the world of wine accessible, he has worked to engage, excite and collaborate with those of a similar ilk, and is now focused on producing large scale events for wine drinkers that are informative, interactive and not in the slightest bit scary.

Starting out in the wine industry as a sommelier, Dan has worked in revered slash notorious Melbourne establishments such as Taxi Dining Room, Fifteen and Punch Lane, and just quietly, was named the inaugural Sommelier of the Year at The Age Good Food Guide in 2008. From there, he moved on to supporting various wine industry education and scholarship programs such as the Galli Scholarship, The Sommeliers Australia Education Scholarship, and is a judge for the Best Sommelier of Australia Competition. Not one to sit around, he has also worked in running large scale wine events for the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival, Good Food Show and a host of corporate events and activations from Melbourne to Singapore, the USA and Europe.

In 2013 he established Bottle Shop Concepts with the mission to take the ‘wank out of wine’. The events, education and communication based company emphasises bringing the consumer and the producer closer together, removing the fear and illusion of inaccessibility from an otherwise happy relationship.