Welcome to Roth's Wine Bar + Cellar

The story of Roth’s Wine Bar stretches back over 160 years and is inseparable from the birth of Mudgee’s wine industry. While early European settlers in the region grew grapes for household use, the industry truly began in 1858 with the arrival of Adam Roth, a pioneering viticulturist who planted Muscat Hamburg, Shiraz, Frontignac, White Sherry and Verdelho at his Eurunderee vineyard, which he named Rothview.

These first plantings coincided with a series of nearby gold rushes, drawing thousands of miners who travelled from strike to strike. Their thirst created a booming local market for wine, helping the fledgling industry flourish. But the prosperity was short-lived. When the gold rushes tapered off — followed by years of severe drought in the 1880s — almost all of Mudgee’s vineyards disappeared. Of the few that survived the 1890s, one was Rothview. Today, the original vineyard site forms part of Craigmoor Estate, one of Australia’s oldest continuously operating vineyards.

Adam’s son, Robert “Bob” Roth, inherited his father’s entrepreneurial spirit. At just 22, he left the family vineyard and opened a general store in Market Street, Mudgee. Though a humble shopfront, the store became locally famous for its “under-the-counter” beverages — ingenious alcoholic potions disguised on farmers’ accounts as everyday supplies. The most legendary of these was the notorious “1080,” the name of a wild dog bait, chosen to blend seamlessly into any farm ledger.

In 1923, the store was formally licensed and transformed into Roth’s Wine Bar, marking the beginning of a remarkable century of continuous operation. This makes Roth’s one of New South Wales’ oldest operating wine bars, still located in the same Market Street terrace where Bob Roth first served his cleverly labelled concoctions.

Over the decades, Roth’s evolved alongside the region. As Mudgee’s wine industry re-emerged and strengthened in the 20th century, the bar shifted from its early fortified-style drinks to championing local wines. Yet much of its original character endured — including the famous 1080, which remains on the menu to this day. The venue itself retains its heritage charm, spanning the original general-store façade, a cellar, a warmly lit courtyard and a rustic back shed that now hosts live music and community events.

Today, Roth’s is not only a historic wine bar but a beloved cultural hub for the region. Weekly live music, trivia nights, comedy shows and winemaker events fill its rooms with the energy of a vibrant local community while honouring a century of storytelling, hospitality and shared memories.

The legacy continues through the bar’s own house label, Grapes of Roth — a range crafted exclusively from Mudgee fruit, much of it grown on vines in Eurunderee, the same ground once tended by Adam Roth. Produced by local winemakers, these wines connect past and present, paying tribute to 100 years of Roth’s Wine Bar and more than a century and a half of Roth family heritage.

From a pioneer’s vineyard to a century-old wine bar, Roth’s stands today as a living piece of Mudgee’s history — a place where tradition, community and regional wine culture meet, and where the story continues to be written every night.