We sent two Melburnians on a date to urban winery Noisy Ritual to see if they’d hit it off. Oh, and it just happened to be Valentine’s Day...
IDEAL DATE
Jen: Something outdoorsy, so a picnic or drinks on a rooftop or something like that.
Chris: I don’t think there's any set specific location that’s perfect for a first date, but as long as it’s somewhere that you can actually hear each other talk and get to know each other, that’s what you want.
FIRST IMPRESSION
Jen: He is very confident, he has a nice smile.
Chris: She was quite attractive, and when I saw her I thought, this could be fun.
CHEMISTRY
Jen: The conversation was really good, so it was good chemistry. He was very easy to talk to, and we had a lot of things in common, family values and things like that.
Chris: I’d say there was good energy. We’ll definitely get together again and explore.
AWKWARD MOMENT
Jen: I got there pretty early, but the guys at Noisy Ritual were great, they settled me in. It was a bit weird being on a date on Valentine’s Day, but we talked about that – two single people, you’re not going to have any plans on Valentine’s Day.
Chris: The start was just awkward because I was there and Jen was there and the photographer was there, and it was like, do I meet her first, or do I meet the photographer? After that it was smooth sailing.
AFTERWARD
Jen: We stayed until they closed, then we went and got a drink at a whisky bar down the road and kept chatting. We stayed until they closed at 1am. Then we called it a night after that.
Chris: We went to a bar down the road for some cheeky whiskies. We were there until they kicked us out. It ended up being quite late.
SECOND DATE
Jen: We did talk about it, I think so. I think we will see each other again.
Chris: Yeah, I’d say so.
THE DATE SPOT – Noisy Ritual
Jen: It’s gorgeous, there are wine barrels lining the walls. It was really nice, the staff were really lovely. We had a couple of wines and they gave us a cheese plate. The wine was their wine, which was really lovely, really good wine.
Chris: The setting was quite fantastic. It’s a really beautiful venue, inside surrounded by a winery kind of feel, with all the barrels on the wall and hanging plants, high ceilings. It has a warehouse vibe, which is nice. We had a couple of wines, which were delicious, and a cheese platter.
THE VERDICT
Jen: 💜💜💜½ It was a nice night, something other than sitting at home alone on Valentine’s Day. The conversation flowed quite easily and even if something was awkward, he was able to take the piss out of himself, which made things a bit easier. I think he was quite nervous at the start – we were both a bit like that – but after a couple of drinks we got a lot more comfortable.
Chris: 💜💜💜💜½ It all went really smoothly, there was no uncomfortable conversation or awkward moments. She’s an attractive and intelligent woman, and we had a great time.