Hannah Wells of Puffin on building Wellington’s most beloved hidden wine bar

I’m delighted to bring you this conversation with none other than Hannah Wells, the charming owner of Wellington’s beloved hidden wine bar Puffin. With a background in design, Hannah came into hospitality with a strong sense of feel and intention, and opened Puffin at exactly the right moment, backing herself to create something small, considered, and entirely her own.

This is a conversation about trusting your taste and building from there. We talk about making the leap into ownership, creating a space that people genuinely want to be in, and putting together a team that reflects that energy. There’s plenty in here on biodynamic wine too, what draws Hannah to it, what she hopes for the future of the industry in New Zealand, and why more people should be open to a slightly wild glass of what she calls purple jet plane wine!

A huge thanks to the rostering gods at Droppah for backing Season 2 of The Kitchen Day Podcast.

We also couldn’t do this without the support of the team at Coffee Supreme and Craggy Range. These guys love hospo as much as we do.

If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe wherever you listen and send it to someone who’d get something out of it. It makes a bigger difference than you think ✌️

Hosted by Dominique Fourie McMillan, the Kitchen Day Podcast celebrates the people who bring hospitality to life through service. Each episode features chats with some incredible folk who work in service - from hosts and bartenders to sommeliers and owners - sharing their philosophies, challenges, triumphs, and why they believe service is the best job in the world. Whether you work in hospo (or did once!) or simply love dining out, these stories will reveal why service is an honourable craft, and those who do it well are worth celebrating.

• No. of episodes: 18
• Latest episode: 2026-05-16
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