Is Vancouver Experiencing a Wine Bar Boom?

“My French- Canadian heart is full.”

That sentiment was shared with me by Maude Renaud-Brisson, a sommelier by trade and co-proprietor of Vancouver’s This Is Wine School. The school acts as an outpost of the globally recognized Wines and Spirit Education Trust certifications and as a venue for freestyle wine events—ones where disco balls get flicked on and socializing with fellow wine enthusiasts is as important as making tasting notes.   

Why is her heart full? Because right now is the perfect time to be a wine lover in Vancouver.

You see, not even half a decade ago, the wine bar scene in Vancouver barely existed. Sure, there have been sporadic examples of the concept over time, but a full-on movement never took. Way back in the mid-’90s at Bayswater and West 4th, there was the Livingroom Bistro—a place shockingly lost to history—with a dynamic by-the-glass list on offer amongst a handful of cocktails and craft beer. It was open quite late, with trip-hop blaring through the speakers, and revellers (which often included local restaurant industry folks) would nosh on small plates like corn fritters with salsa fresca, wild mushroom risotto and warm breads with romesco  sauce and other dips. The place spawned others that followed the trend, memorably Bin 941 on Davie and Bin 942 on Broadway, both of which featured decadent mains with truffle oil and balsamic reduction (the ’90s!) rather than casual wine bar fare. And then, in the early aughts, I was one of the folks running Sean Heather’s Salt Tasting Room in Gastown (relocated recently to Chinatown), which married flights of wine with local charcuterie and artisan cheeses.

All of these places were successes in their own right, but overall, there was a lack of wine-bar culture here—and when Renaud-Brisson moved here in 2009 from Quebec, she took note. A half-decade ago, she created a series of pop-up wine bar events, dubbed Apéro Mode. Situated at various restaurants and bars around the city, these nights offered engaging counter service of delicious wine, snacks on offer and a casual, accessible atmosphere.

Along came some more wine-curious pop-ups—and then there was COVID.  Obviously a troubled time for us all, but in the scramble of the past years, something shifted for local wine enthusiasts and  hospitality pros in particular, inspiring  many to pause, reflect, re-think life decisions and map out a few previously back-burnered dreams.

On the other side of those darkest days, the scope of a Vancouver wine bar scene has changed, for the better. There are now a growing number of places to nab a seat, grab a glass and have a small bite without feeling the obligation to do an all-out full dinner. This style of going out—a sip, a glass, well-appointed and delicious—seems to have found Vancouver’s heart well; based on lineups and buzz, this is what we’ve been waiting for all along.

Fresh on the scene after opening mere months back is Dear Gus Snack Bar (2040 Quebec St.), first-time  proprietor Rachel Lee’s 18-seater in Mount Pleasant. Her career in real estate development was going strong, but the pandemic allowed her to consider some personal goals and passions. Next thing you know, she was tackling red tape and zoning bylaws to open her place in this semi-industrial pocket of town.

“I wanted to bring inspiration from time spent travelling through Europe to create something approachable and fun, but still with high-quality offerings,” she says. “But, most importantly, something that could be a neighbourhood gem.”

Lee works with wine importer Nabila Lalani of AmoVino wine agency on the Dear Gus wine program, focusing on organic, sustainable, solely European wines; there’s a refinement to the list that she’s proud of. “I wanted modern classics on the wine list that paired well with the style of food I was going for,” she says.

That food style spans everything from nuts, olives, cheese and charcuterie to decadent mains like pork belly with sherry glaze, quince puree and pickled Swiss chard. (Château du Hureau “Tuffe” Cabernet Franc from the Loire, anyone?) Lee wants guests to feel just as welcome and comfortable coming in for a bowl of  chipotle-spiced cashews as they would doing the whole dinner shebang. Those nightly lineups clearly show that new patrons are pickin’ up what she’s layin’ down.

Another with a pandemic pivot is Kovic Prévost, a chef by trade who’d been on the pans all over the world (New Zealand, Montreal, Europe and beyond) before planting himself in Vancouver three years back and firing up Gastown’s Is That French (45 Blood Alley Square). He always enjoyed the laid-back, casual vibes of Montreal wine bars and wanted to bring some of that feel here. After a recent visit, I can happily say “mission accomplished.” The candlelight-laden brick room charms. The savvy crew will walk you through a glass or a flight of low-intervention wines like Peter Wetzer’s Furmint from Hungary or a stunner of a Kutatás from our very own Gulf Islands.

When I asked Prévost if he thinks of his wine program as “natural,” he shudders. “Since there isn’t an official definition of natural, I don’t like to use it as a catch-all,” he says. “Minimal intervention wines that are farmed with respect to the land where they’re grown is what we like to bring in—from classic styles and a good handful of out-of-the-box listings, too.”

Is That French features an impressive menu for a place without a traditional kitchen—no hood vents, nothing. That limitation had Prévost initially launching a raw bar concept, with tartares, crudos, ceviches and such—but the current menu incorporates an ever-changing list of culinary flexes like arctic char with sauce escabèche and borlotti bean ragout.

And speaking of tartare, just a few steps aways from Is That French is Bar Tartare (54 Alexander St.)—the nighttime operation that shares a space with The Birds and the Beets, a popular daytime eatery. It’s another new wine bar around these parts… kinda.

One of the key players of the modern wine bar movement in Vancouver for many years has been Juice Bar, which was located in the space Bar Tartare currently calls home. The local natural wine hub was known for boisterous good times, a rotating roster of resident and guest chefs and casual counter service, and it acted almost as an unofficial community centre for myriad local food and drink industry folks.

When proprietor Siôn Iorwerth decided recently to pick up sticks and move back to his Welsh homeland, the keys to the place were passed to veteran wine pro Lindsay Otto, formerly of Bistro Wagon Rouge, Ubuntu and—yup—Juice Bar. Knowing the space and what worked well, she kept what clearly resonated with their audience and employed only a few very small tweaks. The roster of chefs rotates a little more in this incarnation, from the contemporary Filipino-esque fare of chef Mark Singson to the crews behind local favourites like Thank You Pizza and Lucky Bepo Ramen. The big cooler full of global natural wine royalty is still there, with marquee names like Matassa from Côtes Catalanes in France and the Similkameen’s Scout Vineyard. I’m also loving that the service is now a little more user-friendly; if you want to have another glass or bottle while you’re at your table, they’re happy to bring it over, so it doesn’t become an evening of up-down-up-down, to and from the counter. (Lazy wine fans, your  time has come!)

I’m also loving the live music programming and wines made-on-premises at the cultural hub of La Fabrique St-George Winery (7 E 7th Ave.), where you can nab rillettes, conservas, dips, spreads, potato chips and more from their well-stocked shelves, and they’ll get you nice and comfy with plates and cutlery for your fare. And while the Gastown location of Salt Tasting Room is no longer, its new Chinatown spot (227 East Pender St.) offers the same combo of wine flights, artisan charcuterie and cheeses that locals have flocked to for years. Elsewhere, there’s Bar Susu’s creative wine and small plate program (209 E 6th Ave.), which survived a fire and a temporary relocation but has served a smart selection all the while; I’ll be tucking into their Kentucky-fried maitake with harissa mayo and sipping a bottle of something special soon.

All of these places are bustling, full of character and adding much- welcomed diversity to the local wine scene. Grab a menu from any of ’em, pore over it and get sipping. It’ll make your heart happy, too.