My wife and I love a good wine bar. So, when we learned of the opening of Bar à Vin – “wine bar” in French – in downtown SLC, we were eager to check it out. Don’t let the somewhat beleaguered block of State Street between 9th and 10th South, where Bar à Vin is located, put you off. Step inside this classy but casual wine bar and you’ll quickly forget what’s happening outside in the real world.
Previously operated as The Palace nightclub, owner Kasey Newman transformed the hip hop spot into an inviting, spacious wine bar with an eye-popping wine wall that, according to Kasey, offers “the largest wine collection in the Western U.S.” with more than 120 wines offered in small pours, larger pours, glasses, flights and bottles.
A nice touch when we visited was Kasey instantly offering us a couple of house wines to enjoy while we perused the extensive wine list. It made us feel welcomed and appreciated right from the get go. As we sipped the Casal Garcia Vinho Verde and Rosé wines from Portugal, Kasey walked us through the various ways of enjoying wine at Bar à Vin, and there are many.
I recommend ordering something to nosh on while perusing the extensive wine selection. There are lots of small plates to choose from, ranging from flavored Popcorn ($4), Olive Tapenade ($10), and Feta Dip ($10), to Spanish Cheese Pairings ($11), and an elaborate Charcuterie plate ($23). We opted for something simple: Sweet and Salty ($6) – candied pecans and Spanish Marcona almonds.
An intriguing enticement at Bar à Vin is their unique “Break-Even Bottle Program.” These are wines which change frequently, but are sold at cost, everyday. When we visited these wallet-friendly wines included Grgich Hills Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Heitz Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon, Orin Swift Papillon Red Blend, Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon, Silver Oak Cabernet, Château Montrose Saint Estèphe Bordeaux, and Domaine Jacques Prieur Corton Bressandes Grand Cru Pinot Noir. It’s a pretty cool program.
Picking out wines to enjoy at Bar à Vin can be daunting. For example, there are more than 30 different wine flights to choose from, ranging from $15 for a flight of 5 wines called “Intro to Wine, Around the World Style” and “For the Swifties – For the Orin Swift Fans” ($29), to $36 for a selection of 3 Sangiovese pours, $37 for the “Netflix and Chill” package of 4 different 2 oz. pours, plus 2 flavors of popcorn, etc. A flight called “Post Malone Bait” ($40) includes Anheuser-Busch and Bud Light, Maison No. 9 Rosè from Provence, Domaine Jacques Prieur Corton Bressandes Grand Cru Pinot Noir from Burgundy, and Château Montrose Bordeaux. And then there are build-your-own flights, to boot.
Owner Kasey Newman leads guests at Bar à Vin through the various wine flights, which include customized choices where you design your own flight, as well as preset flights. Like I said, it can be a tad daunting. I enjoyed a Prix Fixe wine flight called “Triple Entendre” with 6 wines from 3 French Regions, one white and one red from each for $17. Quite a bargain. What were those six wines? I don’t remember, to be honest. You might want to bring a notepad with you…
In addition to wine flights, there’s a wide and varying selection of wines available in 1-oz, 3-oz, 5-oz pours or by the bottle. That includes 9 Rosè/Orange wines, 11 types of bubbly, 17 Pinot Noir options, and many, many more. There is truly wine for everybody. Oh, and a beer selection as well.
One thing that sets Bar à Vin apart from most wine bars is that wherein most wine bars feature a large percentage of wines that are special orders and can’t be purchased locally, Kasey Newman relies predominantly on wines for his wine bar that are available to buy in Utah wine stores. That means that if you come across a wine that you love at Bar à Vin, chances are good that you can buy it at your local wine store to enjoy at home.
I was thrilled to learn that the chef heading up the kitchen at Bar à Vin is Jerry Liedtke. If that name rings a bell, it should. Jerry was the talented chef/co-owner at The Tin Angel for many years. Currently at Bar à Vin he’s a bit underutilized, mostly making pizzas and bar bites, but I suspect that will soon change. I doubt owner Kasey Newman will allow Jerry’s talents to go untapped for long. Not that there’s anything wrong with pizza. Newman imported an expensive electric pizza oven from Italy that cooks Neapolitan-style pizzas at 900 degrees F. My wife really enjoyed the Wild Mushroom pizza ($15) on a gluten-free crust, made with pomodoro sauce, a generous topping of wild ‘shrooms, plus Mozzarella, smoked Provolone, Romano, and Parmesan cheeses.
Jerry knows how to compose a salad, and the towering Caprese Salad ($12) at Bar à Vin was outstanding – heirloom tomatoes and heirloom tomato relish, fresh Mozzarella, arugula, extra virgin olive oil, and balsamic reduction.
There is also a pizza version of Caprese – the Caprese Pizza ($15), which has the same ingredients as the salad, plus pesto sauce. The pizzas from Jerry’s pizza oven have a beautiful, delicious char on them that I thought could only be achieved in wood-fired pizza ovens. Nope, I was wrong about that.
Additional pizza choice include Pepperoni ($16) made with Creminelli Pepperoni, Vegetarian ($16), Margarita (sic $15), a Greek Pizza ($17), Four Cheese Blend ($15), Diablo ($17), Bianca ($16), and my favorite: Calabrese ($16). The Calabrese was a hearty pizza with pomodoro sauce, spicy Calabrese salami, sweet yellow peppers, red peppers (Fresno, I think) three cheeses, red onion, and wild flower hot honey oil. It’s a perfect pizza.
We were too stuffed to order dessert, but when we return to Bar à Vin we’ll give at least one of them a try. Desserts include Cappuccino Panna Cotta ($9), Chocolate Hazelnut Torte ($9), and Crème Brûlee.
If you’re a wine lover – or maybe just someone who is curious about wine – Bar à Vin is a terrific place to learn about new wines and indulge in the ones you already love – all with a knowledgeable, friendly staff that can provide helpful guidance as you sip and savor your way through the night. À votre santé!
Photos by Ted Scheffler
Culinary quote of the week: “What wine goes with Captain Crunch?” – George Carlin
