This article was originally published on Feb. 27, 2020. It has since been updated.
Tucked away in a strip mall in southeast Regina, there is a small restaurant that will transport you to the European countryside. It's called Homestead Bar À Vin, French for "Homestead Wine Bar."
"A wine bar can be intimidating. Our wine list doesn't he any grape varieties on there. I did that on purpose. I imported all these wines. I'm gonna force you to talk to me," said Homestead's owner, Josh McLean.
"We want you to sit down and let us do our thing."
Their "thing" is fine wine paired with French-inspired bistro fare. You will hear about where the wine is from and what distinguishes it from other wines. McLean will pop by your table to regale you with some of the history of that place or an anecdote about the winemaker.
The restaurant's feature wall looks like marble but it’s actually high-end wallpaper imported from Germany, chosen by Josh McLean’s friend, local interior designer Sarah Nesbitt. She also incorporated wood reclaimed from an old barn, which forms a wine display behind the bar, a pergola-like structure over the bar and frames the feature wall at the back of the restaurant. (Allan Pulga)Before moving to Regina in 2013, McLean was managing a wine bar in his native Montreal.
"I had access to all kinds of amazing wine. When I moved here, I went to the liquor store and I was shocked. There were so few of the wines I wanted to drink, so I said to [my wife] Leslie, 'If I'm going to live here in Saskatchewan, we need to find a way to import French wine.'"
Enter Art Wolf. He runs Wolf's General Store in Cren, Sask., and already had a licence to import and store wine.
"He's been unreal. Without Art, this restaurant doesn't exist," said McLean.
Josh McLean remembers his wine 'aha moment' was when he identified green pepper in a glass of La Tour de By from Medoc in Bordeaux. (Matt Howard/CBC)Homestead focuses on Old World wine (from France, Spain, Italy and the like), and biodynamic and natural wine.
"I always joke that biodynamic is like organic on steroids," McLean said.
Whereas organic standards vary from country to country, biodynamic is a worldwide standard of zero parts per million of pesticides.
"Biodynamic wine is made from grapes, full stop," said McLean. "It's expressing the 'terroir' of a place, all these little details: the weather, the wind, the winemaker's hand. You're getting a glimpse into a tiny plot of land for that year."
Josh McLean points to an aerial photo of the Homestead his father-in-law grew up on. Receiving the photo helped inspire the name for the restaurant. (Allan Pulga)Homestead's wine list is vast. Bottles range from $45 to $165. Select wines are offered by the glass (5 oz.) or half glass (3 oz.), and there are two nightly wine flights (a series of five half-glasses) ailable at an entry-level price of $35, or a more luxurious $55.
Read other Regina Bites pieces hereThe menu, mostly consisting of small plates meant to share, is varied and inventive. Over the years, it's been led by the likes Greg Reid from Reid's Meats at Lakeview Fine Foods, Mariana Brito of Malinche, and Jssel Hysuik of Sprout Catering and Stalk.
The cauliflower steaks are roasted, then seared, placed atop a romesco sauce (tomato, red pepper, hazelnuts and spices) and cauliflower couscous (cooked in a balsamic reduction). They're garnished with golden raisins and candied almonds. McLean described it as 'a hearty vegan dish.' (Allan Pulga)"We want to be accessible to all tastes and budgets," said McLean. "You can come here as a couple and spend 60 bucks, get a couple dishes and a couple glasses of wine. Or you can spend 500 bucks if you want. I got toys for that, too."