Homestead Bar Vin introducing Reginans to imported wines sans snobbery

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 Vin, French for "Homestead Wine Bar."

"A wine bar can be intimidating. Our wine list doesn't have 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.

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 Craven, Sask., and already had a licence to import and store wine.

"He's been unreal. Without Art, this restaurant doesn't exist," said McLean.

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."

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) available at an entry-level price of $35, or a more luxurious $55.

• Read other Regina Bites pieces here

The 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,andJssel Hysuik of Sprout Catering and Stalk.

"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."