A Look Into Vinvinvin, the “Clean” Wine Bar Coming to La-Petite-Patrie This Summer

A new wine bar is hitting La-Petite-Patrie this summer.

Vinvinvin will be opening in the 70-seater space on Beaubien Street East formerly occupied by “all-bacon bar” Brutus, which closed in January. According to sommelier Nikolas Da Fonseca (formerly of Petit Mousso), the team is aiming to open in “early summer.”

The bar is a collaboration between partners Da Fonseca, chef Marina De Figueiredo (Candide), and Antonin Frenette-Laporte (Isle de Garde), who are working with three local businesses to operate it: Rosemont brewery Isle de Garde, Little Italy’s Brasserie Harricana, and wine import agency Ward & Associates.

“We’ve got a bunch of great people who wanted to do the same project in the same area of town, and we kind of all got together and did it together,” Da Fonseca says.

While the bar’s wine list is not yet set in stone, Da Fonseca says he plans to serve a range of cold-climate products imported from central Europe (particularly Germany, Austria, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic), alongside a slew of wines from Quebec and Ontario. All the wines served will be “clean,” he says, meaning they’re produced without the use of pesticides or other environmentally-damaging chemicals, and end up being “cleaner on the palate” as a result.

While the food menu is still up in the air, Da Fonseca says it will mainly consist of small, shareable, seasonal plates. As head chef, De Figueirido will be orchestrating a range of “simple” dishes, made with “good products” from local suppliers she remains connected to beyond her days at Candide.

“She still has a passion for some producers that we have in Quebec, people that she loves,” Da Fonseca explained. “It’s really a human project. We want to work with humans that share the same values as we do, in the wine making, in the food making.”

Vinvinvin represents the first time the trio have worked together on a project of this scale; but with a strong motto in mind, they remain confident in the weeks leading up to the opening.

“It’s a place where you will want to celebrate, it’s a place where you will want to share, it’s a place where you will want things to be simple,” he said. “That’s our motto right there.”

“We’re pretty excited ... we’re really hoping people are gonna love it.”

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