Introducing Grapes & Soda: Vancouver’s first natural wine and cocktail bar which features an array of natural, organic and biodynamic wines paired with seasonally inspired small plates.
Opened by the same owners as Farmer’s Apprentice, and located right next door on West 6th and Fir, the focus of Grapes & Soda is to make natural and organic wines more approachable to the Vancouver community. At Grapes & Soda, wine takes the center stage; the small plates are created to complement the wine, rather than the other way around.
“We intended Grapes & Soda to function as a space where we could create a dialogue on how to pair natural and organic wines with great cuisine in a fun environment. Instead of focusing on the ingredients, as we tend to do at Farmer’s Apprentice, here we focus on the wine, and create memorable dishes that bring out the subtle qualities of each wine with every bite.” – David Gunawan, Co-owner, Grapes & Soda
The team at Grapes & Soda is led by Farmer’s Apprentice GM and Sommelier Hao-Yang Wang and Manager Paul McCluskey as well as Chef Ron Shaw (former Bishop’s Executive Chef) and Bar Manager Satoshi Yonemori (formerly of Wildebeest and The Diamond).
Savoury small dishes include the Organic Beef Tartare (with beets, berries, cubeb pepper and watercress) and Clams with Schinken Speck (with grapefruit, long pepper and summer crudie ) paired with carefully cultivated wines available by the glass and bottle as well as a selection of snacks, cheeses and charcuterie. Dessert plates like the Sorrel Sorbet (with juniper, meringue, yogurt and wild honey) are also available and are suggested to be paired with artisanal handcrafted cocktails including the Stormy Flip (aged rum, citrus marmalade curd, grapefruit and ginger beer) and the Bellissimo (apricot brandy, rhubarb, elderflower, cava).
Now open Wednesday through Sunday from 5 to 11 p.m. as well as for private events, the 25-seat space is located next door to Farmer’s Apprentice at 1541 W. 6th Ave. and shares not only the same décor and spirit as its parent restaurant but also espouses the fresh, farm-to-table seasonality for which Farmer’s Apprentice has become known.
Grapes & Soda also currently features happy hour specials with everything on the food menu available for half-price from 5 to 6:30 p.m. each night.
