Wine bar invests in a quick food menu to pair with its wines

Enjoying a good wine at the source is not a program accessible to everyone. Although Bahia already produces the drink in regions such as the São Francisco Valley and Chapada Diamantina, it is not every day that you can go there. So, if we're not going to drink at the fountain, let it come to us. And preferably, already bottled and well packaged with what the wine always asks for: gastronomy. We are talking about stores specializing in this precious liquid that are betting on the kitchen. The proposal is to combine in the same place an excellent winery with good food. That's what Grand Cru did, one of the largest wine importers in the country, with three stores in Salvador and, starting this month, with a unit in Trancoso, on the southern coast of the state.

mushroom cluster

Shopping Barra's store offers customers not only products to take home, but also the opportunity to experience, in its modern wine bar, labels from the most diverse origins, accompanied by a menu of food prepared by Alagoas chefs Mariana Bernardes and Flávia Soares, and executed by the talented and friendly Aline Silva.

The menu is extensive and designed to harmonize with the dishes offered, including a good variety of options, from codfish to mushrooms, including octopus carpaccios and the classic beef, in addition to a multitude of cheeses and sausages. The fact that it is located in a shopping mall, instead of on the street or with a view of the sea, can turn away consumers who are averse to consumption temples, but consuming the drink at a store price can be worth the experience.

Beef carpaccio with smoked mayonnaise

That's what we did before the year turned around. Once the basic content of comparing the prices charged there with what is charged in bars and restaurants was done, we found that the cost-benefit could be worth it. Especially considering that most people – including myself – like to drink and snack, especially when the proposal is a simple happy hour.

We started our experience with a R$54.90 Chilean syrah (which in a bar or restaurant wouldn't cost less than R$100.00). To whet your appetite, we ordered a cheese from Minas Gerais with wine (of course), from the Famoso Alagoa brand, which won the Gold category at the V edition of the Prêmio Queijo Brasil. The product, which costs just over R$ 40.00 (half a kilo) can be consumed there and the rest taken home. As well as special cheeses, the store has other interesting items, carefully mined by Lucas Normande, one of the partners of Grand Cru, throughout Brazil.

Cod with black olives

As the column is gastronomy, we will focus on the menu. It's hard not to stick right away to the suggestion of cod with garlic confit with black olives. The dish, which like the others, you can share, is light and very tasty. According to Aline, the multiplier of the creations of the duo of chefs, it takes olive oil sauce (enough, as this fish asks for), parsley, salt flower and black pepper. And it comes with slices of naturally-fermented bread that arrived at the table, fresh and very tasty. It is noteworthy that the breads served at the house are made by chef Ricardo Silva, from Carvão, who needs no comment.

Burrata with canned grapes

After cod, we return to cheese. This time, a burrata with confit grapes that is a hit in the house. The mixture of the marmalade with the salt of the cheese is balanced and the items seem to have been born for each other. Then there was carpaccio (we opted for beef) prepared with smoked mustard that was oque. But really good is the mushroom sauce accompanied by a special sauce that alone would have been worth the experience.

Famous Alagoa wine cheese

The wine bar space is tiny, there are only three bistro tables and one for larger groups, but the emporium holds good surprises in addition to cheeses, sweets, jams and the like. It has pasta, sauces and a multitude of products that go well with wine, as well as a team prepared to assist the customer in choosing the labels. It is worth mentioning the good service and regretting the fact that the space is not also in the Bahia Marina store, close to the sea. Lucky future Trancoso customers will have the brand's second wine bar, with more space and a beachy atmosphere. Worth knowing!

Service:
Store open from 9 am to 10 pm
Wine Bar – Shopping Barra: from 2 pm to 9:30 pm
Tel. 71 98430 0633
@grandcrusalvador