By mid-spring, a new natural wine-focused bar and retail shop will open at 202 Main Street in Burlington. In the space most recently occupied by the Other Half, Bar Renée will help fill the void left by the abrupt closures of Dedalus Wine Shop, Market & Wine Bar and Cheese & Wine Traders last year, owner Alex Leopold told Seven Days.
Leopold, 34, moved to Burlington three years ago from California’s Bay Area with his wife, Claire, and has been looking for the right location ever since. The front two-thirds of the space will be a wine bar, with a small retail selection in the back.
Leopold sees his offerings as complementing those of Wilder Wines and other local natural wine retailers. His main inspiration is Oakland’s industry-leading wine bar and shop Ordinaire, where he was a manager.
“That’s where I really got hooked and learned the most about the community around natural wine — all the great producers and the fun and energy that … wine can bring to a place,” he said.
Leopold hopes to work with his West Coast contacts to source unique wines mainly from France and elsewhere in Europe, which he’ll serve alongside wines, ciders and coferments from Vermont, plus a couple beers on tap, nonalcoholic options, cheese, charcuterie and other local snacks.
He plans to open by noon, so patrons can have a glass of wine while working or reading. In the late afternoon, “we’ll dim the lights and make it a little more cozy,” he said. “It will be a comfortable, low-key, make-it-what-you-will bar experience.”
This article appears in Jan 22-28, 2025.
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