From natural wines to hi-fi listening bars: 5 Vancouver wine bars to check out

Owner Rachel Lee was a development and marketing manager at Westbank before opening this Mount Pleasant wine bar three years ago. “I wanted to focus on European wines only because I personally really enjoy European wines and had difficulty finding wine bars in Vancouver that carried traditional style European wines,” Lee told us. “We are constantly rotating our list based on seasons and also our team preferences, which makes the list very fun and exciting. The entire vision of Dear Gus was to replicate the style and vibe of wine bars you would typically find in Europe.” The spot has a small open kitchen, wall-size windows that open onto the street, and a tight but varied menu that includes prawns, mussels, and spaetzle. We tried, and loved, the oysters with pomegranate chili vinaigrette and ricotta gnocchi with asparagus and hazelnuts. Lee’s current favourite wine on the list is a Garnacha from Madrid, Bodegas Bernabeleva’s Navaherreros 2023. “This was the wine that made me fall in love with Spanish varietals,” she says. “It has spice, red fruits, earthy notes, and is served slightly chilled. We had it on our list last year (a previous vintage) and we just got it back in the 2023 vintage.”