Jesse Oberman, Taylor Archibald and Peter Hill have been part of Winnipeg’s food and drink scene for more than a few years. Their collective education is a hodgepodge of gigs at some of Winnipeg’s hottest restaurants, pop-up dinners, formal training in wine and spirits, and a lot of travel.
Two years ago, when Jesse and Taylor launched Élevage Selections and started bringing natural wines to Winnipeg, there were a lot of naysayers. Jesse says, “Natural wines are harder to ship, because they don’t contain preservatives. People also thought wine drinkers wouldn’t get it. These wines taste different.”
But steadily, they’ve been building a following. Wines they’ve sourced are popping up at restaurants and wine stores around the city, and Élevage hosts regular natural wine parties at Forth bar. “We are thrilled to have an amazing network of support here. The stores we work with have given us a real chance. And there are restaurants that have agreed to put our wines on their list and challenge their guests. That’s an awesome thing for us,” says Jesse.
Now Élevage is branching out in new ways. Taylor’s stepping back to take over management of Fenton’s wine merchants at The Forks, where he'll be making some major changes. Jesse is moving to England to continue his wine education. He’ll be back and forth between London and Winnipeg over the next year and a half. To help ease the transition, they’ve brought in Peter Hill, who was instrumental in bringing together the drink menu when Albert Street Cocktail Company first opened its doors.
I meet with Jesse, Taylor and Peter at Fools & Horses on a bright Saturday in the early afternoon. Jesse brings over four glasses and a bottle of red wine made by Escoda Sanahuja, one of the natural wines Élevage has made available to Winnipeg. He pours out the glasses, and remarks on the mould visible in the cork, telling me this is an indication that the wine has been stored in a healthy environment, where natural bacterias are allowed to grow, instead of being chemically sanitized.
The minute I empty my glass, he’s pouring again. Our talk rambles into the afternoon and I stroll home with a rosy flush and smile on my face. It’s not just the wine.
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