On my way to my hair appointment at Good Salon, I received a text from my stylist asking me to come half an hour later as she was running behind. I was already over half an hour early, so I decided to make the best of it and check out Business & Pleasure, a wine bar in Inglewood. Let’s listen to “The Paris Match” by The Style Council.
It’s a tricky bar to find. First, you head over to the Plant Shop and walk between the building to the back, then turn left. The front of the bar is non-descript, but once you open the door, you get transported to a place that’s really grape. The clientele was all female and the vibe was just loving life. The record player crooned song after song while the warm light from the lanterns provided a soft glow.
Caitlin greeted me warmly asked me if I had visited before. When I responded no, she said she could have sworn she recognized me. I never remember or recognize anyone. My counterpart at work recently theorized I have face blindness, otherwise known as prosopagnosia. I looked it up this condition and there is no cure.
I recognized Maloof Pet Net on the daily wine-by-the-glass menu and asked if she had anything else from Juice Imports. Indeed, she did, a bottle of Elementis. She gave me a sample of the Pet Net and Elementis, and I decided to have both consecutively but not simultaneously.
The sparkling Pet Net ($16) was just what I needed after walking around in the wildfire-induced smoky air. The wine was cold and bubbly, with a clean, juicy aftertaste. I also appreciated that Caitlin was constantly refilling my water glass, as I was parched from my walk.
As I was sitting at the bar, I could smell the citrus from the lime Caitlin was cutting for a cocktail. Her customers took a sip and cooed that her cocktails were exquisite. This place is such a chick magnet.
Caitlin described Elementis ($16) as a unique skin-contact full-bodied wine. I know from Juice Imports’ wine tastings that skin-contact wine means white wine that is orange due to the juice macerating from the grape skins in the wine production process. As Caitlin and I chatted about Erik and Mark from Juice Imports, we realized how we knew each other. Caitlin attends their Sunday sessions!
When I settled up my tab, Caitlin offered me a taste of her new favourite wine, Tomato Wheels. She loved that it wasn’t too sweet and mentioned an earthiness you don’t typically find in a Lambrusco.
When Bar Von Der Fels closed and headed over to greener pastures, they left a hole in the city. So I’m glad to report Business & Pleasure has created a new space for wine lovers in bigger digs and something that speaks to the women who are not old, rather just aged to perfection and full-bodied. Hitting the Sauce gives this wine bar two phat thumbs up and puts it on her list of best restaurants in Calgary.
Hitting the Sauce 