Uncork the Juice of Life, It'll Grow on you

Walk pass Jus de Vie on the second floor of Wheelock Place on a Friday evening and chances are, you will think that the 2-month old wine bar is closed. Dimly lit and almost empty, you will be forgiven for mistaking the bar for a new restaurant that has yet to open its doors. Not that we expect it to stay ignored for very long. Like good wine, this bar stealthily grows on you until quite suddenly, you find that you're wrapped under its warm spell. What's more, females make up the majority of its clientele, making it the perfect hangout for an intimate chat and drink.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------  By Tanny Chia

[eastciti.com, September 21]
It is a Friday night and Jus de Vie is empty except for a lone gentleman fingering the stem of his wine glass. Not exactly an ideal welcome for a reviewer who was expecting the throngs and throngs of customers that mark out a good outlet. But the owners, Govin and Choo Pei, were unapologetic about the lack of a crowd and instead warmly seated me and my 2 gal pals at a table which, we were to find out later, is notorious for keeping customers glued to their wine for hours on end. We sat down expecting to leave in a jiffy, but ended up saying a fond good-bye a good 2 hours later.

Unlike some other wine bars which attempt to pigeonhole wine drinking into a fine art form, Jus de Vie simply wishes to offer its customers good wine without the accompanying complications. For the casual drinker, there's no pressure to imitate more experienced drinkers in the art (or act) of sniffing the cork, swirling the wine glass or analysing the different notes and bouquets. In short, if you're like me and usually intimidated by the indecipherable behaviour associated with wine drinking, this bar's for you. Free from pretensions, wine's the sole focus here as connoisseurs and novices alike of all ages and professions frequent the cosy place to enjoy its wide collection: 96 different labels from boutique wineries all over the world. As customers are mostly repeat and first-timers quickly become regulars, at least a third of the labels are rotated every 2 weeks so there's almost always something new on the wine list. Variety is the catchphrase in Jus de Vie's selection of wines but even so, Govin lets on that each wine shares a similar quality, that of being unique.

And different was definitely what I tasted in the white wine that we sipped (actually, more like gulped) throughout the night. Not normally an avid drinker, my palate agreed with the smooth, slightly sweet taste of the Margaret River Chenin the moment I tasted it. And as the night wore on, my senses started to agree with more than the wine at Jus de Vie. It must have been the alcohol taking effect because while the décor had initially appeared an eclectic throw-together of jarring styles - the furniture was Gothic, the wall paintings were Contemporary, the settee at the corner was Renaissance - it all started to make sense to me by my second glass of the lovely Chenin. It also helped that Govin was convincing in explaining that the contrasting styles were deliberate, since "wine is about contradiction, about different palates tasting different things." And he assures us he's not making that up.

By the time our glasses were filled for the third time, we were feeling very much at home in the bar's dimly-lit interior with its burgundy and mustard-coloured walls, aromatic candles (flown in specially from Australia) and dewberry incense. While Sting's mellow crooning in the background lulled us deeper into our contented stupor, we chatted at length about the two owners' pained efforts to create not just another pub under the guise of a wine bar, but an authentic private space where customers feel emboldened enough to experiment with a variety of wines. To this end, both owners have no plans yet for expansion. As Govin says, "We're here to prove a point - we want to give personal attention to every person who walks in." And this means that even the music is personally selected to cater to the mood of the crowd - more ambient and relaxed during the working week, building up to a more lively selection as the weekend draws near.

As though choreographed to emphasise the sincerity of the owners' vision, 2 ladies entered the bar in a rowdy burst of conversation and laughter at precisely that moment. With a cursory statement roughly thrown in our direction - "Hey, use your phone, ah!" - one went straight to the phone and proceeded to chat animatedly for the next 15 minutes while the other helped herself to a glass of wine. We couldn't quite believe it when Govin explained that both were regulars - it seems like customers are inclined to take the homely ambience seriously, with some even offering to wash their own glasses after use.

I don't know about you, but if this is how familiar customers get around here, I certainly have a good mind to make this bar my regular chill-out joint. Speaking of which, I may even pop in tomorrow and help myself to another glass of the sweet Chenin. Mmm …

Jus de Vie also holds wine-tasting sessions once a month. Each session focuses on wines from a particular region and costs $25 - $30 per head, depending on the selection of wines. For more information, call Govin or Choo Pei.

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