Following the pandemic and the closure of the restaurants where they used to showcase their wines, Julie and Valériane, the co-founders of the natural wine agency, Le vin dans les voiles (VDLV), felt the need to have a space that reflected their image. A multifunctional space, like a headquarters: a place to work, to organize team tastings, to receive clients and present them with new arrivals, and to occasionally welcome winemakers when they come to Montreal.

With a growing team, thanks to the success of online sales over the past two years, the agency has acquired an 800-square-foot space that was converted into informal work areas using a variety of furniture. To complete the design of the space, VDLV called upon Dupont Blouin to design a tasting bar, the unifying and structuring element of the project. It includes a dining area, a display module for bottles, a storage space to hide the wine boxes, and a checkroom, all within a tight budget.

Once through the door of the studio, located in the Grover building and nested in the Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve borough, the team wanted to feel like they were on vacation. Halfway between the tropical fresco on the entrance wall and the residential and convivial layout of the workstations, the architects created and installed refined and festive furniture that honors the quality products sold by the agency.

The design duo has created a tasting counter without seats, inspired by beach bars where people drink standing up, infusing an epicurean and bon vivant character into the space. On the other side of the column, the bar becomes a dining table with a cantilevered counter extension and circular footrest.

In the background of the bar, an aqua-colored shelving unit displays the great vintages and new releases. A large velvet curtain, as silky as a rosé wine, hides a storage area and checkroom. Both functional and elegant, this element blends with the bar in green hues reminiscent of the lush vegetation of tropical jungles. The folds of fabric echo corrugated waves, used in hot countries for economic reasons. Chosen in a plastic version for a question of cost, once painted it blends with the original metal. This furniture has the particularity of being easily removable in anticipation of any future moves.

The tapestry created especially for Le vin dans les voiles is the work of artist Aurore Danielou, who illustrates a whimsical and exotic universe. Coloured in the image of the bright, natural wines served by the agency, this mural with its punchy and fresh accents is inspired by the colour scheme of the bar.

In designing the flagship interior design element for VDLV's space, Dupont Blouin's proposal blends into the decor with panache, while keeping the richness of the language simple. With its aesthetic of dancing waves, like the robe of the wine, one could almost hear the sound of the sea, despite the snow outside.