There is no doubt that it is an idyllic image. Pour yourself a glass of wineplay soft instrumental music and find the ideal corner in which sit and read. Books and wine They are two passions that go together very well, and the market seems to have begun to take note of this. Because of that there are more and more bookstores that delve into this link, with various activities that bring together reading and the pleasure of tasting, and even with proposals for wine bars in the same space. Below, an overview of a rising combo.
Of talks and tastings
In the first months of quarantine, the editor Paola Lucantis and the communicator Paulina Cossilong-time companions in Planeta Editorial, decided to join forces and tackle the project of their own space. “One where the things that we liked and that we had been doing for many years happened,” they illustrate. This is how it was born “I will call you Friday”, in reference to the book by Almudena Grandes (with whom they were both great friends). A bookstore that is also a wine store and in which the love for these two worlds is expanded in meetings and activities.
Located in the Belgrano neighborhood, the commitment beyond books, its universe of belonging since always, had to do with the desire to do something different and go for more. “We wanted to add another world that we liked and with which we saw a very clear bridge. Not only because they are both experiences, moments of pleasure and introspection, but because they can also be shared and shared,” they point out.
In addition to the classic sale, in which shelves with books and others with different labels coexist, this union occurs through activities, because “I’ll Call You Friday” above all was conceived as a cultural space. There are tastings combined with readings, presentations, workshops, a poetry cycle, talks, tastings and “some surprises” for the end of the year. “When people first come to tastings, they wonder how we are going to link each label to each book. And you quickly begin to see that relationship, to discover the similarities between the characteristics of each: because of what surrounds them, because of the stories, because of the content, because of their makeup. Perhaps the work of an author and that of an oenologist are much more similar than we think,” summarizes the duo.
Also in a pandemic, the El Refugio del Vino wine cellar began thematic tastings, uniting this drink with other disciplines and seeking to generate talks around it. Thus, there were crossovers with graphic design, cinema, history and architecture. Once the pandemic times passed, they returned to traditional tastings with invited wineries, but there was always the desire to resume these types of events. And a few months ago, that intention came true, this time, with the help of the cultural journalist Natalia Blanc. “It was going one step beyond the thematic tasting, because the challenge was to pair a literary text with a wine and generate a link,” details Jorge L. Pallares, partner of the wine store. The proposal was completed with the sommelier Marita Peyrano.
The appointment takes place at the Vuelvo al Sur bookstore, in Parque Patricios. “Chapter 1” was held here, where they combined six texts with six wines. “We pair authors and texts from various genres such as ‘Silk’, by Alessandro Baricco, and ‘The Canterville Ghost’, by Oscar Wilde, with wines that have special characteristics, such as the Naranjo variety,” explains Blanc. “The reception was very good and we presented it as a mini reading show between drinks,” adds Pallares.
Each meeting has a maximum capacity of 12 people, which generates a climate of intimacy that allows concentration on listening to the texts. Thus, attendees can participate with questions about wines or comments about the books, and then stop by the specially prepared tables and buy a copy or a bottle. “Chapter 2” will be in November, where the excuse of Halloween will allow us to focus on horror, mystery and fantastic texts.
Natural coexistence
In this natural union, bookstores have also emerged that directly coexist with wine bars. This is what happens in Shrew Bookslocated in a century-old house and which shares a place with Casa Florida Wines. “This is a space that began operating as a cultural center about 14 years ago. Then came the bookstore and finally Casa Florida worked on the gastronomy part until it became a wine bar. The spirit of all the projects is to be inserted in a neighborhood community, but looking for alternatives outside the most traditional ones,” says Juan José Bidegaray, in charge of the wine bar. In this sense, Musaraña is characterized by working with publishers and titles beyond the strictly commercial (they have even opened their own publishing house with this identity), while Casa Florida also looks for its own gems outside the classic sales circuit.
And what was this union due to? In principle, to family ties. This used to be the house of Juan’s grandparents and Alejandro, his brother, in charge of the bookstore. After his death, they agreed to use it in the development of cultural projects. The choice of reading and wine decanted as part of enjoying some of life’s great pleasures. Soma Café, the third leg of the venture that was added a while ago, finishes closing the bon vivant aura of the house. “In this way we also transcend the typical sale of products, because we generate experiences,” the brothers point out. Tastings, book presentations and vermouth nights (another taste that coexists), among various activities, keep the doors always open for anyone who loves the good things in life.
The idyllic image is getting closer to becoming a reality. It’s just a matter of stopping by one of these bookstores and joining the initiatives that bring together great readings with the best wine. How to resist?
Read about wines
And once in the bookstores, there is another way to celebrate these two passions that come together so well: taking home books about wine.
From a historical tour about the cultivation and production of the national drink, written by Felipe Pigna and called “To the great Argentine people health” (Planeta) to any of the guides written by Elizabeth Checa, who was one of the country’s greatest experts , under the title “Good Argentine wines” (Vocation). And, why not, a text like “The Scientific Bartender” (21st Century) by Facundo Di Genova, a scientific treatise on the fascination with the most loved drink since ancient times.
Because what books and wine also share is hard work, creativity and the vocation to serve pleasure with art.
Image gallery
