28 Nov Wine Flights, Fondue and Poutine at Severance Wine Bar

When I got laid off from the dot.com world in 2001, I found myself “drinking for a living” as I began my career in wine. When Evan Charest, who previously worked as the Corporate Beverage Director for Patina, got laid off from a tech company, he took his severance pay and decided to open a wine bar in 2018. So what would be a better name for the wine bar than Severance?

Severance is a charming wine bar with exposed brick walls and a warm, inviting feeling. It is located on Melrose Avenue in the space that was once home to the former Smoke.Oil.Salt. Unlike its predecessor that specialized in Spanish food, Severance features a hybrid of Quebec-Swiss fare prepared by Chef Weston Ludeke.

Severance offers more than 60 wines by the glass, as well as more than 40 sherries by the glass. There is also Champagne, wine cocktails and punches. The wines range from geeky to classic but with a focus on terroir-driven wines from around the world. If you cannot decide between wines, try one of the wine flights.

There is a sparkling wine flight and two white wine flights, one with bright and lively wines, such as Arneis, Sauvignon Blanc and Ribolla Gialla, and one that is elegant and refined with Vouvray, Sancerre and Chardonnay. There is a flight of rosé wines and three flights of red wines, one with bold and volcanic wines, one with concentrated and velvety wines and one with rare and bold wines.

While enjoying a glass of wine or a flight of wine, order some food. Severance Wine Bar offers many of the small bites you would expect at a wine bar, such as cheese and charcuterie boards, marinated olives, roasted nuts and Bavarian pretzel bites.

There are also some utterly tasty fried pickles to snack on.

For heartier bites, the food menu features Québec street food, such as the popular poutine. The short rib poutine are thin cut fries topped with slow-cooked short rib, house beef, gravy and melted shredded aged cheddar cheese. 

Other small plates include Montreal meat pies, Brussels sprouts, and the Maple Scotch egg made with ground pork and maple-panko crusted free-range egg on top of English mustard.

Another fun offering at Severance Wine Bar is fondue, the classic Swiss dish. There are four cheese fondues that rotate based on the season, and one of the fondues will make make the vegans happy. We enjoyed a classic Emmentaler and Gruyere cheese fondue with caramelized shallots, sherry and dry white wine and served with baguette, blanched & grilled fingerling potatoes & seasonal vegetables.

I am a huge fan of fondue. What is there not to love about dipping bread and other items into melted cheese? But fondue is not a typical dish to find in restaurants so I am excited that any time I get a craving, I know where to go, because fondue is a fun dish to enjoy with friends.