By Hannah Curran, Editor
TRUSSVILLE — The new wine bar is coming to Trussville and will have over 45 different types of wine on tap for you to try and experience. From Sweet Moscato to full-bodied Merlot to Pinot Noir, there will be something for everyone.
The name and logo design was inspired by Elizabeth and Mary’s maiden name Crow which in french is Corbeau. (Photo courtesy of Corbeau Wine Bar’s Facebook Page)
If you have never experienced a full-service wine taproom, Corbeau Wine Bar is the place for you. They created this place with one motto: “drink wine with joy.” To sisters and owners of Corbeau Wine Bar, Mary and Elizabeth Martin, this is a way to return to Alabama, a place they called home growing up. They are not alone as their husbands, Mark Martin and John Martin, are also all hands on deck to help make the wine bar come to life.
“We are sisters, best friends, and we wanted to work together and our husbands are brothers,” Mary said. “To have a wine bar in Trussville is just a unique concept.”
The sisters named the wine bar and created the logo after their maiden name Crow which in french is Corbeau. They have always wanted to open a business together, initially leaning toward a wedding venue before finding inspiration elsewhere.
Elizabeth stumbled across the idea last spring on a work trip in Charlotte, North Carolina.
“There are tons of wine bars there, my co-worker and I had a blast going into all these different wine bars and just trying them out, enjoying different wines,” Elizabeth said. “I started thinking Trussville could really use something like this. We have Pinchgut, Ferus, Mexicali, and we will have Trussville Social. They’re all great spaces, and they have a lot to offer, but none of them offer great wine. We really wanted to bring wine to Trussville.”
When Elizabeth presented the idea to Mary, they both agreed after doing some research that this is something that would benefit the Trussville Entertainment District.
“She told me about a wine bar; I was like, well, that sounds cool,” Mary said. “She was more of the wine person than I was at the time. So I said, let me just go see what’s in our area.”
Mary explained that there are not many wine bars in Alabama.
“There are a few in Birmingham, and I think one just opened within this past year,” Mary said. “I had to go to other states to even try and find wine bars, and that is sort of how we came up with the idea to run a wine bar.”
Corbeau Wine Bar will have a self-pour system where over 45 different wine options will be on tap. You’ll get to taste wine using a one-ounce taste, a three-ounce half glass, or a six-ounce pour from the different bottles of wine. There will also be various options of wines, from the kind you can find in a store to wine from small mom-and-pop vineyards. Mary and Elizabeth hope to open Corbeau Wine Bar with around 150 different wine options.
“You get to have a really unique experience every time you come,” Elizabeth said. “It lets us change out the different wines we have available to create that experience. But it’ll never stay exactly the same because we will continually pick new wines and try new things to share with our community.”
You can’t drink wine without an amazing food pairing, and the sisters didn’t miss the opportunity to expand their customers’ pallets by offering various food and wine pairings.
“We won’t have a full kitchen, but we’ll definitely have like charcuterie boards and plates like that,” Elizabeth said. “We will have flatbread and panini sandwiches. We are not doing brunch right now, but we hope to add brunch to the menu in the future.”
(Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Martin)
Elizabeth and Mary wanted to create a space that wasn’t intimidating for people to taste wine and find something new. As a result, Corbeau Wine Bar plans to offer great wine options at a reasonable price.
“Wine can be intimidating, and we wanted to create an approachable space for people to try new things,” Mary said.
Corbeau Wine Bar will also allow people to buy wine bottles they like.
“You can grab a couple of bottles of what you liked, or if we lead you to another bottle or you decide you want to find something really interesting on our shelves, you’ll be able to take some bottles home,” Mary said. “We also want to work with wedding venues and people that are celebrating. We’ll find you the perfect wine for a special birthday, special anniversary, or an upcoming party.”
Corbeau Wine Bar will also have an event space that can be booked for various occasions.
They plan to bring an inviting atmosphere full of flair and ambiance and an additional touch of class to the beloved Trussville Community.
Corbeau Wine Bar’s goal is to be open by October 2022, but with supply chain issues, they haven’t set an official date. They will be located in the Trussville Entertainment District near Ferus Artisan Ales and Trussville Social.
