April 28, 2026

Heard it on the Grapevine IV: Meet the Muse - Monica Irani

What’s the relationship between wine and art for you?

For me, wine and art are deeply intertwined. They both exist in that space where emotion, memory, and craftsmanship meet—and, quite poignantly, they both evolve with time.

A great wine, much like a great painting, isn’t simply something you consume or observe—it’s something you experience. It unfolds, reveals itself in layers, and stays with you. Some wines feel almost like encounters: structured and precise, while others are wild and beautifully expressive.

I also find that both wine and art are rooted in place and time. A bottle can transport you just as powerfully as standing in front of a painting: it carries the terroir, the season, and the philosophy of the maker. There’s something incredibly moving about that.

For me, collecting—or perhaps more accurately, experiencing—wine and art comes from the same instinct: curiosity, a desire to chase feeling, to create memory, and, importantly, to establish moments of connection, conversation, and sometimes even a little magic.

What’s your favourite wine at Bacchic?

When I visited Bacchic, I was delighted to spot a wine from my friend Catharina Sadde, the woman behind the Côte de Beaune winery Les Horées. It genuinely made me smile; it felt like discovering a small slice of home in Singapore.

As I reached for the bottle, I noticed it was marked ‘pour ici’—to be enjoyed on site. So there I was, sitting in Bacchic’s listening room, sipping Catharina’s beautifully expressive Aligoté while old jazz played on vinyl.

It was one of those perfectly simple and unforgettable moments—unexpected yet familiar, intimate, and atmospheric.

What makes a great wine?

This is a deeply personal question. Of course, there are technical elements—balance, structure, precision—which I always look for. But those alone don’t make a wine memorable.

What truly draws me in is a sense of energy—a kind of life within the wine. It should have tension, movement across the palate, and the ability to evolve in the glass.

Great wines also carry a profound sense of place. At times, you feel as though you are standing within the terroir itself—you can sense the warmth or frost of the vintage, and even the emotion of the winemaker and what they endured to bring the wine to life. It becomes a quiet dialogue between nature and human intention.

But ultimately, it’s about emotion and memory. The wines that stay with me are the ones tied to a moment. They don’t just taste good—they create an atmosphere. You don’t just remember the wine; you remember the energy around the table, the temperature of the room, the rhythm of the conversation.

So for me, a great wine isn’t just about what’s in the glass. It’s about how it makes you pause, connect, and remember.

What would be your perfect event in the Bacchic store and why?

It’s no secret that I love wine, I love food, and I love hip hop. My perfect event at Bacchic would bring all three together in a way that feels both refined and a little unexpected.

I’d curate an evening of old-school hip hop—Rakeem, Slick Rick, Biggie, Nas—paired with elevated, local street food. There certainly isn’t any shortage of that in Singapore!

I love the idea of blending worlds that don’t traditionally sit together, doing it high and low, classic and contemporary. There’s something incredibly exciting about drinking a precise, beautifully made wine while eating something nostalgic and full of flavour, and the hip-hop setting the tone in the background, is the cherry in top. In fact this is something that I have had the pleasure of experiencing in Burgundy and Champagne with the Wine & Hip Hop events that take place there every year, produced by Hautes Cotes and organised with the local wine makers. Definitely something to check out.

For me, that’s where the magic happens: when atmosphere, sound, taste, and people all come together to create a moment that feels both effortless and unforgettable.

April 15, 2026

Heard it on the Grapevine III: Staying Glassy

The rookie drinker is usually more concerned with the wine than the glass. Who can blame them? And yet, you rarely have one without the other.

Most restaurants will serve your precious elixir in a long-stemmed glass, while hipster wine bars are likely to hand you a tumbler. Unless your drink arrives in a paper cup, most of us aren't going to be too worried.

But the seasoned wine-swiller is initiated to the secrets of the glass.

But the seasoned wine-swiller is initiated to the secrets of the glass. Because a truly excellent vessel will elevate your drinking experience, allowing your vinous measure to blossom fully, revealing itself slowly like your first love, all in the name of amplifying your sensory pleasure. This isn't sheer bombast. Like pairing wine with food, there's a craft to matching wine with a glass that'll allow its complexities to shine.

So, welcome to the Bacchic whistlestop tour of key facts.

Champagne and sparkling wine are the easiest place to start. In past centuries, these bevvies were served in a broad, shallow coupé glasses. A rumour claimed that the champagne coupé was modelled on Queen Marie Antoinette's breast, but this royal connection still makes it a sucker's choice for sipping sparkly. The problem is its large surface area, which causes bubbles to go flat too quickly.

In contrast, modern champagne flutes are tall and narrow, ensuring that your drink preserves its fizz for as long as it takes you to finish up that party-starting draught and, well, start the party.

The dimensions of a glass have subtle but crucial effects for wines too. If you needed hard evidence, a 2015 study by a Tokyo university offers scientific proof that a glass' shape affects its bouquet. A wine glass' deep tulip shape disperses ethanol - the vapour from its alcohol content - in a way that prevents it from overwhelming your drink's aroma.

Excessive alcohol can trap flavour molecules and make wine taste more bitter, an issue that particularly affects tannic red wines, which benefit from being served in deep-bowled glasses that help them taste smoother. In contrast, white wines prized for floral and acidic qualities are best presented in smaller glasses, which bring your nose closer to the wine itself and help express subtler flavours. So which glass should you buy?

So which glass should you buy?

If you particularly enjoy one variety of wine (a punchy Cabernet, for example, whose aromas would flourish in a larger glass) then it could be worth investing in the ideal glass for it.

There are other practical considerations: clear glasses are recommended because they display the colour of your drink beautifully, and glasses with stems prevent your hand warming the wine (something those edgy hipsters may not have considered when dishing out the tumbler vino), although the downside is they're more fragile. However, if you're starting your journey as a connoisseur, a standard wine glass will complement most non-sparkling wines.

But the seasoned wine-swiller is initiated to the secrets of the glass...

Of course, if you'd like to make your home bar look that much fancier, it's worth going down the rabbit hole of unusual designs, such as 'Les Impitoyables le Taster' ('The Ruthless Taster'), an asymmetrical tasting glass manufactured by Peugeot. Hand-crafted with cavities on its side and a base to help you swirl and aerate its contents without changing its temperature, it's advertised as being ideal for perceiving a wine's complexities. Now there's a gadget worth mastering.

Still, you shouldn't let these options and specifications overwhelm you. As long as you understand the basics of a glass' design - and how it complements its contents - we know you're ready. Just save this page for future reference so you can always refresh your memory.

Ok, we're going to give you some final, more forensic guidance. After searching high and low, far and wide, this is our shortlist of our favourite glasses, and why.

FOR VERSATILITY...

Described as 'unimprovable' by the Wall Street Journal, Zalto's acclaimed Denk'Art line of glasses includes options such as a broad Burgundy glass, marketed for aromatic red wines but just as suited for Chardonnays and Sauvignon Blancs. Explore here.

FOR FLAVOUR...

The connoisseurs at Wine Folly also highly recommend Gabriel-Glas' StandArt Universal Glass, praising it for being durable and capable of delivering nuanced flavour across reds and whites. Explore here.

FOR WHITES...

Meanwhile, if you love white wine, you might want a set of Riedel's Vinum Viognier/Chardonnay glasses, intended to work with the acidity and flavours of light, fresh vintages. Explore here.

FOR SPECIAL OCCASIONS...

And for those special occasions, renowned cut-glass manufacturer, Waterford's champagne glasses range from classic flutes to ones decorated with spectacular cut patterns. Explore here.

Finally, if you are buying a vintage from Bacchic or looking to host a special evening with samples from your wine collection, please don't hesitate to reach out to us - we're always down to talk glasses. As with everything else in the wine world, our team is on hand to advise you on how we can make each wine moment so special it sticks forever in your memory.

March 26, 2026

Heard it on the Grapevine II: Like your Labels?

Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol and King Charles III walk into a bar...

Ok, so it's not really a bar, but somewhere, these three giants are hanging out in the same cellar. That's because each of these historic heavyweights has created artwork for some of the finest wine bottles money can buy.

Most wine labels give you the facts: the bottle's vintage, producer... a few tasting notes if they're feeling verbose. It's a tradition that extends back to the Greeks and Romans, who stamped amphorae of wine with details of their contents. But as viticulture became more refined and competition steeper, enterprising producers finessed every possible detail. Even the humble label got its upgrade.

2004 label by HRH Prince of Wales

This story really begins with Château Mouton Rothschild, which boasts designs by the aforementioned members of artistic (and literal) royalty. They first commissioned an artist in 1924, when Baron Philippe de Rothschild asked poster designer Jean Carlu for a bespoke illustration on the label of that year's vintage.

Inspired by the latest Cubist and Art Deco aesthetics, Carlu delivered a sleek, geometric take on the Rothschild symbols of a ram's head and quiver of arrows. However, it took until 1945 for the Rothschilds to commission more label art, this time featuring a patriotic V-for-Victory symbol commemorating the end of the Second World War.

By now, the winery's labels have become a Who's Who of well-known artists. Experts at auction house Christie's explain that for collectors a coveted prize is a complete 'vertical': meaning every bottle from the past century. An art collection you can sip.

It's not just Rothschild wines that combine beauty you can see with beauty you can taste. In 2012, Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama brought her trademark bold colours and polka dots of Veuve Clicquot Champagne, designing a gift box with golden dots that foreshadows the sparkling bubbles within. And if you had $30,000 to spare that year, you could have bought one of the 100 limited-edition sculptures that served as bottle cases.

Each statue, a twining cluster of multicoloured flowers, is a three-dimensional demonstration of how wine inspires art. What better represents the fizzing celebratory spirit of Champagne than the exuberance of Kusama's flamboyant colours and fun-loving forms?

Kusama's sculptural case for Veuve Clicquot Champagne (copyright: Kusama and Veuve Clicquot)

There are plenty of other memorable examples. In 1983, venerable Champagne house Taittinger established the Taittinger Collection, limited-edition bottles that become canvases for renowed artists, from Victor Vasarely's shimmering optical illusions to Roy Lichtenstein's colourfully abstracted grape vines.

The latest Taittinger Collection bottle, celebrating their Taittinger Brut Millésimé 2008, may be one of our favourites. Designed by photojournalist Sebastião Salgado, at first glance it's just an expanse of blackness. But as you look closer, you'll find eyes staring back at you: a leopard, drinking from a Namibian river. Rendered in precise black-and-white, it hints at untamed power.

At Bacchic we love wine because it connects us to culture. Crafted with infinite care, great vintages require the same imagination and creativity as great artworks. Nothing demonstrates this better than these labels, which have become tiny canvases in their own right.

So next time you come to visit us, feel free to linger over the labels, and at tasting sessions, don't forget to discuss how the flavour profile might have inspired the imagery.

P.S. If you want to get straight in on the action, the beautiful Salgado Taittinger Collection bottle can be bought today from Bacchic.

March 9, 2026

Heard it on the Grapevine I: Welcome to Bacchic!

From kaya toast to chilli crab, there’s something great to eat on every corner in Singapore. But what if you want something good to drink?

Traditional wine shops, designed mainly for the practicalities of storing bottles, are rarely glamorous places. A trendy city like Singapore, with its flourishing culinary scene and cosmopolitan style, deserves a wine shop that exudes modern luxury.

That’s where Bacchic comes in. Named after the Roman god of wine and revelry, we believe in curated wine experiences that go beyond what’s in the glass. It’s not enough to offer customers excellent vintages… We want everyone who visits our store on Keong Saik Road to feel like they’ve stepped into a sanctuary, somewhere they can shut out the noise of the world and really unwind. Even if you know nothing about wine, you won’t want to leave.

When you step into our boutique, shaped to mimic the curving neck of a wine bottle, you’ll feel the shift. Our rooms are designed to pull you out of the everyday, and to honour the nature that gave humans wine. The store’s main floor is autumn, reflected in the colour palette of dark wooden shelves lined with wines, while our walk-in cellar evokes winter. In our spring room, you can host private gatherings and dinners, featuring menus curated by nearby restaurants such as The Teochew Kitchenette and Bistro Gaston, while our summer-themed VIP room allows you to lounge and listen to vinyl records during your tasting. Above you, a floral artwork spools across the ceiling, and the furniture adds a pop of bright pink. Talk about the art of fine living.

And of course, let’s not forget the reason we’re here: the wine.

Bacchic is on the customer’s side. That’s why we invest our attention in tailoring a wine collection of 500 labels, showcasing the best of Old World winemaking and making it easy for you to find exciting lesser-known vintages. While we have an excellent collection of classic Bordeaux, Burgundy and Champagne wines, we’re always on the lookout for underrated purchases to tickle our client’s palettes.

Pricing is another way we keep customers’ interests in mind. Most of what we sell is in the $100-$300 range, and those new to wine will appreciate the affordable $60 bottles that we stock. But if you like to splash out, fear not. There are always items in our cellars like a jeroboam of Château Mouton Rothschild 2000, for those occasions where you’ve just got to have a three-litre bottle of the finest claret.

Most of all, we want to connect people to the stories behind wines, through conversation, gastronomy, design, music. Wine is a natural icebreaker, an opening point for deeper connection, and that’s why we believe in curating intimate events that blend art and wine (to find out more, please head to our events page).

Bacchic’s ultimate goal? To prove that wine isn’t just a moreish tipple, but a cultural cornerstone.