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Patron Saint is a wine shop that also operates as a wine bar located on Magazine Street in New Orleans. NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune

Start discussing wine and the tales seem to effortlessly unravel. Whether it’s the type of wine, the vintner, the region where it was produced or perhaps the perfect food combination, it’s so much more enjoyable when you can pop open and taste the wine during the conversation.

This is the adaptable power of wine stores that also function as wine bars. There’s been an increase in this niche across New Orleans, creating a unique hub in the city’s hospitality landscape which combines specialty retail stores with social interactions.

Patron Saint is a wine shop that also serves as a wine bar on Magazine Street in New Orleans. NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune

The most recent instance is Patron Saint, and it was inaugurated around Thanksgiving at 1152 Magazine St. located in the Lower Garden District.

It is created by the duo, Leslie Pariseau and Tony Biancosino, who are also soon opening a new Italian tavern and pizzeria just beside it named St. Pizza, depicted as a “red sauce Italian joint” by Biancosino.

Leslie Pariseau manages Patron Saint, it’s not just a wine shop but also functions as a wine bar on Magazine Street in New Orleans. (NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)

Patron Saint is located in the same facility as the Merchant House store for furniture and décor. It might be easy to overlook while passing through Magazine Street, but it leaves a profound impression once you step inside.

This is a stylishly designed reuse of an old industrial space, with an airy roominess that feels calming and inviting.

Patron Saint is a wine shop that doubles as a wine bar on Magazine Street in New Orleans. NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune

The long marble bar is the centerpiece to Patron Saint, with a few tables set around the room too.

Patron Saint is a wine shop that doubles as a wine bar on Magazine Street in New Orleans. NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune

Pariseau has concentrated the choice on low intervention wines (commonly known as natural wines) and from minor producers globally. A broad range of hard cider is also a speciality here.

There is always a ready line-up of around six wines by the glass (and usually a cider).

What’s on our menu fluctuates almost every day. But one constant is the effortless interaction with our staff who have also sampled the shop’s selection and provide guidance across the bar.

Patron Saint is a wine outlet that also functions as a wine bar on Magazine Street in New Orleans. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)

Customers can enjoy plates of cheese, salami, or imported canned seafood alongside their wine. They also have the option to take these home. A variety of breads and a small range of specialty foods are also available.

Pariseau and Biancosino founded Patron Saint during the pandemic. Initially, it was a collaboration with Coquette and Lucy Boone Ice Cream in the restaurant space that is currently Lengua Madre. The collaboration was temporary and evolved as the pandemic situation did. However, the feedback from the local community inspired them to expand the wine shop cum wine bar.

Pariseau, who is a writer and producer and co-founder of PUNCH, a media brand focusing on drinks and drinking culture, ensures that the descriptions of wines displayed in the store are both fun and enlightening. This clearly reflects the witty charm of a wine buyer who also happens to be a writer.

Patron Saint is not just a wine shop but also a wine bar situated on Magazine Street in New Orleans. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)

“Wine is deep and never-ending and a lens through which to see nature and people and climate change and agriculture and capitalism—and we can get as deep into that as anyone wants to—but it’s just a beginning point,” Pariseau said. “It would be nothing without the people drinking it and the conversation around it.”

The selection of wines by the glass is constantly changing at Patron Saint, a wine shop that doubles as a wine bar on Magazine Street in New Orleans.

Biancosino, who works in TV and film, grew up in New Jersey in a family that ran restaurants outside Philadelphia. He’s been pining for the type of casual Italian restaurants he knew from back home, and that’s the intent behind St. Pizza.

Patron Saint is a wine shop that doubles as a wine bar on Magazine Street in New Orleans.

NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune

Just a couple of steps away from the local wine store, you’ll find St. Pizza. One of its prominent features is the exposed pizza oven at the front – a perfect spot to grab a slice or use their convenient take-out service through the sidewalk window.

If you venture a bit further, you will be greeted by a curtain that leads you to a cozy dining area adorned with elegant dark wood trim. Offering more than just pizza, they also serve other Italian favorites such as subs, meatballs and spaghetti from their bar.

At present, St. Pizza is almost ready for their grand launch coming this January.

Adding to the growing list of local wine bars and stores, Patron Saint brings a warm and personal spirit that embodies the essence of local businesses. These qualities certainly present a refreshing antidote against the often impersonal and cold environment of large-scale retail stores and online shopping sites.

The Little House is a wine bar and wine shop located in Algiers Point.

This year, we welcomed the Little House at 640 Bounty St. in Algiers Point. With its spacious outdoor patio, it’s only about two miles away from Really Really Nice Wines at 3500 Magazine St.

Swirl Wine Bar & Market is a favourite neighbourhood spot known for serving wines by the glass, in addition to its retail selection.

They join existing places like Swirl Wine Bar & Market which is located at 3143 Ponce de Leon St. in Mid-City. It has a secret patio and offers Italian wine, Faubourg Wines at 2805 St. Claude Ave. where you can enjoy a glass of wine as you wait for the Press Street train to pass; The Independent Caveau at 1228 S. White St., which is a hidden treasure located behind the Restaurant Depot and offers a unique first glass deli case; and Ultimately, the very hidden gem Next to Nothing Wines at 3928 Euphrosine St., which can be found on the loading dock of the Art Egg Building off Earhart Boulevard.

Proprietor Steve Bishoff welcomes a guest to his wine bar at Next to Nothing Wines in the ArtEgg Studios building.

The concept isn’t new in New Orleans. Martin Wine Cellar has long offered wine by the glass between the racks.

But now the idea is blooming in different ways, and I’ll drink to that.

Patron Saint

1152 Magazine St., 504-321-7771

Thu., Fri., Sat. noon-10 p.m., Sun., Mon. noon-8 p.m. (closed Tue., Wed.)

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Email Ian McNulty at imcnulty@theadvocate.com.

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