Peacock Wine Bar blends the owners’ passion for the alcoholic beverage and a family feel.
Tracy Wallace and her husband, Rich, opened the Gilbert wine bar after visiting a similar place in San Francisco.
“I had gone to this one wine bar at least twice while I was there,” Tracy says. “The environment really resonated with me because it was very comfortable. I didn’t feel like I was being rushed to drink up and leave.”
Upon her return to Arizona, Tracy looked for a similar place and found nothing that matched the way that wine bar made her feel.
“I knew I wanted to do something, and I didn’t know what it was,” she says. “After all of this I was like, ‘Hey, I think we’ll open a wine bar.’ My husband actually thought it was just some crazy thing that I said.”
He realized she was serious when she started scouting locations.
“We have a lot of beer and wine bars (in Gilbert), but they’re smaller and they offer beer and wine — mostly beer,” says Tracy, a Gilbert resident. “The other thing, the wine list at least at these ‘wine bars’ is very small. I knew I wanted to offer a wide range of wine from all over the world.”
Peacock Wine Bar has two wine clubs — Peahen Club, which sends one bottle of white wine and one bottle of red or two bottles of red wine monthly for $35, or Peacock Club that includes one bottle of white wine and two reds monthly for $55.
“Our wines that we choose for wine club, we never have them on our menu or on our wine wall,” Wallace says. “We offer a 15% discount for our wine club members (along with) complimentary wine tastings whenever we have a wine tasting.”
Peacock Wine Bar offers an array of wines, beers and delectable fare. Customers can choose one of three wine flights including a combination of four wines (red and white) for $22, four global reds for $30 or four “worldly whites” for $26. Each wine is a 3-ounce pour.
“One of my favorites is called Ball Buster,” Wallace says of the wine priced at $10 for a glass and $32 for a bottle. “It’s made by Tait Winery, and it’s a syrah.”
Rounding out her top three are sauvignon blanc, Casas Del Bosque ($9/$29) and cabernet franc called Durigutti ($11/$35).
Her favorite three beers at the Peacock Wine Bar are Phantom Bride IPA from Belching Beaver ($7); Peanut Butter Nitro Stout from Belching Beaver ($7); and her “all-time favorite is a sour,” Rainbow Sherbet by Prairie Artisan Brewing ($6).
Weekly specials at Peacock Wine Bar allow everyone to join in on the friendly wine bar experience.
Mondays they either have teacher appreciation or educator appreciation night, allowing 20% off for qualifying patrons. Tuesday is $10 off bottles or “$10 Tuesday.” Wednesday is date night offering a $50 special for a bottle of wine and fondue. Thursday is Ladies Night with happy hour lasting all day and the Peacock Board which is an assortment of meats, cheeses and accompaniments for $15. Soon to be added to the menu will be five cocktails.
“Because of our license, we have to use a wine-based spirit,” Wallace says. “The difference between a wine-based spirit and a regular spirit is that a wine-based spirit is fermented, where like your Ketel One, all of that is distilled.
“We will use the wine-based spirit in the amount that would equal to a regular spirit because they are a little lower in alcohol percentage.”
As for food, the menu is simple yet creative. Starters feature a protein board, bread and dipping, assorted olives, red pepper bacon avocado toast, burrata plate and naan, and hummus with veggies ($5 to $15).
The “Main A’Fare” boasts bruschetta and charcuterie boards, flatbreads, salads and a cheese fondue for two ($8 to $30). End the meal with chocolate or macaron flight ($15).
Peacock Wine Bar was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic but is still holding on.
“Business was kind of nonexistent for us,” says Wallace about the start of the pandemic. “We were just at our six-month mark when we had to close the first time. We’re still getting our word out there.
“When we closed, we tried the to-go wine and beer and sometimes some of our food, but it never really caught on. We did a little bit, but it just never really took hold.”
When restaurants were allowed to reopen, Wallace saw a decline in customers because “why would they go out of their way to come to our little wine bar when they can’t sit and enjoy their time.”
“We closed a second time and I had to let all of my staff go the second time around because I didn’t have any more funds to pay payroll with,” Wallace says. “We reopened in September and since then … we’re not doing awful.
“Basically, when we reopened it was just like we opened for the first time.”
Peacock Wine Bar
1525 N. Gilbert Road, Suite C108, Gilbert
480.590.1586, peacockwinebar.com
