French Connection: Verges’ varied past leads to successful Vegas enterprise

Ken Miller

Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2004 | 8:09 a.m.

But it doesn't stop with food. Good wine can even bring people together.

Just ask Agathe and Gregoire Verge, who both grew up around some of the finest wines in the world, but neither of whom ever imagined their careers and lives would someday revolve around the stuff.

Agathe was on her way to a law degree with a strong interest in television; Gregoire came from a logistics background and wanted to be an engineer.

Both can now be found amid more than 800 varieties of wine at their French bistro/wine store, Marche Bacchus, in Las Vegas.

Nestled in the Lakeside Center near the intersection of West Lake Mead Boulevard and Buffalo Drive, the small, intimate eatery is accentuated with a few antiqued tables with simple wooden chairs, a pair of booths and artwork by Martine Agassi, the sister-in-law of Andre Agassi. The kitchen is fully visible from the dining area and a bar area is crowded with boxes of wine to accommodate demand. Grape cluster-shaped lighting fixtures provide a muted ambience.

The wine store adjoins the bistro and a large area rug spans the connecting point. From the wine store, patrons can exit to a large patio area with a view of a man-made lake. Patrons can lounge in wicker-backed chairs or stroll across a small bridge and enjoy a waterfall empyting into the lake. Inquisitive ducks are kept at bay by fencing along the shoreline.

The Verges worked hard to get things just right and their efforts paid off: Gourmet Magazine's October issue named Marche Bacchus as one of the five best restaurants in Las Vegas.

And for the time being the Verges are content to stay right where they are.

Wine pair

Agathe and Gregoire learned at an early age how to appreciate wine and pair it with the proper food: Both grew up in key wine regions of France.

Agathe, 33, was born in 1970 in Avignon and her parents, Jean Claude and Dominique, came from the Rhone Valley, a region famous for its wines.

"My father taught me when I was young to pair wines with food," Agathe said. But wine was part of their lifestyle, not their livelihood.

Family income came from her father's antique furniture business, in which he both sold authentic antiques and reproduced his own. (A few of his pieces can be found at Marche Bacchus and the remaining antiqued furniture was done by Agathe.)

Gregoire was born in 1969 in Burgundy and sampled his first glass of wine at age 10.

"As a kid, going to a restaurant, that was exciting," he remembers. "I would plan for days what I was going to order. The wine part I didn't care about. I didn't really start to love wine until I was 25."

His restaurant memories, coupled with mother Joelle's amazing cooking talents, had a profound influence.

"I remember going with my mother to farmers' market to get everything fresh," he said. "She was amazing. You wouldn't eat the same thing twice in one month."

At the age of 12 he ended up working at a winery as an assistant to the winemaker, a job he enjoyed for 10 years.

Still, Gregoire never planned to pursue it as a career.

"In Burgundy, it's logical I would be working at a winery," he said. "If you grow up in Las Vegas, sooner or later you'll probably have the opportunity to work in a casino."

Coming to America

Gregoire's burning desire was always the same: to move to America.

"I'd wanted to do it since I was 12," he said.

Gregoire's father, Gerard, an engineer, made it his priority to send his son to college, even though Gregoire didn't know quite what he wanted to do.

"I wanted to live in America and I knew that engineers did very well, so I graduated with a degree in logistics," Gregoire said.

But Gregoire received some bad news upon meeting with his immigration lawyer.

"He told me it wasn't going to be easy to get a work permit with a degree in logistics," Gregoire said.

After weighing his options, Gregoire went back to what he knew best: food and wine.

"I decided to open my own restaurant," he said. His first restaurant in America was Le Bouchon du Grove in Miami's Coconut Grove, which he opened in 1992.

He would meet Agathe four years later.

Different plans

Agathe's other sibling, Caroline, knew right away that wine was her destiny. She now owns the Domaine de Bertaud winery on the Cotes de Provence in France.

For Agathe, the realization took a bit longer.

"I went to law school for three years and in the summer worked in television production" as an assistant to a producer, she said. "I fell in love with television."

Agathe came to the United States in 1996 to open an antique store for her father, but her ultimate goal was to work in California in some aspect of television production.

But as was the case with Gregoire, Agathe discovered her immigrant status limited her ability to work anywhere else. Her television dreams would be put on hold indefinitely.

It was in Miami while meeting with her immigration lawyer that she met and fell in love with Gregoire. They were married shortly thereafter, but continued to work separately until Gregoire decided to sell the restaurant in 1998.

Vegas-bound

They took an extended holiday to see family in France, but both knew they didn't want to return to Miami.

"Our choices were Denver or Las Vegas," Agathe remembers. "There are 30,000 French people in Miami. We wanted a more American destination."

Their memories of Las Vegas had always been pleasant. While working in Miami, they visited Las Vegas every few months so Gregoire could ride dirt bikes (He worked for Kawasaki as manager of the dirt bike team from 1990 to 1991, touring all over the world, including India, Eastern Europe and Asia.)

"I loved the energy here," Agathe said. "Everybody's spending money and I loved the weather. This is the most exciting city in the world."

The Verges made Las Vegas home in 1999 and originally wanted only to sell wine. They opened the store in 2000.

"Greg was tired of the restaurant business," Agathe said. "We originally decided to just sell wine, but then we slowly expanded to cheeses, sandwiches, salads, quiches and more. It quickly became more like a deli."

Before long, the Verges' customers, who proved to be a very loyal fan base, wanted more of a restaurant experience.

The Verges realized the potential of the enterprise and opened the restaurant, Bistro Bacchus, in May of this year. (The bistro, coupled with the store, falls under the title Marche Bacchus.)

The vast variety of wine -- 50 percent is from France and 30 percent is from California, with the rest coming from a wide assortment of regions -- is paired with such dishes as poulet basquaise, escalope de saumon dijonaise, pates au citron and rack of lamb.

Wine is sold at retail prices ranging from $3.99 to $200. (For the truly big spenders, there's a premium Burgundy available for $4,000, but it must be specifically requested. It isn't for sale on the floor.)

"We have the cheapest wine list in town," Agathe is quick to point out. "For retail we have a small selection, but if you go anywhere else on the Strip, you'll pay at least three times as much."

Neither of the Verges cook. They leave that to Executive Chef Andre Courreges and two sous chefs, one in charge of the deli and one in charge of the bistro.

A good mix

But the Verges are integral to the Marche Bacchus experience, constantly helping customers pair the proper wine to the proper food.

Agathe exudes excitement as she discusses working together with her husband.

"I originally didn't want to work together with Greg, but we have so much fun," Agathe said. "By the time I got my green card, I didn't want to work in television anymore."

Neither Gregoire nor Agathe claims to be "expert" in wine pairing.

"In this town, we have the best sommeliers and wine-pairing people in the world," Gregoire said.

Still, what the Verges lack in expertise, they make up for in enthusiasm. No one goes away from Marche Bacchus without learning something about the art of pairing wine and food.

"If you're coming here, it's not by mistake," Agathe said. "Everybody knows everybody here and people are so passionate here."

Despite Gregoire's earlier aspirations, he feels he is where he needs to be.

"I could be making more money in logistics, but we have plenty of fun here and an amazing clientele," Gregoire said. "And my degree in logistics is helping me every day in organizing things."

Agathe said she may one day want to pursue television again, but only if it allows her contact with the public.

"I love to be next to people, dealing with people," she said. "I don't want to move anymore."