Pulling Corks, a new wine bar in downtown Belfast, has seen steady business in the month since it was opened by owners David Speer and Kristin Amundson-Speer.
The Speers, who moved to Maine in recent years after running their own businesses in Oregon, opened the bar at 31 Pendleton Street after first acquiring the property in 2023. In an interview, the Speers said they hope to provide their guests with robust flavors of both wine and paired snack foods, while also trying to create a sense of community.
“It’s been such a welcoming place for us, and to have a business and a wine bar that is doing well that the community really enjoys, we can be giving back in any number of ways and just supporting the community,” Speer said.
Speer has had a decorated career in the wine world. After graduating from the former Western Culinary Institute in Portland, Oregon in 2002, he eventually spent eight years as the owner and operator of a 20-seat champagne bar called Ambonnay. In 2013, Food and Wine magazine named him one of the best sommeliers of the year for his work with champagne.
Amundson-Speer has had a similar entrepreneurial streak. Following her graduation from veterinary school, she ran her own practice for many years.
At the tail end of the COVID-19 pandemic, the two sold their businesses. They then stumbled upon Belfast during five months of travels around the country. Upon further inspection, the midcoast city felt like home. Since acquiring their space in 2023, they spent the following two years renovating and getting ready to open it.
The name “Pulling Corks” comes from wine industry slang that they hope gets at the comfortable, casual and cozy feeling they hope to offer in their business.
“The action of pulling the cork, now you know something’s gonna happen,” Speer-Amundson said. “The wine is now open to drinking, which is really fun too.”
Speer said he is happy to move in a different direction from his old business.
“I loved having a champagne bar, and I was really looking forward to serving all kinds of wine and moving out of the luxury space of champagne, even though with my bar it was not luxury-focused by any means. Champagne just has that reputation,” he said with a laugh.
They now plan to rotate out wine and food pairings on a seasonal basis.
“Not in the classic, ‘Oh, you drink rose in the summer,’” Speer said. “Rather than the traditional four seasons, there’s eight seasons where … the weather, there’s a different feel in the air, there’s different produce that tends to be available.”
In the future, the couple plans to add outdoor seating and offer additional kinds of drinks, including a limited selection of beers and ciders. Eventually, they aim to open an attached wine shop.
