Morrell Wine Bar

I visited Morrell Wine Bar this week, located at 1 Rockefeller Plaza at 49^th St. What’s really unique about this place is that it’s the wine bar associated with the Morrell wine store which is actually right next door. Although I didn’t have a chance to check, I think it’s safe to assume that many, if not all, of the wines available in the wine bar are for sale next door.

The atmosphere of the bar is pretty upscale, while still casual enough to not feel so out of place if you’re wearing nice jeans. However, most of the men there were wearing suits, so you should probably dress up a bit if you do visit. I immediately noticed that it has more of a restaurant feel to it too, even though it is supposed to be a wine bar and cafe, like many are. Morrell has a contemporary design with bright red and dark green couches and chairs for seating, track lighting, brightly colored art on the walls, and a curvy balcony of the second floor above the bar area.

The wine list is the star of this bar. With 100 wines to choose from by the glass in addition to the 800 bottles of wine, you’ll definitely find something you like. There is a wide variety of prices with affordable wines starting at $9 a glass and going all the way up to $53. Bottles are between $42 and $1950. They also have a flight option that features some of the bar’s most rare wines. A flight of these 5 wines is $99 and is valued at over $1000 if the bottles are purchased at retail. Most places don't offer such a grand flight! Despite the vast selection, not all of these wines may be in stock though, as I found from my experience.

I ordered the 2004 Bernhard Huber Spatburgunder, which is a Pinot Noir grown in Baden, Germany near the border of France. I was really looking forward to seeing how expressive this grape would be. The waiter came back to deliver the bad news; they were sold out of the Spatburgunger! No! Being completely unprepared to have a second choice, I quickly flipped through the menu and chose the 2008 Lang & Reed Cabernet Franc from Napa Valley. Luckily, the menu had thorough descriptions of each of the wines available by the glass, so some flavors stood out to me and provided a guide for such a life altering decision :)

My Cabernet Franc arrived in a big glass embossed with the letter M for Megan for Morrell. The wine smelled like cedar and herbs and tasted like dried strawberries and had a light smokey character. It was medium bodied and had a nice finish. A satisfying wine for such a hasty decision.

The service was very polite, but a little slow to check on us and bring the check. While it is nice when you’re not rushed out of a restaurant, we were on a bit of a timeline and probably looked like we were ready to leave, yet our waiter didn’t come over. I digress; overall the staff was very friendly and even a little on formal side.

Morrell Wine Bar has one of the better selections of unique wines that I’ve seen, not to mention an impressive quantity available (or not so available). I would have preferred that the wine bar be more laid back, but considering that it’s in a very nice area around Rockefeller Center, it is the type of place you’d expect it to be. I give this place a rating of 3.7 out of 5 glasses.

The outside of Morrell Wine Bar. You can kind of see the wine store next to it

The bar area of Morrell....and my Instagram photo editing experiment

M for Megan!

DOCG - Las Vegas Edition

I was in Las Vegas for work last week and fortunately found some time to review another wine bar there. I visited DOCG in The Cosmopolitan hotel with some coworkers before we went out to dinner. (Thanks for tagging along on my review guys!)

I thought the name DOCG was very clever because it is the abbreviation that appears on bottles of Italian wines that meet the highest quality standards: Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita. Wines with this highest level of classification are actually tasted and approved by licensed government officials before being bottled. Needless to say, my expectations for the wines served at this bar were pretty high!

The Cosmopolitan hotel is incredibly beautiful and I would expect its wine bar to meet that standard, and it does. The interior of the bar was that of a trendy, rustic Italian café. The wood floors, brick walls, exposed beams on the ceiling, and the brick oven working hard in the back of the restaurant added to the Italian vibe as well. The glass walls of the entrance gave it a modern edge to remind you that you’re still in Vegas :) There were wooden plaques of red and white wine names hanging on the wall behind the bar, which I assumed was a list of the wines available. Having decided that I could go for a glass of Barbera, I searched the menu for it only to be disappointed. It wasn’t there. Major sad face. There were plenty of other wines to choose from, however and each of the wines available by the glass had tasting notes so that you would know what to expect. While I was expecting DOCG to serve only Italian wine, and there certainly is a fantastic selection of Italian wines, there is an expansive list of wines from around the world to choose from as well, including an entire page of the menu devoted to Chardonnay from the USA.

The wines at DOCG are expensive. Glasses start at $10 and the most expensive is $24. Bottles are priced between $45 and $14,000. No, I didn’t accidentally add an extra zero. A 1982 Chateau Lafite Rothschild from the Pauillac region of France takes the prize for the biggest price tag that I’ve seen at a wine bar so far. I decided on a glass of the 2009 Il Paggio Toscana Chianti. The pour was a little on the small side, although it was served in a mini carafe. If you’re a follower of my blog you know how much I love the little touches like this. The wine glasses were big with plenty of room for swirling. My glass of Chianti was wonderful and it smelled like cherry. The cherry appeared on the palate as well and was savory and smooth. It could definitely be enjoyed by itself as well as with a big plate of pasta. The wine had a long finish, which developed really nicely.

The service here was great. The staff at DOCG are very friendly and talkative and the bartenders chatted with our group for a while. They checked on us often and our drink orders were brought to us right away. With so many wines to choose from and such a comfortable atmosphere I felt like I could hang out here for the rest of the night!

While DOCG does actually seem to be more of a restaurant than a wine bar, I enjoyed the atmosphere, service, and of course the delicious vino. It is quite expensive though and I would have liked to see more value wines on the menu. If you’ve won big on the casino floor, definitely give this place a try. I give DOCG a rating of 3.8 out of 5 glasses.The entrance of DOCG in The Cosmopolitan Hotel

Plaque of Lies!

My yummy glass of Chianti