Ayza West Village

Tonight I had originally ventured out to visit a different wine bar but I actually had some trouble finding it. I happened to remember walking by Ayza West Village at 7^th Ave & Carmine while it was under construction. Lo and behold, it is now open! So, I stopped in to see how it compares to its midtown location.

This location is much smaller than their midtown bar if you include the outdoor seating area, but this makes it more intimate. Despite its size, the bar is laid out well to create some privacy at each of the tables. The ambiance here is enjoyable, low lighting is provided by an array of hanging lights all over the bar, the music isn’t loud and really the only background noise I noticed was the pleasant drone of conversation and laughter. It was nice. The crowd here is mostly on the younger side – I’d say most of the other guests were in their mid to late 20s. It seemed to be mostly friends getting together after work, although I did notice some couples as well.

Once I was seated at my table, the waitress offered me a sample of their warm spiced wine, which was a Syrah and I liked it so much that I ordered a mug of it. I had never had spiced wine (also referred to as mulled wine) before, so I decided to try something different. You can make mulled wine yourself by heating (not boiling - you don’t want to cook off that alcohol!) a robust red wine with oranges, a lemon, cloves, cinnamon sticks, and a bit of brown sugar or honey. It’s wintery deliciousness. My mug of wine smelled and tasted like cloves and cinnamon, very much like a mulled cider but it was heartier and the alcohol gave it some nice additional warmth. It wasn’t particularly cold outside tonight, but this is the perfect wine to warm up with on a blustery winter evening. I might even make this my new winter weekend staple :)

Ayza’s wine list features wines that are mostly from France, Italy, and California. The glasses are priced between $6 and $19 and bottles are $30 to $225, although many of the bottles were under $50. The selections seem to be a pretty good value because I recognized some of the wines that I buy in my local retail store and the glasses here at Ayza were less expensive than the retail price of the bottle. Usually glasses are equal to the average retail price of a bottle, so I was happy to see that Ayza wasn’t trying to pillage my wallet.

The service here was very prompt and cheery, the ambiance was really nice, and the wine selection is pretty decent. Comparing this place to Ayza’s midtown location, I have to say that everything is better in the West Village. I give Ayza West Village a rating of 4.2 out of 5 glasses.



My mug o'wine

The cool bar area of Ayza West Village...and my thumb

Medi Wine Bar

Happy New Year, my dear readers! I made my final wine bar visit of 2011 several days ago at Medi Wine Bar, located at 811 9^th Ave in the neighborhood of Hell’s Kitchen.

Wow, this place was packed when I arrived and I actually had to wait a few minutes for a lonely little table for 1 to open up. This is either a testament to their food or their wine. We shall see which one!

Wines were between $9 and $15 for a glass and $34 to $165 for a bottle, although the average price of a bottle was in the $40 to $50 range. Some wines were available in half bottles as well. The majority of the wines were from the major European regions and I was happy to see that there were wines from lesser known regions as well, such as Slovenia, Israel, and Turkey. I ordered the 2009 Segals Fusion Cabernet-Merlot-Syrah blend from Israel. Now, I don’t particularly have a lot of faith in triple blends, but I do like Israeli wines when I’m able to find them at a wine bar, so I decided to take a chance. This is either going to be terrible or delightful.

It took a little while for my wine to arrive once I’d ordered it. I’m hoping it was only because all of the tables were full and they were very busy. But my goat cheese fritters actually came out first (I saw them on the menu and couldn’t resist. I’m a sucker for goat cheese….or just cheese in general.) Once my wine did arrive, I anxiously took a good whiff of it. It smelled like chocolate and cassis and almost a little bit syrupy like the aroma of port. The flavor was surprisingly enjoyable. It was a little heavier on the Cabernet in the blend and it tasted like dried strawberries. It could have used a little more acidity though. It wasn’t an outstanding wine, but it was tasty and not a bad value at $11 a glass.

The décor at Medi is one of my favorites that I’ve seen in a wine bar. It achieves coziness without sacrificing the space of the dining area. The walls are white painted brick with cool wooden benches lining one side of the room, the lighting is warm with the exception of the shock of blue lights at the front of the bar, and the ceilings are covered with dark wood. I have to admit, I was a little transfixed with the ceilings. The tables are all mismatched with a mix of cute white cottage style tables, tables made of solid blocks of wood, and a few garden style mini tables. It adds a very quaint and personable touch to the place. There is a seating area downstairs as well which is just as charming. I didn’t venture down there but I did see some cute pictures of it on Medi’s website.

I really enjoyed Medi Wine Bar and I will come back, although it might have to wait until I finish visiting the rest of the wine bars in the city. But I will be recommending it to my friends! Aside from my wine taking a little longer than usual to arrive at my table, the service was very nice and super attentive. Good wine and clearly good Mediterranean food judging by my goat cheese fritters and the crowd that this place draws. I give this place a rating of 4.3 out of 5 glasses.

The fun and cozy interior of Medi Wine Bar

The adorable downstairs seating area, pic courtesy of mediwinebar.com

My glass of wine and those tasty fritters

As I said, I'm dorky and I really liked the ceilings. They're just so cool!