La Barrique

Last night I visited La Barrique at 38 W 39^th St. My experience there was…interesting.

Let me start by saying that upon walking in, the bar is up to par with what your average wine bar should look like. It has a cool tin ceiling, it’s dimly lit, and it has wine themed décor such as a two oak barrels serving as the base for a table in the front of the bar. There is even a cute little bistro area in the back if you want to have a nice meal there.

And that’s about where the good experience stops.

I took a seat at one of the small tables close to the bar and waited for service…and waited…and waited…and waited. I didn’t even have a menu to peruse through. I chose a midtown wine bar for the sake of convenience, so my expectations were not that high to begin with, but it was still disappointing. The bartender did come by eventually and I received the wine list. It looked pretty good. There were a lot of French wines from quality regions and pretty well priced. The menu listed the grape used in the wine, which doesn’t usually happen with French wines. Typically, only the village or region is shown on the label and you need to know which grape variety is predominantly grown in that area in order to know what to expect. So, the menu was definitely helpful in that area. Glasses are priced between $9 and $12 and bottles of the same wines started at $38.

I ordered the Crozes-Hermitage, which is 100% Syrah, grown in the Northern Rhone Valley of France. It smelled rich and a little bit like chocolate and red fruits. And it packed a kick! This wine was high in alcohol and I could feel it warming my chest. Probably not the most well balanced wine, but it was almost necessary after the day I had. This wine would be better paired with a high protein meal, such as a rare steak, which would mask the tannins and higher alcohol of the wine. It had a cherry flavor and was full bodied. A good fall wine. The pours are very healthy here too.

Now, on to the weirdness. As a preface to the following criticism of this place, I enjoy a good dive bar, pub, sports bar, etc. and can kick back and enjoy beer and football with a side of nachos. But c’mon. A wine bar needs to have at least a little sophistication, right? The story continues…After a while, only groups of middle aged, very loud and boisterous, casual business men were in the bar. I haven’t seen this type of crowd in a wine bar…well, ever, really. And I quickly discovered why they were there. Unlike any wine bar I’ve ever been to, the bartenders were bouncing around to the classic 80s music that was playing, singing along into wine bottles, and began to choreograph a dance for the men, who in turn suggested that they should dance on the bar. Thankfully the girls didn’t, but they continued to flirt with the men for tips and one dude even tossed an ice cube from his drink at one of the girls who squealed and threw one back at him. I didn’t realize that Coyote Ugly had opened up a wine bar. This place was definitely not classy and I apparently was not the only one who thought so. Every other female in the bar was seated in the bistro in the back of the bar, far away from the awkwardness that was blossoming. It may look like a wine bar, but the atmosphere is that of a trashy pub. Weird, weird, weird. I actually started to feel bad for the wine that was being served there. I found myself wishing that the pour had not been so large so that I could finish my wine and get out of there.

I was not impressed with La Barrique and it was honestly a lot a little strange. Whether or not I was just there on a bad night, I shall never know. As for now, I give this place a rating of 1.5 out of 5 glasses. Sorry guys, class up the joint a bit if you want to call yourselves a wine bar. Gross.

I think not.

My glass of Crozes-Hermitage that I ultimately felt sorry for

Just a sampling of the fine men at La Barrique

The bistro in the back where all the women seem to have relocated

Update on Tuesday, June 11, 2013 by drinkofthevine

Hallelujah, La Barrique has closed! The plague is over.

Wine & Roses

I stopped in Wine & Roses last night after a long day to unwind with a glass of wine. The bar is located at 286 Columbus Ave, just off of 74^th St. The bar is aptly named, as there are roses in wine bottle vases on many of the tables and on the bar.

Wine & Roses is beautiful. It’s on the small side, but the space is well organized so you seem not to notice its size after a while. The tables and the bar have pretty marble tops and the base of the bar is tiled with a really cool backsplash of sorts. Squishy, comfortable leather benches provide seating for the tall tables and the bar is surrounded by oversized leather chairs and stools. The bar had a nice glow coming from the huge red lights hanging above the bar as well as from the little candles on each table. It has a very warm and romantic atmosphere and every detail is thought out, right down to the lacey curtains and the collage of mirrors on the wall. Like I said – it’s beautiful.

Their wine list is selected very well and from the looks of it they have some very delicious wines. However, they are expensive. Glasses are priced between $11 and $18, and from what I can tell, while you can get a great glass of wine I don’t think there are any surprise good value wines here. Bottles are $30 to $400 and the wines are from the major wine regions of Europe and the US. Wine & Roses also have flight options all of which are $21. It includes tasting sizes of four different wines and there are four flight options to choose from.

I ordered the 2007 Hugel Muscat from the Alsace region of France. It was medium bodied and tasted like grapefruit and a little bit of lychee, so it had a brief bitter flavor but it was smooth. The wine smelled very similar to its flavors with the bitterness coming through on the nose as well. It would be a good fall or winter wine, at least for me. I tend only to crave sweet white wines in the summer.

This bar is very wine focused, for obvious reasons. But unlike some wine bars, you can definitely tell that this is one as soon as you walk in. Their wine list is great, albeit expensive, but not overpriced for the quality of vino that you’re drinking. I even noticed that the bar’s sommelier teaches wine classes. I couldn’t see what day and time these classes were held, though. Eyesight fail. Also, I’m not sure if every wine bar has its own sommelier to select the wines for the menu or if this was the first bar that I’ve been to that does. Either way, I like the fact that they have one.

I actually felt a little underdressed while I was here because the waitresses were all in black dresses and the rest of the customers were casual, yet sharply dressed and many appeared to have come from work. Next time I’ll leave the leggings at home :)

Although Wine & Roses is a little pricey, they do have some really great wines available on their menu and the atmosphere is really posh and sexy. Is this my favorite wine bar in the city? Maybe not, but it is pretty awesome. I give this place a rating of 3.9 out of 5 glasses.

Wine & Roses

My glass of Muscat

The cool lights that give the bar a soft glow :)

I was trying to be as creative as I could with an iPhone camera