Zampa

I stopped by Zampa at 306 W 13th St tonight to kick-start my aggressive week of wine bar visits. Guests are greeted with “will you be joining us for a glass of wine tonight?” I like this place already.

The bar has a cozy worn-in look and has a welcoming feel. The tables are covered with black, chipped paint (in a chic way!) and there were comfy couch-like benches lining the wall of tables. The bar was pretty unique too, as it was a zig zag shape.

The front windows of the bar have a picture of a pig, which doesn’t lead you to believe that it’s a wine bar. After researching this a bit, I found that they apparently make a great pig roast. In Manhattan? Who knew!

Most of the customers that were in the bar were actually by themselves, like me! It looked like everyone was coming here after work as well and it started to get pretty busy right as 6pm rolled around.

Zampa specializes in Italian wines and they have plenty available on their wine list. The majority of the bottles are also available by the glass, which makes selecting a wine delightfully difficult. Glasses are priced between $10 and $14 and bottles are between $38 and $96. Some red and sparkling wines are available by half bottle as well and these start at $24. It’s a nice way to drink the $96 bottle of 2005 Brunello di Montalcino without paying for an entire bottle!

I ordered the 2009 Nebbiolo delle Langhe from Piemonte. It was pretty tasty and had a lighter body than I was expecting. The wine wasn’t prominent on the nose, but it was very powerful on the palate. It smelled like a big glass of berries and it had great vibrant and smooth flavors of plum and strawberry. It was pretty high in alcohol for a wine holla! and even so, it was well balanced. Bonus points for Zampa: this is one of the few wine bars I’ve been to where I was allowed to sample the wine before the full glass was poured, as is usually standard when ordering a bottle. I’m really liking these little thoughtful touches to service.

Speaking of service, the members of the staff were great. They were all very friendly and I overheard the bartender describing some of the wines well to another customer, although he did break away briefly to sip on a glass of wine. Impromptu tasting?

Zampa is a pretty special place! It’s laid back enough to relax in for a casual glass of wine and hip enough to come here before a night out. I really liked the atmosphere and they’ve picked some great Italian wines for the menu. I’d like to come back here to enjoy some food (and maybe a pig roast) as well! I give it a rating of 4 out of 5 glasses.

See the pig logo?

Zig zag bar

My glass of Nebbiolo