Vintry Wine & Whiskey

I visited Vintry Wine & Whiskey at 57 Stone St last night. My brother in law was in town, so I decided to take him along on one of my reviews! First of all, this bar specializes in wine AND whiskey? This is awesome. When I’m not drinking wine, I’m likely drinking whiskey so combining my two favorites in one place is perfection.

Being so near the financial district, Vintry draws a lot of the suited-up after work crowd and it gets very busy. Luckily, it’s open early if you choose to go before the prime happy hour time. I also noticed that they are open for brunch on the weekends, which I’m sure will be much quieter than a Thursday night.

The menu has a wide selection of carefully selected wines from France, Spain, Italy, and the US (mostly California and Oregon). Glasses start at $8 and can be as much as $35. They also have a taste option where you can order a 2 oz glass of any wine, which is around half the price of a full glass. Bottles are between $40 and $175.

For my first glass, I ordered the 2005 Vina Alberdi Rioja Alta Reserva for $11. And I must say, this was the best $11 glass of wine I think I’ve ever had. The wine smelled SO good. I really loved the nose – it smelled like cedar and wet leaves, which is a sign that the wine is maturing. I could have sat there swirling and smelling the wine all night, but I figured I should probably drink it too. It did not disappoint! It had vegetal notes and a black cherry finish. It had a good level of acidity too, which means that this wine is going to continue to age well. This is important to know because I plan on buying a bottle or two of this wine. It was really fantastic. Like I said, the best $11 glass of wine I’ve had.

Considering that the Rioja was a great value, I wanted to try another wine to make sure that I wasn’t going to rave about how amazingly priced their wines are and have one of my loyal readers stop by and have a disappointing experience. So, I ordered a 2009 Kabinett Riesling from Germany (Mosel). It smelled like a stone fruit, but I couldn’t pinpoint exactly which one it was – it might have been white peach. It also smelled mineraly and almost chalky, which is a result of the soil that the grapes were grown in and is typical of a good Riesling. It was delicately sweet, tasted like peach, and was much more acidic that I usually expect from a Riesling, but it was good. The acidity gave it a little zing and made the wine very refreshing. I would definitely order this wine again.

The atmosphere of Vintry is part lounge and part cellar. They have wine bottles displayed in glass cases on the wall, which are illuminated with a dim light and the large tables in the bar have corks underneath the glass tabletop. The bar has an old school class to it and I think Don Draper would have come here if this was 1963 and if he were also not a fictional character.

The space is small, but well organized so that people can pack into this bar without it getting overwhelming. If you don’t mind the busy scene of this bar, find a seat in the front corner, tune out the loudness, and get lost in your glass of wine. You will love this place.

I will absolutely return to Vintry. This place has fantastic wines from great vintages at affordable prices and plenty of whiskey to choose from. If you’re looking for an after work scene for a glass of wine this is the place to go. I heart this wine bar. I give Vintry Wine & Whiskey a rating of 4.8 out of 5 glasses.

The alluring entrance to Vintry Wine & Whiskey

My amazing glass of Rioja

Getting standy