WineBar

Earlier this week, I took advantage of my last “use ‘em or lose ‘em” vacation days and found myself with nothing to do on a sunny weekday afternoon. My first thought, of course, was to go to a wine bar. I decided on WineBar, which is located in the East Village at 65 2^nd Ave.

The bar is very lounge-like, but also very chill and laid back. At least on a Monday afternoon. The interior was dark, with dark wood floors, long high-top black wooden tables, and tall bar stools to match. Accents of red were featured throughout the bar and there was a wall of shelves stocked with bottles of wine. Current popular electronica and trance music playing, which led me to believe that their customer is a bit on the younger side. I don’t’ encounter a wine bar like this too often, so I was pleasantly surprised. I chose to sit at the outdoor seating because it was such a perfect day that it would be a shame to not be outside drinking wine. So, I unfortunately did not get many pictures of the interior of WineBar. Mostly because I felt too awkward to walk inside and start snapping pictures like a wierdo.

Anyhow, glasses of wine were between $8 and $19 and bottles were $32 to $590. There was a very large selection of wines from France, Italy, and Spain, with a small list of wines from other countries. The menu had a map of the country that the wines on the opposite page were from, which I thought was a fun and educational touch. My inner wine nerd I was pleased.

For my first choice of wine, I happened to select a Riesling from the Alsace region of France, which was the only wine that WineBar was sold out of due to their next shipment failing to arrive. So, my second choice was the 2010 Cermeno Malvasia from Spain. It was delivered to my table in a nice large Riedel glass. I always appreciate nice stemware at a wine bar, so this gave WineBar some extra points. The wine tasted like a cool climate wine and had notes of guava and apricot, with a zingy acidity. I was recovering from a cold, so my sniffer wasn’t in tip top shape, but from what I could tell, there were hints of corn kernels and traffic. It was a great wine to enjoy sipping on outside and definitely not a bad choice at $8 a glass.

The waitress was very sweet and checked up on me often. She also didn’t seem to mind returning to my table a few times as I was flipping through the extensive menu trying to decide which wine I wanted to order. She only added to the relaxed atmosphere here.

The atmosphere was actually so pleasant that I decided to order a second glass and this time went with a nonvintage Moscato d’Asti from the Piedmont region of Italy. It smelled like orange peels and the citrus notes were on the palate as well, with flavors of lemon and some honey. Although it wasn’t an amazing Moscato, it was sweet, bubbly, and enjoyable.

The name of the bar is generic and the place is a pretty standard wine bar in Manhattan, but something about it makes it feel a little more young and fun. It appears to be geared towards a younger crowd, and lately, with an interest in wine increasing among 20-somethings, this might just set them apart for that crowd. I give WineBar a rating of 3.8 out of 5 glasses.

Like I said, this was the only picture I could get of the inside without feeling awkward 

My glass of Malvasia

The list of Italian wines accompanied by a map of Italy

My glass of Moscato d'Asti