The Wine Cellar - Las Vegas Edition

I was in Las Vegas this week for work and it just so happens that there was a wine bar in my hotel! What luck. I thought that I should spice up my blog a bit and do a Las Vegas edition wine bar review. So, if you find yourself at the Rio Hotel, you’ll find this review very helpful. I also might add that the eye in the sky was probably watching me type my notes. So, I’d like to give a shout out to the Rio Hotel security, if you’re reading this. *waves*

First of all, compared to any of the New York wine bars I’ve been to, this place is HUGE and it feels like you’re underground in a tasting room of a Napa Valley winery. The whole place is designed to look like a wine cellar, go figure. It’s one level below the casino, the ceilings are curved and there are huge dome lights lighting your way through the bar, and there are stone corridors lined with racks that are full of wines that are apparently for sale, although there were no salespeople to help you if you wanted to purchase a bottle.

There is a lot to take in here. The bar itself is super long and separated into sections by stone pillars and there are table areas with oversized leather chairs and couches surrounding coffee tables. Soft jazz is mingled with the sound of the casino upstairs, although it is pretty quiet for Vegas, which I wasn’t expecting. I’m not sure if it’s normally this quiet – perhaps I missed the pre-dinner rush.

The wine list is organized by 21 flights of wine, which are 3 glasses of wines (2 oz each) and cleverly titled. However, this style of organization made the list a little confusing if you’re searching for a wine by region. Prices for these flights range from $14 to $75 and a flight of cognac is $125. You can also order a glass of one of the wines featured in any flight, which are priced between $10 and $85. I’m not in New York anymore. There is a separate bottle list that apparently has over 1,100 wines to choose from, but you have to ask for it.

The wines are from California, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Italy, Spain, Argentina, and Portugal. Interestingly enough, there were no French wines which are usually a staple of wine bar menus. There are also some mystery wines titled “red wine of the day #1”. I would be a little apprehensive ordering one of these because I really don’t like surprises when I’m ordering wine, especially considering that they weren’t inexpensive with the most being $24.

I decided to go budget since the roulette tables hadn’t been too kind to me as of yet, so I went with the $10 glass of the 2007 St Gabriel Auslese Riesling. The menu said that it was 2007, but when the bartender poured my glass I saw that it was actually a 2010. Might want to update that menu, Wine Cellar. The pour was extremely generous. When I thought the bartender was done pouring my glass, he had really just emptied the bottle and turned to the fridge behind him to get a fresh one to top off my glass with. Vegas style, I like it. This Riesling smelled a little bit like mango and tasted like tropical fruits with a touch of honey. It wasn’t too sweet and had a crisp acidity. It had a minerally finish with a lingering flavor of honey. I had actually spotted this wine in the retail area of the bar and got kind of excited and hoped that it was available by the glass at the bar. I like sweet Rieslings and this wine is actually classified into different styles of body and sweetness, with Auslese being the most full bodied styles that can either be sweet or dry. It’s from the Mosel region of Germany, which is famous for its Riesling. Overall this wine was good, but I think it was more of an entry level Riesling, if you will. It would be a good value if you find it in a retail store.

I did have some sticker shock as I was reviewing the menu, but judging by the size of the pour it’s worth it as long as you stay under $20. The pour is probably near 2 glasses worth. The service was a little spotty as I rarely saw the bartender, but he was very friendly when he did come around. The atmosphere is quiet and very wine-focused and a nice little escape from the loudness of Vegas (in every sense of the word). I give The Wine Cellar a rating of 3.6 out of 5 glasses.

The entrance to The Wine Cellar, one level below the casino

The cavernous interior of the bar

My well-filled glass of Riesling

The decorations that are on each section of the bar

Anfora

I stopped by Anfora tonight at 34 8^th Ave. This wine bar was so much fun! It has a cozy lounge setting and the staff is very friendly and helpful.

The bar is dimly lit, Spanish music was playing, and low profile plush leather couches curve their way down the wall. There were cool quilted maps of wine regions on the brick wall as well, which I thought were so cute that I want to find out where they bought them/had them made because I want to get one for myself.

The wine is a teensy bit pricey with glasses being between $10 and $25. Red wines were more expensive as there weren’t many choices under $15. Bottles were between $40 and $600. Most of the wines were from France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Austria. As a side note, I’m starting to see a lot of Gruner Veltliner (from Austria) on wine lists in the past few weeks, where I hadn’t noticed it before. Is it becoming trendy? And oh my goodness they had a bottle of Rioja from 1970, which was the $600 bottle. That must be an incredible wine!

I felt like I should order a Spanish wine because of the setting of the bar, so I ordered a Fino Sherry, which is only made in Jerez, Spain. I’ve recently developed a taste for Sherry and I have to say that it is not as gross as you might think! Yes, it might be a grandma drink, but it can be very delicious and warming to the body and soul especially in the winter. It has a higher alcohol content because it is a fortified wine. Alas, the warming sensation :)

The staff was very friendly and knowledgeable. After I ordered the Fino Sherry, the bartender sat down at my table to tell me that they were out of the Fino Sherry, but brought a bottle of Manzanilla Sherry for me to try to see if I would like that instead. I did like it, so he poured me a full glass and charged me the price of the Fino Sherry, which was only $9.

This Sherry smelled a lot like raw bread dough and almonds. This wine is fermented with lots and lots of yeast in the barrel, which give it that scent as well as its flavor. It tastes very much like almonds or even almond extract and it has a hint of green apple with a good level of acidity. This would actually go really well with salty or fatty foods like duck or the dark meat of a turkey. Can you tell that I’m already planning on having this wine for Thanksgiving? It has a nice long, rich finish which also means that you won’t drink as much of it in one sitting because not only is it higher in alcohol, but the flavor lingers long enough that you’ll probably forget that you haven’t taken a sip in a while.

Anfora is better for groups because the only seating aside from round the bar is at large low profile lounge couches around a coffee table, which probably seat 6 or more people. Not to say that two people on a date couldn’t sit there, but if it got busy you might have to share the couch with some other people which could get awkward pretty quickly. Other than that, it is a very fun place and it draws a younger crowd. The place was starting to fill up even before 6pm, so it looks like a very popular wine bar.

Anfora is sexy, it’s friendly, and they have some very superior wines on their list. The by the glass list could be a little larger if you ask me, but I doubt you’ll go wrong with any wine that you select here. I give this wine bar a rating of 4.5 out of 5 glasses.

The cozy lounge interior of Anfora

My glass of grandma Manzanilla Sherry

The cool quilted map of a wine region (This one was of Champagne, France)