Terroir Tribeca

I’ve heard the name mentioned several times among my friends, so I decided that there was no time like the present to visit Terroir. For my readers who aren’t shameless wine geeks like myself, the term “terroir” refers to the climate, soil, and topography of the particular vineyard a grape comes from. The bar is located at 24 Harrison St in Tribeca and they also have another location in the East Village, which I will stop by soon to compare it to the Tribeca location.

The place was a little hipster-y, had an industrial yet rustic feel to it, and the hanging globe lights were reminiscent of 1960s mod style. Although it wasn’t quite as cozy of a venue as I normally like in a wine bar, it was very cool and was busy. Lots and lots of people were at the bar while I was there. Young, middle-aged, children, you name it and they were there. I know why it was busy too; they have great happy hour specials! Probably not for the children though There was a selection of about 10 to 12 wines that were all $6 per glass between 4 and 6pm. The regular prices of the same glasses are between $9 and $13. This is a great reason to come in early. They also give out a free glass of sherry if you order it before 6. Amazing. There is even an option to order a 3 oz “taste” of any of the by the glass wines (excluding the happy hour wines), which were half the price of a full glass.

Their menu is extensive. Most of the wines are from France, Italy, Spain, California, and New York. Not only does the menu have lots of wine selections, but it’s basically a binder stuffed full of witty anecdotes and articles as well. It provided some light reading material as I sat alone sipping on a glass of wine :)

All of the white wine on the menu is Riesling. Not just for the happy hour special, but all white wine because Terroir has declared this summer to be The Summer of Riesling. One of the bartenders even had a fake tattoo around his neck that said “Riesling”….at least I hope it was fake. While bottles of other white wine varietals are available, Riesling is all you have to choose from if you just want a glass. Luckily, this wine varies a bit and can be either dry or off-dry (sweet), so you can probably find a variety of Riesling that will suit your taste.

Bottles of Riesling start at $40 and the most expensive is $244. The red wine bottles also start at around $40 with the most expensive being $795, which sets the record once again for the most expensive bottle I’ve seen at a wine bar. Whoa! Hold on, there was another bottle that was hidden deep within the menu that was….drumroll please….$1900. Yes, you read that correctly, $1900. It was older than I am a 1985 Sassicaia Tenuta San Guido from Tuscany and is hailed as the greatest Italian wine ever made. I would like to try this someday. Would anyone like to donate $1900 to my cause?

After browsing the menu, I wasn’t sure which happy hour red wine I should order, so I asked the waitress for her recommendation and she described the wines very well. I chose a 2008 Chateau Musar “Musar Jeune”, which is from Lebanon. I’ve never had a Lebanese wine before, so I thought I would see how it adds up. It wasn’t very prominent on the nose, but I did detect a hint of mocha. While it did have some rich plum flavors that were especially noticeable in the finish, it was a little high on the acidity and it overpowered the fruitiness a bit, at least initially.

I noticed a nice touch to the service – usually bars will have you taste the wine before they serve a bottle to make sure the quality of the wine is up to par, but at Terroir they let you taste the wine before you order even just a glass.

Ok, I had to try some Riesling, right? Since the happy hour special was over, I chose the 3 oz taste of the 2009 Hermann J Weimer Late Harvest Riesling from the Finger Lakes region of NY state. I knew this was going to be on the sweeter side, as late harvest grapes contain much more sugar since they’ve had a longer period of sun exposure. All I have to say is “om nom nom” This was a fantastic Riesling! It was off-dry, so it had some residual sugar. I’ve been developing a taste for sweet white wines and this one has definitely become one of my favorites. It smelled lightly of apples and tasted like honey. It had a buttery texture and the acidity was high but well integrated. Can I drink this wine forever? I’m going to find out where I can purchase a bottle. Better yet, I want to take a weekend trip to the Finger Lakes, find this winery, and buy a case. Alas, it is indeed The Summer of Riesling.

Although their website kind of accosted my eyes when I checked it for their hours today, I really did like the bar. It was fun, busy, had great happy hour prices, the staff was very helpful, and there were tons of wines to choose from, especially if you want Riesling ;) I give Terroir Tribeca a rating of 4.5 out of 5 glasses.

Terroir Tribeca

Terroir Happy Hour!

It's true

Heidi's House

How absolutely charming! Heidi’s House is small and adorable. It’s located at 308 E 78^th St and like the name suggests, it feels like you’re in someone’s home.

Flowers were everywhere; there are flower beds outside of the bar, they’re on every little table, and at the end of the bar there is an arrangement of a glass lamp, old pitchers, and more flowers. Jazz music was playing, ceiling fans were on, and the windows in the front of the bar were open, letting in fresh air and Upper East Side neighborhood noises. Everything about this place is homey and cozy! It’s so quaint and I really loved the atmosphere.

The bartender was very friendly and right away he let me know that he wasn’t the “wine guy” of the bar, so he offered to let me try anything I liked before I ordered. I haven’t encountered that at a wine bar before, or any bar for that matter. Maybe some places will allow you sample, but this is the first time it’s been offered to me without asking! Perfect, I can avoid ordering a wine that ends up being not so fantastic. The bartender would strike up a little conversation and ask if there was anything I needed pretty often and he was generally a really sweet man.

After sampling it, I ordered the 2008 Herbauges Muscadet for $8. For the price, this was a very good Muscadet. It smelled a little lemony, but I couldn’t quite get a good read on the aroma for some reason. The flavor had soft notes of apricot and a touch of lemon. The acidity was the perfect level to make your mouth water just enough and the flavor lingered with a nice, warm finish. I thought it was an excellent value.

The glasses could be taller to allow for swirling the wine a bit. I actually had to wait until I drank about half of my glass before I could swirl and sniff properly. But that is the only suggestion I have for Heidi’s House.

Prices are very good, with glasses being between $6 and $15 and bottles starting at $20 up to mid $50. Considering that I had such a good glass of Muscadet for $8, I don’t think it would be too risky to assume that all of the wines on the list will be great. This was the most affordable wine bar I’ve been to yet. I also noted that they source local organic food and ingredients as often as possible. Awesome! I can always appreciate that.

Heidi herself came in later and she was loud, funny, and friendly. She knew some of the customers and sat down to chat with them for a while and even came over to my table to see what I was drinking and shared some stories about her cat. She has definitely made this a very personable bar and I really wish I lived across the street because I would be in here all the time.

It was slow while I was there, but from listening to conversations, I gathered that the bar gets very busy around 8pm and is sometimes packed (and probably standy). If you want to experience the homey feel, you should probably go there before it gets too crazy.

I have nothing but love for this place. I’m usually pretty quiet on my reviews, but this was the first time that I gushed about how much I love the place to the owner of a bar. It’s really that good. I want to go back, like right now. I rate Heidi’s House 4.6 out of 5 glasses. 

Adorable

The inviting and homey interior of Heidi's House!

My glass of Muscadet