Cava - Portsmouth, NH Edition

This past weekend, the hubby and I were in Portsmouth, NH visiting some friends and what do you think happened to catch my eye while touring the town? A cool wine bar tucked away in an alley, of course. I made it a point to stop in and enjoy a bottle all to myself with friends at Cava, which is located at 10 Commercial Alley.

One of the more unique things about this wine bar is that it has a stylish outdoor area. During the warm months, the hostess actually has a booth outside to greet and seat you before you even get to the door, so it has a friendly vibe right away. The outdoor space is just....freaking cute. I felt like I was in a swanky garden. There are wooden tables of various heights enclosed by a little fence and the front wall of the building is what can only be called a "living wall". Planters are somehow attached to the wall vertically and though it was a little sparse since it was early May, it is alive with many green things in the summer.

Cava has a large selection of wines, with many from Italy, Spain, Washington, and California. Glasses are priced between $8 and $88 (yes, $88 is the new record for most expensive glass I've seen) and Cava also offers a tasting option for each of these wines, which are 2.5 oz glasses priced between $3.50 and $16.50. Bottles are priced very reasonably, starting at $28 and up to $200, although the majority of the bottles were in the $30 to $40 range. The menu also lists the retail price of each bottle so that you are able to see how minimal of a markup Cava is taking on their wines. I've never seen this at a wine bar, or any bar/restaurant for that matter. It's nice to feel confident that you're not being swindled. Thumbs up, Cava. We decided to order a bottle of 2010 Villa Donna Barbera and the 2006 Torre Migliori Montepulciano.

The Montepulciano smelled a bit peppery, tasted like strawberry, and had a very mild acidity. Most Italian wines are higher in acid to pair with the commonly acidic Italian foods, but this one was mild enough that you could enjoy it by itself. The Barbera was more aromatic and smelled like sweet dried strawberries and had a lively acidity. It was a little on the sweet side and it had notes on the palate similar to the nose. Both of the wines were pretty decent for being less than $40 a bottle.

The service was incredibly friendly and several people came by our table to frequently refill our glasses and check to see if we needed anything else. I should also add patient to the list of the staff's qualitites. Our waiter had to come back a few different times to see if we had made a wine selection, as we had spent more time chatting rather than deciding. Oops!

Good wine, good service, and good company. I was very happy with my experience at Cava :) I give it a rating of 4 out of 5 glasses.

The outside of Cava and the living wall

My glass of Barbera on the left, Montepulciano on the right

Bottiglieria Moscatelli - Milan, Italy Edition

Bonjourno! This is my first international wine bar review! I had the wonderful opportunity to travel to Milan for work and I thought it would be the perfect chance to visit an authentic Italian wine bar! I decided to go to Bottiglieria Moscatelli, which is located at Corso Garibaldi 93.

The place was very busy when I arrived; all the tables that I could see were taken and there were several people waiting around the small bar in the front. It’s a self-serve place essentially. You order your wine and pay for it right away (cash only, I should note), grab some food from the small unsanitary buffet in the front of the bar, then find a table to sit at. There are random little decorations and pictures all over the salmon colored walls, small areas for seating, and little tables cramped close to one another. So much so that if I could understand Italian I would have heard exactly what was going on in the lives of the people around me. Not necessarily a bad feature of this wine bar. It had a very friendly and casual feel to it and the cramped setting only added to that.

I didn’t see any menus aside from the chalkboard of happy hour wines. Instead, there were bottles sitting on the bar and on shelves behind the bar, each with a little tag hanging from it showing the grape variety, vintage, and price per glass. From what I could see, the happy hour wines were 8 euro and regular glasses were priced up to 10 euro. I didn’t see any menus for bottles, so I’m assuming you can only order glasses of wine. It wasn’t a very organized method. Perhaps it encouraged more conversation with the bartender and other patrons. Very Italian, no?

I ordered a glass of the Primitivo from the happy hour menu. There was no vintage listed on the chalkboard menu, but although I knew of it, I had never tried it before so I thought this would be a great time to do so. The Primitivo grape has been grown in Southern Italy since the 1870s and is actually the same grape that is used to produce Zinfandel. I was curious to see how the grape differed from its U.S. grown relative.

The wine was served in a slightly chipped and noticeably scratched glass, which I don’t think I’ve ever encountered at wine bars in the U.S. I made my way through the narrow bar in search of a free table and sat down at the last one available. The Primitivo smelled herbal, almost like the sharp and mild bitter scent of tomato leaves and it had a hint of cherry. It was a very flavorful wine! I was hit by a strong dried strawberry flavor and it had a warm kick due to the high alcohol content. It was a great wine to drink after wandering around Milan in the cold rain for much of the day. I enjoyed the wine so much that I went to a wine store later that week and purchased a bottle of Primitivo to take home with me. We’ll see how it ages in my wine fridge….or how long my patience lasts before I pop it open!

This place is unlike any wine bars I’ve been to in the States. It’s very casual, self-serve, and friendly. Great selection of Italian wines, most if not all of which are probably not exported to the U.S. If you find yourself in Milan and want a truly authentic Italian wine bar experience, stop in. Since it is very different from the type of bar I’m used to reviewing, I found it difficult to compare and rate this place. But based on the wines and the bustling Italian café atmosphere, I give Bottiglieria Moscatelli a rating of 3.4 out of 5 glasses bicchieri.A welcome sight on a rainy evening

A couple of the wines with their by the glass prices attached

My glass of Primitivo

The charming interior of Bottiglieria Moscatelli