CT Wine Bar

Last week, I went to CT Wine Bar. It’s located at 1728 2^nd Ave, which happens to have been the previous location of another wine bar that closed down. Was it the location that killed the bar and is this one doomed to follow in its footsteps? What I discovered wasn’t that dramatic, but I did notice some very…curious things about this place.

“Wow” is the first thought I had when I walked in. The place is teeny tiny. If you don’t include the outdoor seating it could maybe seat 12 people around the high top table and the counters along the wall. And the vibe is very, shall we say, interesting. Pop music from the early 2000s was playing along with a few Lady Gaga songs. I believe this was the first time I’ve heard such a playlist in a wine bar. This wasn’t the interesting part, however. The owners are trying way too hard to make sure you know that it’s a wine bar. Corks are everywhere. And I do mean everywhere. They’re inlaid in the table tops, the mirrors and pictures are framed with them, the ceiling is lined with them, you can hang your coat on one near the door, and in the window sit huge vases filled with…you guessed it – corks. There are also vintage corkscrews in frames to shake things up a bit. Talk about overwhelming! I couldn’t tell if they were going for a campy feel or if they’re just really confused. I think CT just needs a little direction, which I’ll get to later.

Alright, on to the wine. Glasses were between $9 and $12 and most of them were $9 or $10. Carafes were available at $24 to $30 and bottles started at $32 and as expensive as $90. White and red wines were divided into categories that briefly describe their body and flavor. No vintages were listed on the menu, which is an unfortunate trend that I’ve been seeing lately. I ordered a glass of the Muscadet Sevre et Maine. It was decent. It smelled like lemon and tasted the same with hint of toast, but it was a little too acidic.

The service was very friendly, prompt, and even a little chatty. For the most part though, the bartenders just talked to each other or played on their phones.

Overall, I was not impressed by CT Wine Bar. I’ve had better wine and I’ve been to better wine bars. The atmosphere was just so odd. If they want to go for a campy vibe, they need to change the music to something more indie or something drastic like 60s music. The décor needs to be severely tamed down and replaced with something less obviously wine related or vintage posters that subtly include wine. What they have now is just too tacky and misses the mark of what a wine bar should be. Sorry guys! For now, I give CT Wine Bar a rating of 2.8 out of 5 glasses.

Cork art

The cork bar

My glass and minicarafe of Muscadet

Update on Monday, May 20, 2013 by drinkofthevine

CT Wine Bar has since closed and there is a new wine bar in its place. Will the curse continue? I'll find out soon!

Xai Xai

Yesterday, my sister in law and I decided to go wine bar hopping and chose 51^st St for our adventure because there are two wine bars across the street from one another. Our first stop of the evening was Xai Xai, which is at 369 W 51^st St.

The bar is decently spacious and features modern African style décor. It has stone floors, huge wooden columns made to look like trees, wooden beams on the ceiling, vases of reeds placed around the bar, rustic chandeliers, and of course a huge wine rack on either wall. It was very fresh looking. The atmosphere of Xai Xai was quiet at first, but it started to fill up fast with a loud 30-something happy hour crowd. It had a good energy.

All of the wines at Xai Xai are from South Africa and the menu lists each of these wines by grape variety, although the vintages for the wines are not shown. You can order three different sizes of wine here: a glass, a carafe, or a bottle. Glasses are well priced between $5 and $14, carafes, which look like they hold about 2 glasses of wine, are $11 to $19, and bottles start at $32 and the most expensive is $120. I had decided to order the Six Hands Pinotage, but the waitress had not come over to my table since pouring my water. Normally, I would wave like a madwoman try to get her attention, but since I was reviewing the place, I decided to wait it out and see how long it actually took for her to come over on her own free will. Maybe she thought I was waiting for someone. I was, but I hadn’t told her that. Then my sister in law arrived and after several minutes the waitress still hadn’t stopped by our table. She was helping people at the other tables in the bar, but apparently we were seated in the invisible section because after a grand total of 20 minutes, she finally appeared and took our order. What the heck? I thought it was pretty ridiculous.

My glass of long awaited Pinotage smelled like dried strawberries and tasted like blackberry. It was quite full bodied, but it tasted a little overripe. It was pleasant enough though, especially with the wedge of Humboldt Fog cheese that we were snacking on.

Xai Xai has very well priced wines and good happy hour specials. It has a good energy, but the service, or lack thereof, really detracted from my experience here. I give this place a rating of 3 out of 5 glasses. I would suggest you go across the street to our second stop of the night instead…

The slightly blurry (sorry) exterior of Xai Xai

A little South African flair

My glass of Pinotage