DOCG - Las Vegas Edition

I was in Las Vegas for work last week and fortunately found some time to review another wine bar there. I visited DOCG in The Cosmopolitan hotel with some coworkers before we went out to dinner. (Thanks for tagging along on my review guys!)

I thought the name DOCG was very clever because it is the abbreviation that appears on bottles of Italian wines that meet the highest quality standards: Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita. Wines with this highest level of classification are actually tasted and approved by licensed government officials before being bottled. Needless to say, my expectations for the wines served at this bar were pretty high!

The Cosmopolitan hotel is incredibly beautiful and I would expect its wine bar to meet that standard, and it does. The interior of the bar was that of a trendy, rustic Italian café. The wood floors, brick walls, exposed beams on the ceiling, and the brick oven working hard in the back of the restaurant added to the Italian vibe as well. The glass walls of the entrance gave it a modern edge to remind you that you’re still in Vegas :) There were wooden plaques of red and white wine names hanging on the wall behind the bar, which I assumed was a list of the wines available. Having decided that I could go for a glass of Barbera, I searched the menu for it only to be disappointed. It wasn’t there. Major sad face. There were plenty of other wines to choose from, however and each of the wines available by the glass had tasting notes so that you would know what to expect. While I was expecting DOCG to serve only Italian wine, and there certainly is a fantastic selection of Italian wines, there is an expansive list of wines from around the world to choose from as well, including an entire page of the menu devoted to Chardonnay from the USA.

The wines at DOCG are expensive. Glasses start at $10 and the most expensive is $24. Bottles are priced between $45 and $14,000. No, I didn’t accidentally add an extra zero. A 1982 Chateau Lafite Rothschild from the Pauillac region of France takes the prize for the biggest price tag that I’ve seen at a wine bar so far. I decided on a glass of the 2009 Il Paggio Toscana Chianti. The pour was a little on the small side, although it was served in a mini carafe. If you’re a follower of my blog you know how much I love the little touches like this. The wine glasses were big with plenty of room for swirling. My glass of Chianti was wonderful and it smelled like cherry. The cherry appeared on the palate as well and was savory and smooth. It could definitely be enjoyed by itself as well as with a big plate of pasta. The wine had a long finish, which developed really nicely.

The service here was great. The staff at DOCG are very friendly and talkative and the bartenders chatted with our group for a while. They checked on us often and our drink orders were brought to us right away. With so many wines to choose from and such a comfortable atmosphere I felt like I could hang out here for the rest of the night!

While DOCG does actually seem to be more of a restaurant than a wine bar, I enjoyed the atmosphere, service, and of course the delicious vino. It is quite expensive though and I would have liked to see more value wines on the menu. If you’ve won big on the casino floor, definitely give this place a try. I give DOCG a rating of 3.8 out of 5 glasses.The entrance of DOCG in The Cosmopolitan Hotel

Plaque of Lies!

My yummy glass of Chianti

Vino 313

I visited Vino 313, which is cleverly named for its location at 31^st and 3^rd. I was impressed with this place right away. The service was very prompt and as soon as I removed my layers of cold weather garb and sat down, the waitress arrived at my table. Once I finished looking over the menu, there she was! The attention was noticed and certainly appreciated.

The place was pretty empty when I arrived, but it started to pick up around 7 and was about half full. The people here seem to mostly be on the south side of 30 and some were here with friends and I did notice some couples on dates.

At first glance the wines look a little expensive for what they are: I recognized a Pinot Noir from the list because I buy it on occasion. It's $13 a glass here and while it is good, I know a bottle of it retails for a touch less than that. So, with that being my guide I decided to avoid the less expensive wines thinking they would be a bit sub-par. Glasses are between $9 and $14 and bottles ranged from $34 to $250. There were quite a few US wines from California, Oregon, and Washington. Lots of French wines, some wines were from Italy, and a small selection from other European countries.

After being disappointed with the reds that I've had at wine bars lately, I decided to be a big spender to order the $13 glass of 2007 Patrick Lesec Syrah from the Rhone Valley in hopes that I could enjoy a delicious glass of wine. Sigh....disappointed by a wine again. The Syrah smelled ok; like chocolate and I seemed to notice a hint of olive-like scents...hmm. It tasted like blackberry and had a touch of that olive flavor. It was very rich and medium bodied. It would have been better with food.

They even had a nice looking, albeit, overpriced list of fortified and dessert wines. Glasses were $10 to $25. I've had enjoyable sherrys that were less than the price of one glass here, same goes for the Port. Le sigh. My husband was out finishing up some Christmas shopping so I would have had time to enjoy a little glass of sweet wine, but honestly with these prices I wasn't tempted in the least. Maybe I'll just pick up a bottle on my way home instead.

The atmosphere at Vino 313 is nice and feels like your average Murray hill cafe. Upbeat, jazzy music was playing. The decor was nothing special: orangey walls, some tall booths, and standard wooden cafe tables.

I like the friendly atmosphere and service of Vino 313, but their wines aren't quite the value I would have expected. This would be a great place to enjoy some lunch with a side of wine, but from my experience there, judged solely as a wine bar I would give this place a rating of 3.4 out of 5 glasses.

The cafe vibe of the bar