8th St Wine Cellar

I went to 8^th St Wine Cellar tonight. It’s located on the lower level of 28 W 8^th St, so you could definitely walk by it without even knowing a cool wine bar was lurking below. It’s dark and “cellary” inside and there is lounge and jazz music playing. I even thought I could hear some Sinatra over the chatter of the other customers in the bar. While it is a casual lounge setting, the bar has a subtly seductive atmosphere.

They have a very long list of wines, which were all priced between $27 and $98 for a bottle and $8 to $12 for a glass. Half bottles were also available starting at $21. 8^th St Wine Cellar has great happy hour specials as well – between 4 and 7pm, certain bottles are $18 and the red and white wines of the day are $5 a glass. Solid deal.

After browsing the menu and deciding that my palate was craving a well rounded fruity wine, I ordered the 2007 Ayana Pinot Noir from Sonoma County in California, which is my favorite region for Pinot Noir. Once I received the wine I immediately noticed something was wrong with the aroma. It smelled very strongly of almonds and a little oxidized, similar to what sherry smells like. Since this wine is definitely not supposed to smell like this, it most likely means that the wine was stored improperly; either in too hot a temperature or in fluctuating temperate which can actually cause the cork to shrink the tiniest bit, allowing oxygen to come into contact with the wine. I gave the wine the benefit of the doubt thinking that maybe it was just a misleading aroma, so I took a sip. Yep, definitely out of condition. It tasted very nutty and I was detecting some strong notes of vinegar. Guh-ross. I always hate to do this, but I knew I really would not be able to finish the wine, so when the waitress came to my table to check on me, I told her that the wine smelled and tasted like it was bad. She apologized and asked if I wanted a glass of a different wine. I ordered the 2009 Terra Andina Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile instead. I’m glad she was so understanding. Sometimes when I get a wine that is questionable at a restaurant I’m always hesitant to ask for another because more often than not the waiter doesn’t believe me. But the nose knows! The waitress brought my glass back to the bar to tell the bartender and a few minutes after my fresh glass of wine arrived, the bartender walked by my table and told me that I was right about the wine. She then brought two small glasses of wine over to the waitress and had her smell and taste the two different wines to show her the difference between a faulty wine and a wine that is in condition. I inspired a training session!

The Cabernet that I ordered instead was much better! It smelled like blackberries and was very rich. The wine tasted like ripe red fruits and was very delicious. It was smooth and not as tannic as some Cabernets can be. It was very easy to drink. I’m actually going to try to find a wine store that has this wine so that I can pick up a couple bottles of it – it would make a good everyday wine.

8^th St Wine Cellar was really cool and I had a good experience there. They have tasty wines, as long as you watch out for the oxidized ones (but that could happen anywhere), and while the staff was very accommodating, it wasn’t the most outstanding wine bar I’ve been to. It’s still a great place though and if you’re in the area, it’s worth a stop. I give 8^th St Wine Cellar a rating of 3.8 out of 5 glasses.

The unassuming entrance to 8th St Wine Cellar

My tasty and non-oxidized glass of Cabernet Sauvignon :)



Wine & Roses

I stopped in Wine & Roses last night after a long day to unwind with a glass of wine. The bar is located at 286 Columbus Ave, just off of 74^th St. The bar is aptly named, as there are roses in wine bottle vases on many of the tables and on the bar.

Wine & Roses is beautiful. It’s on the small side, but the space is well organized so you seem not to notice its size after a while. The tables and the bar have pretty marble tops and the base of the bar is tiled with a really cool backsplash of sorts. Squishy, comfortable leather benches provide seating for the tall tables and the bar is surrounded by oversized leather chairs and stools. The bar had a nice glow coming from the huge red lights hanging above the bar as well as from the little candles on each table. It has a very warm and romantic atmosphere and every detail is thought out, right down to the lacey curtains and the collage of mirrors on the wall. Like I said – it’s beautiful.

Their wine list is selected very well and from the looks of it they have some very delicious wines. However, they are expensive. Glasses are priced between $11 and $18, and from what I can tell, while you can get a great glass of wine I don’t think there are any surprise good value wines here. Bottles are $30 to $400 and the wines are from the major wine regions of Europe and the US. Wine & Roses also have flight options all of which are $21. It includes tasting sizes of four different wines and there are four flight options to choose from.

I ordered the 2007 Hugel Muscat from the Alsace region of France. It was medium bodied and tasted like grapefruit and a little bit of lychee, so it had a brief bitter flavor but it was smooth. The wine smelled very similar to its flavors with the bitterness coming through on the nose as well. It would be a good fall or winter wine, at least for me. I tend only to crave sweet white wines in the summer.

This bar is very wine focused, for obvious reasons. But unlike some wine bars, you can definitely tell that this is one as soon as you walk in. Their wine list is great, albeit expensive, but not overpriced for the quality of vino that you’re drinking. I even noticed that the bar’s sommelier teaches wine classes. I couldn’t see what day and time these classes were held, though. Eyesight fail. Also, I’m not sure if every wine bar has its own sommelier to select the wines for the menu or if this was the first bar that I’ve been to that does. Either way, I like the fact that they have one.

I actually felt a little underdressed while I was here because the waitresses were all in black dresses and the rest of the customers were casual, yet sharply dressed and many appeared to have come from work. Next time I’ll leave the leggings at home :)

Although Wine & Roses is a little pricey, they do have some really great wines available on their menu and the atmosphere is really posh and sexy. Is this my favorite wine bar in the city? Maybe not, but it is pretty awesome. I give this place a rating of 3.9 out of 5 glasses.

Wine & Roses

My glass of Muscat

The cool lights that give the bar a soft glow :)

I was trying to be as creative as I could with an iPhone camera