Drink of the Vine

Entries in 4 to 5 glasses (38)

Monday
Jan022012

Medi Wine Bar

Happy New Year, my dear readers! I made my final wine bar visit of 2011 several days ago at Medi Wine Bar, located at 811 9th Ave in the neighborhood of Hell’s Kitchen.

Wow, this place was packed when I arrived and I actually had to wait a few minutes for a lonely little table for 1 to open up. This is either a testament to their food or their wine. We shall see which one!

Wines were between $9 and $15 for a glass and $34 to $165 for a bottle, although the average price of a bottle was in the $40 to $50 range. Some wines were available in half bottles as well. The majority of the wines were from the major European regions and I was happy to see that there were wines from lesser known regions as well, such as Slovenia, Israel, and Turkey. I ordered the 2009 Segals Fusion Cabernet-Merlot-Syrah blend from Israel. Now, I don’t particularly have a lot of faith in triple blends, but I do like Israeli wines when I’m able to find them at a wine bar, so I decided to take a chance. This is either going to be terrible or delightful.

It took a little while for my wine to arrive once I’d ordered it. I’m hoping it was only because all of the tables were full and they were very busy. But my goat cheese fritters actually came out first (I saw them on the menu and couldn’t resist. I’m a sucker for goat cheese….or just cheese in general.) Once my wine did arrive, I anxiously took a good whiff of it. It smelled like chocolate and cassis and almost a little bit syrupy like the aroma of port. The flavor was surprisingly enjoyable. It was a little heavier on the Cabernet in the blend and it tasted like dried strawberries. It could have used a little more acidity though. It wasn’t an outstanding wine, but it was tasty and not a bad value at $11 a glass.

The décor at Medi is one of my favorites that I’ve seen in a wine bar. It achieves coziness without sacrificing the space of the dining area. The walls are white painted brick with cool wooden benches lining one side of the room, the lighting is warm with the exception of the shock of blue lights at the front of the bar, and the ceilings are covered with dark wood. I have to admit, I was a little transfixed with the ceilings. The tables are all mismatched with a mix of cute white cottage style tables, tables made of solid blocks of wood, and a few garden style mini tables. It adds a very quaint and personable touch to the place. There is a seating area downstairs as well which is just as charming. I didn’t venture down there but I did see some cute pictures of it on Medi’s website.

I really enjoyed Medi Wine Bar and I will come back, although it might have to wait until I finish visiting the rest of the wine bars in the city. But I will be recommending it to my friends! Aside from my wine taking a little longer than usual to arrive at my table, the service was very nice and super attentive. Good wine and clearly good Mediterranean food judging by my goat cheese fritters and the crowd that this place draws. I give this place a rating of 4.3 out of 5 glasses.

The fun and cozy interior of Medi Wine Bar

The adorable downstairs seating area, pic courtesy of mediwinebar.com

My glass of wine and those tasty fritters

As I said, I'm dorky and I really liked the ceilings. They're just so cool!



Sunday
Dec182011

The Other Room

I visited The Other Room last week at 143 Perry St in the West Village, completing my “Room” series. One of my best friend’s was visiting me along with her hubby, so we had ourselves a little double date here after dinner.

The Other Room is on a quiet street, which was so calm and silent that I wasn’t even sure that I had the correct address for the bar. But alas, as we made our way down the block, I spotted its sign and when we approached the unassuming exterior of the bar, we saw that it was actually really busy inside! It’s a bit far from the subways, so when people venture out to go to a bar, it’s very telling of how great the place should be.

I have to say, that this is my favorite of the “Room” wine bars. The atmosphere is just perfect; the music isn’t loud at all, the place is somewhat spacious, it's dimly lit and romantic, and just all around very friendly. If The Room and Anotheroom had a baby wine bar, it would be this place. The best features of the other two were used to create The Other Room: most of the walls were brick, they used the same dark colors that added to the cave-like environment in Anotheroom, and the lighting was very cozy. There was even enough space for us to grab some seats in the corner and have room to move around a bit. Similar to the layout of The Room, there was a seating area in the back of the bar with low profile leather couches surrounding a little coffee table. It would be a great space for a party. However, the place did have a gross factor - the bathroom smelled like a litter box that hadn't been cleaned in weeks.

The wines fell into a similar price range as the other bars with glasses being between $10 and $15. There was a pretty good variety of wines and we decided to order a bottle of easy to drink red wine. The Ribera del Duero sounded good, since it’s hard not to like the Tempranillo grape, which is the most widely used grape in Spain. This one, however, was a little disappointing. It smelled like currant and blackberry and a little earthy. It was on the sweeter side and tasted like berries and was a bit herbaceous as well. The wine was good with the first couple of sips, but meh…it wasn’t anything special. I’m a huge fan of Spanish wine and this just wasn’t what I would have expected.

I have noticed, unfortunately, that the “Rooms” all have one thing in common; underwhelming wine. While the atmosphere is very pleasant and relaxing, the wine list leaves something to be desired. I tried a different red wine at each of the bars and neither was a good example of what that style of wine should taste like. Maybe their selection of white wines is better. Despite this, the atmosphere at The Other Room was just so wonderful aside from the stinky bathroom that I really would like to go back and give the wines a second try. I give this place a rating of 4 out of 5 glasses.

Tucked away in a quiet neighborhood

Dark and cozy (and busy!)

Cheers!