In Vino

One rainy evening this week, I sipped at In Vino located at 215 E 4^th St. It’s not well marked (perhaps it was the nasty weather), but the warm lighting inside looks very cozy and inviting. Even if you weren’t looking for it, you would be drawn in.

The first thing I noticed was how ornate the space was. It’s beautiful and designed to look like you’re inside a cave or a really old, underground wine cellar, right down to the last detail. Awesome. Jazz music was playing and overall it was a very relaxing and intimate environment. Off the beaten path, cozy, alluring décor, I’m definitely intrigued by In Vino.

I highly suggest you make a reservation when you come here though. I arrived around 7:00 and they were hesitant to give me a table since they had many reservations later that night. They serve a full authentic Italian menu, so many people go there for dinner as well. P.S Try the gnocchi. However, once my husband arrived we were seated and waited on right away. Just how authentic is this place? There was a group of people at a table speaking Italian. It has to be a winner.

Although In Vino features only Italian wines, the selections are spectacular. The menu is made of soft leather and if you page through it, you’ll find the wines available by the glass, followed by detailed information about each region of Italy and the wines available by the bottle from each region. So, you get the story behind the wine you’re about to order. Nice touch! Glasses are priced $7 to $14 and the bottles range from $28 to $620 with the average price being between $40 and $50.

I ordered the 2008 Pico Maccario Barbera d’Asti. It was very savory and well balanced with the acidity. It smelled of dark berries and tasted like dried strawberry. I don’t normally drink Italian wines without food because they are higher in acidity, so I find them less pleasant to drink by themselves than other wines. However, this wine was so good that I didn’t notice the absence of a meal as I was sipping on it. The hubby even liked it and we shared my second glass :)

The service was very friendly and outgoing and even though there I didn’t have a reservation, they were very accommodating and made sure we had a table to enjoy our time there.

Great value for both the food and wine, charming atmosphere, and it reminded me of Italy a bit! I really like In Vino. You will too. This is definitely the best Italian wine bar I’ve been to so far. I give this place a rating of 4.3 out of 5 glasses.

Cave....or wine bar?

Rustic decor

My *first* glass of Barbera

Terroir Murray Hill

I admit, I’ve had a love affair of sorts with the Terroir wine bars and when I heard that they had just opened their new location in Murray Hill, I made sure to review it as soon as I could. I went to Terroir to catch up with a friend from my wine class, and where better than a wine bar to catch up with a kindred spirit?

I immediately fell in love with the place as soon as I walked in. It’s smaller than their Tribeca location, but larger than their East Village location - as Goldilocks would say, “it’s just right” and I must say, this is their coziest wine bar yet! The interior is rustic with some modern flair; the brick walls and cubed wooden shelving gives it a bit of a farmhouse feel and the lighting and seating add a little trendiness. It’s a pretty cute bar.

Like the other Terroir wine bars, they have the menu binders stuffed full with articles and wine lists. Although I don’t think the menus at Murray Hill have been around long enough to be quite as hefty as the others. The wine list is also smaller, but spot on with its selection. The glasses are betweem $9 and $20, with most being around $15. This location has taste sized glasses as well, with the prices being $4 to $10. You can definitely get a great value with the right selection of wines. My friend and I decided to order three taste-sized glasses and put together our own little flight of wine. We chose the 2008 Hockhaner Weininger Blaufrankisch from Burgenland in Austria (we couldn’t resist its crazy name), the 2009 Tre Vigne Barbera d’Asti from Piedmont, and the 2008 Porter Creek Pinot Noir from the Russian River Valley of California, which is my favorite region for Pinot Noir.

The pours were way bigger than we were expecting. Each glass was almost what a full pour would be at another bar. A taste portion could easily be mistaken for a regular one. We started with the Blaufrankisch, which smelled like baking spices and tasted like red fruits and a touch of cinnamon. It also had a punch of acidity on the finish, which made it a pretty unique red wine. I really liked it and I think it would be the perfect fall wine. The Barbera was delicious and is very underrated, I think. It hasn’t quite gained the popularity that Chianti has as of late and I actually find its quality to be more reliable than a Chianti. The fruit character, acidity, and alcohol were all very well balanced. Finally, the Pinot Noir. It was just wonderful. It tasted of red fruits, like plums and strawberries, and was aged just enough to have a slight dried fruit flavor. It was really delicious and I highly recommend you order it if you stop by Terroir Murray Hill.

As at all of the Tribeca locations, the service was friendly, knowledgeable, and attentive. Our waitress seemed to be able to read our minds, showing up as soon as we decided on which wines we wanted to order for our flight, and stopping by again when we talked about getting a plate of cheese. Psychic salute to the Terroir staff.

We sat at one of the mini wall tables in the front window. A group of people walked by the bar as we were enjoying our wine, stopped in front of the window, waved to catch our attention and through gestures and mouthed words, they asked us if the bar was good. We both gave enthusiastic thumbs up. This place must be getting a lot of hype already, even after being open for just a couple of weeks. It’s getting a lot of attention on the street and it was very busy while we were there. And for good reason! Terroir Murray Hill is awesome, and dare I say my favorite Terroir wine bar.

This bar is super cozy and I want to go here all the time. Are there any apartments for rent above it?? With winter on its way, this bar makes me want to venture out into the snow, step inside the warm bar, throw off my heavy coat and cozy up to a glass of…maybe that Blaufrankisch. That’s how cozy Terroir Murray Hill is. I give it a rating of 4.8 out of 5 glasses. Love it!

I have to apologize, I didn't take near as many pictures as I should have. I'll walk by the bar again and snap a few of the outside :)

Cozy, cozy, cozy

Lovely little flight of wine!