City Winery

I’ve been looking forward to going to City Winery since I started writing my blog because not only is it a music venue, but it’s also a trendy wine bar. It already has a great combination of awesome going for it. I went there with my husband on Wednesday evening to see what it was all about.

The place is huge and also a bit confusing when you walk in the door to what you assume is the wine bar. It’s actually the restaurant and music venue and the wine bar is a couple of doors down the block and it’s called The Barrel Room. City Winery has a bit of an air of exclusivity about it. No tickets for the show? Go to The Barrel Room. No reservation at The Barrel Room? Claim the last stools available at a community table. It’s definitely a popular place, but there is not much room to accommodate everyone that wants to have a drink there. We were fortunate enough to get seats, but I saw some people come in and leave once they discovered that they would need to stand. My advice is to get here earlier in the evening and to not come here on a busy night, such as a Friday or Saturday.

Even though I wasn’t cool enough to have a reservation, the staff were all really nice and we were brought a sample of their Pinot Noir to try before we ordered drinks. City Winery has a very unique concept – they actually make their wines on the premises. The grapes are imported from around the country and are then pressed and fermented here, then served directly from the barrel to the customers, essentially being wines “on tap”. This way there are no preservatives in the wine and they have a freshness that you can taste. I’ve never actually had a wine directly from the barrel until my visit to City Winery, so it was a new experience for me as well.

All of the 11 wines on tap (except 2) are available by the glass, carafe, or as part of a flight of wines. Glasses are priced between $10 and $14 and carafes are $27 up to $39. In the adjacent restaurant there are wines from around the world available by the bottle, but when you can have fresh wine on tap you really don’t miss those options.

I ordered the 2010 Barrel Fermented Chardonnay. It smelled like kernels of corn, which is typical for oak aged white wines. It was very flavorful with notes of tropical fruits and some toastiness. I really liked it! I wish they bottled this so I could buy it.

The bar is beautifully decorated and it has a very cool vibe. There is soft lighting everywhere, lights made of wine bottles hang in the windows, and scents of delicious food waft from the kitchen. On a related note, they have awesome hummus here. Even though I’ve never been to California (shocking statement from a wine fanatic, right?), I felt as if I was at a winery’s bar or tasting room in California. Or at least what I imagine one would be like. Although the rumble of the subway below reminds you that you’re still in New York.

After I had finished my glass of Chardonnay, my husband was still working on his glass of scotch, so I ordered the late harvest Riesling desert wine. It had a nectar-like quality to it and it was definitely affected by noble rot because it smelled like orange peels and it tasted a little bit like orange and sweet honey. The flavors were very concentrated and it was a great wine to finish off the night with.

Before you come to City Winery, make sure you either have a reservation or show up early enough that you don’t have to wait for a seat. The bar area is not good for groups, but it is great for going there with a friend or two or on a not-so-intimate date. It’s a lively place and provides a unique wine experience. I give this place a rating of 4.5 out of 5 glasses.

The entance to the restaurant area of City Winery

The barrels of wines on tap

The "reservation only" section of the bar. You can also see into the bar's winery!

My yummy glass of Chardonnay!

The ghostly wine bottle lights



Lelabar

I went to Lelabar on Wednesday night. It’s tucked away in a quiet part of the West Village at 422 Hudson St, just off of the corner of Leroy St.

It’s a really neat little bar! It’s small, but well designed for the space with narrow “shelves” if you will, serving as tables around the wall. The main bar is in the center of the room and has a cool wrought iron design all around the bottom. It was already decently full around 6:30, even on a rainy evening such as the one I ventured out in. The atmosphere is relaxed and it has a very warm, cozy vibe. The place is dimly lit and smells like wood. I became a fan as soon as I walked in.

Their wine list is huge. Not many wines are available by the glass, but they have lots of bottles available as well as a separate half-bottle list. Glasses start at $8, which are the happy hour special wines, and the most expensive is $16. Bottles are priced between $38 and $220 and half bottles are $32 to $85. There are also two flights of wine to choose from at $16 each. They include 3 wines and you can choose from Italian Whites or Fall Reds. This is definitely a great place to come if you’re planning on sharing a bottle with someone because the wines that were the most attractive, at least to me, were not available by the glass. However, I did see somewhere on the menu that they will open any bottle of wine if you order two glasses of it.

The staff were all really nice and when I was looking around to find a menu, one of the bartenders waved me over and handed me a wine list. Unfortunately they don’t have table service and you have to go up to the bar to order. Luckily it’s a small enough space that even if you step away to order you won’t be far from your table should a purse thief decide to strike.

I ordered the 2009 Pithon Paille Cotequx du Layon Chenin Blanc say that three times fast from the Loire Valley of France. It was listed under sweet wines, which isn’t usually the case with Chenin Blanc, as it is a dry white wine. This tells me that it was made with Chenin Blanc grapes that were affected by noble rot. Yes, it sounds weird, and it is a bit odd that someone even thought to make wine with these kinds of grapes, but let me tell you the story of noble rot. It’s a mold that grows on only a few types of grapes (Riesling, Chenin Blanc, and Sauternes are the most commonly affected). The mold will shrivel the skin of the grape, causing the water in the fruit to evaporate, leaving behind super concentrated sugar levels in the grape juice. When this juice is fermented it makes very sweet wine. Noble rot wines are more expensive because the grapes need to be picked by hand in order to select the grapes that have just enough of this gnarly mold. So, I was pretty excited when I saw this wine available by the glass and it was only $11!

Upon first sip, I noticed that the wine was pretty acidic and not nearly as sweet as I was expecting. Actually, it wasn’t sweet at all. It was good, but I immediately suspected that when I had gone up to the bar to order my wine, the bartender had misheard me. It was pretty busy and loud around the bar and my voice was a bit tired that day. My suspicions were confirmed when I received the check later on and saw that I was charged for the $8 happy hour white wine, which was a Rioja Bianco. It would be much easier to receive the correct wine if servers came by the tables instead of requiring the customers to order at the bar. It would have also helped if I had been wearing my glasses when a bartender came over to my table to show me the bottle and pour my glass. Whoops! A fail on my part as well. I really enjoy red wines from Rioja and I had never tried white wines from the area, until this surprise glass. This wine had green fruit and citrus flavors and a hint of white pepper. It’s a good transitional fall white wine, as it was medium bodied and crisp. I’ll just have to try that sweet Chenin Blanc next time I go to Lelabar! I will be back for sure.

This bar is very pretty and relaxing and they have a ginormous wine list. Although they have few wines available by the glass, if you come here with a friend or a date they have really great bottles to share. I give Lelabar a rating of 4 out of 5 glasses. Great vibe, great space, great wines.

Little Lelabar

The cozy interior of the bar

Rioja Bianco masquerading as Chenin Blanc

The cutest little escape from a rainy night :)