Vintry Wine & Whiskey

I visited Vintry Wine & Whiskey at 57 Stone St last night. My brother in law was in town, so I decided to take him along on one of my reviews! First of all, this bar specializes in wine AND whiskey? This is awesome. When I’m not drinking wine, I’m likely drinking whiskey so combining my two favorites in one place is perfection.

Being so near the financial district, Vintry draws a lot of the suited-up after work crowd and it gets very busy. Luckily, it’s open early if you choose to go before the prime happy hour time. I also noticed that they are open for brunch on the weekends, which I’m sure will be much quieter than a Thursday night.

The menu has a wide selection of carefully selected wines from France, Spain, Italy, and the US (mostly California and Oregon). Glasses start at $8 and can be as much as $35. They also have a taste option where you can order a 2 oz glass of any wine, which is around half the price of a full glass. Bottles are between $40 and $175.

For my first glass, I ordered the 2005 Vina Alberdi Rioja Alta Reserva for $11. And I must say, this was the best $11 glass of wine I think I’ve ever had. The wine smelled SO good. I really loved the nose – it smelled like cedar and wet leaves, which is a sign that the wine is maturing. I could have sat there swirling and smelling the wine all night, but I figured I should probably drink it too. It did not disappoint! It had vegetal notes and a black cherry finish. It had a good level of acidity too, which means that this wine is going to continue to age well. This is important to know because I plan on buying a bottle or two of this wine. It was really fantastic. Like I said, the best $11 glass of wine I’ve had.

Considering that the Rioja was a great value, I wanted to try another wine to make sure that I wasn’t going to rave about how amazingly priced their wines are and have one of my loyal readers stop by and have a disappointing experience. So, I ordered a 2009 Kabinett Riesling from Germany (Mosel). It smelled like a stone fruit, but I couldn’t pinpoint exactly which one it was – it might have been white peach. It also smelled mineraly and almost chalky, which is a result of the soil that the grapes were grown in and is typical of a good Riesling. It was delicately sweet, tasted like peach, and was much more acidic that I usually expect from a Riesling, but it was good. The acidity gave it a little zing and made the wine very refreshing. I would definitely order this wine again.

The atmosphere of Vintry is part lounge and part cellar. They have wine bottles displayed in glass cases on the wall, which are illuminated with a dim light and the large tables in the bar have corks underneath the glass tabletop. The bar has an old school class to it and I think Don Draper would have come here if this was 1963 and if he were also not a fictional character.

The space is small, but well organized so that people can pack into this bar without it getting overwhelming. If you don’t mind the busy scene of this bar, find a seat in the front corner, tune out the loudness, and get lost in your glass of wine. You will love this place.

I will absolutely return to Vintry. This place has fantastic wines from great vintages at affordable prices and plenty of whiskey to choose from. If you’re looking for an after work scene for a glass of wine this is the place to go. I heart this wine bar. I give Vintry Wine & Whiskey a rating of 4.8 out of 5 glasses.

The alluring entrance to Vintry Wine & Whiskey

My amazing glass of Rioja

Getting standy

Ardesia

I had the pleasure of going to Ardesia last night at 510 W 52^nd St. It’s a little out of the way between 10^th and 11^th Ave, but it is certainly worth the trip.

The first thing you notice about the bar is not only the relaxed outdoor seating area, but it’s very spacious. The ceilings are really high and the wall of wine above the bar really showcases the vastness of the space. There is also a cool seating area off to the side of the bar with low profile plush velvet couches. It looks cozy and definitely a great place to reserve for a party.

There are over 30 glasses of wine on the menu and happy hour specials are $2 off any glass of wine. I love this because it doesn’t limit you to a specific list of happy hour wines. It’s always a little sad when I see a wine that I really want and realize that I can’t get a discount on it. Yes, the thrifty side of me does emerge from time to time. Glasses are priced between $9 and $15 and bottles are mostly in the $40 to $60 range and up to $180. There are lots of great selections from all over Europe and the US.

I had trouble deciding which wine I wanted because there were so many that I wanted to try. The waiter asked if he could make any recommendations, so I asked him what his favorite wine at the bar was. He told me that he really liked the 2008 Cellars Can Blau Montsant from Spain, so I decided to give it a try. It was quite lovely. It smelled like cassis and chocolate and tasted like blackberry. It had smooth, round tannins and was very easy to drink.

The staff was incredibly friendly. The waiter would stop by my table a lot and would make some casual conversation. It’s the perfect nice and fun environment for enjoying a glass of wine and some tapas.

I decided to stick around for a while, since I was enjoying the atmosphere of Ardesia so much. For my second glass I ordered a 2009 Sierras de Malaga Moscatel Seco, which was also from Spain. It smelled so good! It was very aromatic and smelled like peach. It tasted like passion fruit and finished quite dry, which I wasn’t expecting. A pleasant surprise.

I started to get hungry, so I ordered the quail egg toast. It was magnificent and I want to eat it every day for breakfast. If you come here, order this and pair it with the Moscatel. It’s to die for!

The place started to get busy around 6:30 with many different groups of people. Some looked like they had come from work while others were dressed much more casually and seemed to have been hanging around there for a while. It’s a very lively place and I think its location helps to keep it from getting standy.

Ardesia is a very clean lined and modern bar. It’s casual, yet refined and kind of sexy. Not to mention they have a delicious selection of wines. Come here during the week before 7 so that you can take advantage of the special prices! I give Ardesia a rating of 4.5 out of 5 glasses.

The exterior of Ardesia

My glass of Montsant

Moscatel!