Terroir East Village

After reviewing Terroir Tribeca a couple of weeks ago, I thought it would only be appropriate for me to check out the bar’s East Village location at 413 E 12^th St.

There are many similarities between the East Village and Tribeca locations; for example, the wine list for glasses and bottles is the same, although the East Village does not have as many by the glass wines for their happy hour special. They incorporated the same 1960s mod hanging lights as well. There is a cute little kitchen at the end of the bar area just large enough for one cook, so they do serve food at this location too.

There are differences between the two locations as well. This one is much more casual and smaller than Terroir Tribeca. Also, this location opens later; happy hour is from 5 to 6, rather than 4 to 6. So, you only have that one-hour window to grab a $6 glass of wine. The bar is set up more like a cafeteria and there are no individual tables. Instead, you can choose from either a seat at the bar or at the only table in the place, which is a long family style table. It forces you to talk to those around you, I suppose. Unfortunately, this setup makes it even more obvious that you've entered the bar alone when you pull out your metal stool and it scrapes loudly on the tiled floor, resonating your awkwardness throughout the bar. All of the other customers in here arrived alone as well, so each of us experienced this. It was an awkward bonding moment :) This place must be good if people are bold enough to venture here alone! I wouldn’t come here on a date – it isn't intimate enough, but I would definitely come here with a small group of friends.

The Summer of Riesling is also in full swing at Terroir East Village! I know I should probably have ordered something new, but I just loved that Hermann J Weimer Late Harvest Riesling so much that I had to get it again. Oh, how I missed it! The pour was very large making it mostly worth the $14. You may balk at me paying $14 for a glass of wine, but believe me - you would too if you've had this Riesling. If you haven't, buy a bottle of it or head to one of the Terroir locations for the Summer of Riesling a get a glass or three for yourself. It truly is heavenly.

After being a few wine classes deep, I can detect that the dead yeast cells (called lees) at the bottom of the barrel were stirred during the end of fermentation for this wine. This process gives the wine a pleasant creamy texture and can also give the wine the smell of bread dough.

I could go on about this wine forever, but this is supposed to be about the bar too! The service was very friendly and they were making sure all of the customers were well hydrated since it was hot as Hades outside. When one customer was unsure about which wine he wanted, the bartender began asking him questions about which flavors and styles he liked and helped him select a wine (Riesling, of course) based on the customer's feedback.

One thing I’ve noticed that is very consistent between the two bars is that the central focus is the wine. You can tell not only from the super informative wine-based articles in the menu, but from the staff as well, that providing great wine that is expressive of the region the grape was grown in is their passion. If you want to know what a classic red wine from Tuscany or a white wine from Alsace is truly supposed to taste like, come here. You really can’t go wrong with any choice of wine at Terroir.

I like Terroir even more each time I visit one of their bars. I hear they’re opening a new location in a few months, although I wasn’t able to find any information on which neighborhood it will be in. I’m looking forward to reviewing that bar as well! I am also curious to see if they declare a wine for next season. Maybe the Fall of Zinfandel? The Autumn of Pinot Noir? I’m anxiously awaiting :)

I give Terroir East Village the same rating as Terroir Tribeca: 4.5 out of 5 glasses.

The casual, cafeteria/family style set up of Terroir East Village

Hello, heavenly Riesling!



Terroir Tribeca

I’ve heard the name mentioned several times among my friends, so I decided that there was no time like the present to visit Terroir. For my readers who aren’t shameless wine geeks like myself, the term “terroir” refers to the climate, soil, and topography of the particular vineyard a grape comes from. The bar is located at 24 Harrison St in Tribeca and they also have another location in the East Village, which I will stop by soon to compare it to the Tribeca location.

The place was a little hipster-y, had an industrial yet rustic feel to it, and the hanging globe lights were reminiscent of 1960s mod style. Although it wasn’t quite as cozy of a venue as I normally like in a wine bar, it was very cool and was busy. Lots and lots of people were at the bar while I was there. Young, middle-aged, children, you name it and they were there. I know why it was busy too; they have great happy hour specials! Probably not for the children though There was a selection of about 10 to 12 wines that were all $6 per glass between 4 and 6pm. The regular prices of the same glasses are between $9 and $13. This is a great reason to come in early. They also give out a free glass of sherry if you order it before 6. Amazing. There is even an option to order a 3 oz “taste” of any of the by the glass wines (excluding the happy hour wines), which were half the price of a full glass.

Their menu is extensive. Most of the wines are from France, Italy, Spain, California, and New York. Not only does the menu have lots of wine selections, but it’s basically a binder stuffed full of witty anecdotes and articles as well. It provided some light reading material as I sat alone sipping on a glass of wine :)

All of the white wine on the menu is Riesling. Not just for the happy hour special, but all white wine because Terroir has declared this summer to be The Summer of Riesling. One of the bartenders even had a fake tattoo around his neck that said “Riesling”….at least I hope it was fake. While bottles of other white wine varietals are available, Riesling is all you have to choose from if you just want a glass. Luckily, this wine varies a bit and can be either dry or off-dry (sweet), so you can probably find a variety of Riesling that will suit your taste.

Bottles of Riesling start at $40 and the most expensive is $244. The red wine bottles also start at around $40 with the most expensive being $795, which sets the record once again for the most expensive bottle I’ve seen at a wine bar. Whoa! Hold on, there was another bottle that was hidden deep within the menu that was….drumroll please….$1900. Yes, you read that correctly, $1900. It was older than I am a 1985 Sassicaia Tenuta San Guido from Tuscany and is hailed as the greatest Italian wine ever made. I would like to try this someday. Would anyone like to donate $1900 to my cause?

After browsing the menu, I wasn’t sure which happy hour red wine I should order, so I asked the waitress for her recommendation and she described the wines very well. I chose a 2008 Chateau Musar “Musar Jeune”, which is from Lebanon. I’ve never had a Lebanese wine before, so I thought I would see how it adds up. It wasn’t very prominent on the nose, but I did detect a hint of mocha. While it did have some rich plum flavors that were especially noticeable in the finish, it was a little high on the acidity and it overpowered the fruitiness a bit, at least initially.

I noticed a nice touch to the service – usually bars will have you taste the wine before they serve a bottle to make sure the quality of the wine is up to par, but at Terroir they let you taste the wine before you order even just a glass.

Ok, I had to try some Riesling, right? Since the happy hour special was over, I chose the 3 oz taste of the 2009 Hermann J Weimer Late Harvest Riesling from the Finger Lakes region of NY state. I knew this was going to be on the sweeter side, as late harvest grapes contain much more sugar since they’ve had a longer period of sun exposure. All I have to say is “om nom nom” This was a fantastic Riesling! It was off-dry, so it had some residual sugar. I’ve been developing a taste for sweet white wines and this one has definitely become one of my favorites. It smelled lightly of apples and tasted like honey. It had a buttery texture and the acidity was high but well integrated. Can I drink this wine forever? I’m going to find out where I can purchase a bottle. Better yet, I want to take a weekend trip to the Finger Lakes, find this winery, and buy a case. Alas, it is indeed The Summer of Riesling.

Although their website kind of accosted my eyes when I checked it for their hours today, I really did like the bar. It was fun, busy, had great happy hour prices, the staff was very helpful, and there were tons of wines to choose from, especially if you want Riesling ;) I give Terroir Tribeca a rating of 4.5 out of 5 glasses.

Terroir Tribeca

Terroir Happy Hour!

It's true