Posts Tagged ‘Sancere’

Wine bar outing

Tuesday, March 11th, 2008

A quickie post for tonight (or this morning as the case may be).

Went out to a wine bar tonight.  It is one I used to frequent but haven’t been to for a little while.  On a cold Monday night – THEY WERE PACKED.  Unbelievable!!!

I had an Australian Shiraz (too extracted & “sweet”) and a Sancere (nice & crisp) while my date had a Tempranillo (better than my Shiraz) and a Vespiolo (Italian white – first time I heard of it and while it wasn’t my speed the date enjoyed it).

Now it is not as if this wine bar is doing it all RIGHT.  In my very humble opinion they are not.   The stemware, which I think was once of a higher quality, seems to have been downgraded (breakage does add up).  The wine list, at least that done by the glass, although claimed to be frequently revised, seemed stale.  And finally, having not yet made my first billion and as such seeking an under $50 bottle – I struggled as they were far and few between.

All that said, the WARMTH (both literally & figuratively) was easily visible and very apparent.  The owners (a cute couple) mingle freely with their customer friends.   The service seems to always be done with a smile and the servers patience seems to be endless (not that I INTENTIONALLY test peoples patience – I just know I am a pain in the ass at wine bars).

All in all, for a stickler like me, this place is far from perfect.  That said, the lesson to be learned here is that perfection is a relative term and this place is consistently packed, patrons consistently have positive things to say, and the overall mood is generally a very positive one.  Kudos to the owners!

Happy wine Bar Hopping!

WTG