Around the World by the Glass or Bottle
Red, white, rosé, and sparkling – Americans love their wine. The US is the largest wine market in the world and growing fast. More than a third of the wine we drink comes from abroad, and guess where it first hits American soil? NYC, thanks to the many importers based here.
The best the world has to offer is waiting for you at NYC wine bars, along with complementary food from small plates to full meals. Some places span the globe, but others delve deeply into the wines of a single country. Terroir-specific wine bars are a real treat. They all have experts on hand to help you learn – and often let you taste before you decide. Here’s a sampling of the best.
Italian
Americans now drink more Italian wine than Italians do, and there’s plenty left to discover. Lorenzo Baricca, wine director of Tarallucci e Vino (four locations around the city), aims to: “give the best quality at fair prices. We love to guide our customers through the list and suggest wines that are not the usual.” This could mean choosing a Barbaresco, instead of a Barolo. Same grape, same region, but much less expensive. Or a Pecorino d'Abruzzo Montori, the ideal alternative to Pinot Grigio. And even a wine not available anywhere else in the US: Spergola bianca, Castiglio, Cantina Puianello.
1. An utterly romantic space, In Vino (215 E. 4th St.) feels like a wine cave with dramatic arches and mood lighting. It’s an inviting space to explore the wines of Italy, from Sicily to the Piedmont. You will want to travel through them all.
2. Descending the stairs to Bacaro (136 Division St) transports you to Venice – minus the canals. The candlelit grotto ignores the wines of southern Italy to present the elegant vintages of the north, especially the Veneto and Alto Adige.
3. Peasant (194 Elizabeth St) is a chef’s hangout with a rustic Wine Room downstairs that’s open from 7 until “whenever.” The list is not the largest in town, but each wine is chosen to beautifully represent a region of Italy.
Spanish
Casa Mono and the adjacent Bar Jamon share lead sommelier Rachel Merriam and her 500-bottle Spanish wine list that showcases lesser-known producers as well as the famed Vega Sicilia and Alvaro Palacios. You can order half or full glasses of some of the best, as well as carafes of 15 rotating varieties. Merriam is especially proud of her selection of Sherry, including limited production bottles. “It always excites me when people want to drink sherry with their meal because it’s a wine that can be produced bone-dry or maple syrup thick and sweet and pairs wonderfully with our menu.”
1. Regional Spanish wines, sherry, and slushy cocktails are three good reasons to visit El Quinto Pino (401 W. 24th St.), but the uni panini may be the best of all. Crusty bread, briny uni, and the tang of horseradish combine into the perfect tapa.
2. Nearby, the same owners have written a love letter to all things Basque. Txikito (240 9th Ave.) carefully makes a distinction between wines from the Basque region, or produced in the Basque tradition, or made in France using Basque varietals. A truly authentic journey to Northern Spain.
3. Boqueria, with three locations around the city, Boqueria divides its Spanish wine list into styles. Whites are aromatic, crisp or rich; reds range from elegant to earthy to powerful. Of course there are rosés and sangria as well to wash down the extensive selection of tapas and raciones.
French
The encyclopedic wine list at Pearl & Ash (220 Bowery) is global in scope, but wine director Patrick Cappiello describes it as Franco-centric. With 200 bottles under $50, and 800 under $100, he’s assembled a list “for the open-minded beginner and the value-conscious diner, as well as the high-end collector.” Although the French wines include what Cappiello calls the classics – Bordeaux and Burgundy – he says customers are “immensely” interested in other regions, notably the Loire Valley and the Jura.
1. Bar Boulud (1900 Broadway) proudly presents France’s grandest wines, especially from Burgundy and the Rhône Valley. Here you will find premier and grand cru selections from rare vintages. A Francophile’s dream.
2. Unpretentious and even quirky, Ten Bells specializes in wines from small French producers, many of them organic. The ever-changing wine list is on a blackboard, and be assured that whatever you order will be interesting.
3. Compagnie des Vins Surnaturel (249 Centre St.) is located in Little Italy but step inside the chic space and you become a Parisian. The wine list acknowledges the existence of other countries, but why would you want to venture outside of French territory?
South African
The South Africans have been making wine for 350 years but only since apartheid ended has the rest of the world been able to taste the fruits of this tradition. Noted for its refreshing white wines, South Africa also crafts substantial reds, and a favorable exchange rate makes them all available at bargain prices.
1. South African expats flock to Kaia (1614 3rd Ave.) for the home style Afrikaans cooking (try the savory bobotie pies) and the well-chosen wine list. If you like Prosecco, try the Robert Christopher Sparkling Steen, (the South African name for Chenin Blanc).
2. Pinotage –a cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsault -- is a grape developed in South Africa and grown virtually nowhere else. Xai Xai (365 W. 51st St.) has the largest selection in outside of South Africa. Notable among them is the Kanonkop ’06, which goes very well with an ostrich burger.
Greek
The ancient Greeks loved wine so much that they worshipped Dionysus, god of winemaking, and -- not coincidentally -- also fertility.
1. You too can explore the link between wine and romance at Molyvos (871 7th Ave), a restaurant with the largest selection of Greek wines in the US. Taste your way through 50 wines by the glass and 500 by the bottle.
New Zealand
1. New Zealand’s only Master Sommelier consults from afar with The Musket Room (265 Elizabeth St.) to ensure that the list contains the country’s best. Fully 96% of New Zealand wines are sustainably grown, and many of the featured vintages are also organic or biodynamic.
Australia
1. Burke & Wills (226 W. 79th St.) bills itself as an Australian bistro -- complete with kangaroo burgers -- and all the wines come from the land down under. The house selections: a Backsburg Chenin Blanc, and St. Kilda Shiraz are especially good values by the glass, carafe or bottle.
New York may be the best place to recapture the tastes of a special vacation, or plan one. These wine bars will take you to a piazza in Italy, plaza in Spain, boulevard in France and other destinations around the wine world.
