Vanguard Wine Bar

Earlier this week I went to a new wine bar, called Vanguard. It opened in December and it’s located in Kips Bay at 530 2^nd Ave. It’s set just below the sidewalk, and as you walk down the short steps into the bar, it feels like you’re walking into a different era.

The white subway tiles that are on the outside of the building make a prominent appearance inside as well and give the place a Euro feel. It’s decorated with eclectic antique pieces and posters and they happened to be playing one of my favorite movies on the tv behind the bar – Midnight in Paris. Seriously. It’s like they knew I was going to show up that day.

The wine list was arranged by the style of wine and each selection had brief tasting notes. For example, some style categories of white wines were “Crisp & Refreshing” and “Luscious & Fragrant” and “Elegant & Sublte” and “Zesty & Savory” for the reds. Many of the wines were from France and the US and I understand that their menu changes often to keep things fresh. Glasses were $10 to $14 and bottles were $30 to $90. I had the 2011 Mercer Estates Riesling from Washington. It had a very complex aroma of tropical fruits and a touch of honey. One of the notes for this wine was “beeswax”, which I can’t say I entirely detected, even after repeatedly sniffing my Burt’s Bees lip balm and comparing, but I guess it’s creative! It tasted similar on the palate and was surprisingly full bodied, which was offset by its dryness. It was a very tasty wine.

Much of the seating was around the sleek granite bar, but there were also marble high top tables and little alcoves of seating near the windows. With the last of the day’s sun streaming through the wooden blinds, music from the 1920s playing, and a nice glass of wine in my hand, I was transported. Everything about Vanguard is downright charming.

The service was wonderful and the bartender was happily chatting up everyone at the bar. This is a rare kind of place where I wouldn’t feel bad about spending too much money drinking glass after bottle glass of wine. It’s very laid back, extremely friendly, and they offer some great wines. I fell a little bit in love with Vanguard and they’re off to a good start in becoming one of the top notch wine bars in the city. I give this place a rating of 4.8 out of 5 glasses. I will certainly be back!

The Parisian bar area, and not just because of the movie :)

My wine in one of the bar's custom glasses

V Bar St Marks

Last weekend, the hubby and I decided to hang out in a wine bar. We chose V Bar St Marks, located in the East Village at 132 1^st Ave.

The bar was much busier than I would have expected on a Saturday afternoon. We grabbed the last two seats in the place – right at the bar. It was hot, the crowd was loud and so was the music. Not quite what I think of when it comes to a wine bar. It had a slightly grungy feel to it. Classic rock was blaring, the floors were concrete, ceilings were tin, the walls were exposed brick, and one wall had a cool painting of a griffin on it. It definitely felt more like a dive bar than anything else.

The wine list was surprisingly extensive, with plenty of by the glass wines to choose from. It was heavy on the French and Italian wines and also included some from the US. However, vintages were not shown on the menu. The wines were well priced with glasses between $9 and $14 and bottles were $20 to $70.

I ordered the Parallele 45 Cotes du Rhone. Although it was served out of a clunky wine glass, the pour was very generous. It smelled like plum and nutmeg and tasted like baking spices and peppercorn. The spice kind of overwhelmed the fruit character, but overall it was enjoyable. As I mentioned before, the atmosphere of V Bar didn’t make it feel anything close to a wine bar. In fact, looking around I noticed only one person drinking champagne. Everyone else had beer or cocktails. After we finished our wine, we switched to beer. That’s a first for one of my reviews!

Overall, V Bar St Marks is a cool place to grab a casual beer, but I would not by any means call it a wine bar. Wine doesn’t fit in with any part of this bar. Strictly as a wine bar, I have to give this place a rating of 2.8 out of 5 glasses. I’m just not feelin’ it.

The outside of V Bar St Marks

Griffin!

Clunky dive bar wine glass