<p>Okay, I admit it. I am NOT sophisticated. I live in a small town and don’t venture to the city often much less go to bars or fine dining…
One concept that has my puzzled is the Wine Bar. What exactly is a wine bar - a bar where they only serve wine? I would venture into one but I am intimidated.</p>
<p>The wine bar in our town serves only wine and small plates. (Appetizer type food, but you can eat a meal’s worth.)</p>
<p>THats a good question
[Portalis</a> Wines - Wine Shop & Wine Bar - Seattle, Washington (Ballard)](<a href=“http://www.portaliswines.com/shop-bar/]Portalis”>http://www.portaliswines.com/shop-bar/)
this is one in our neighborhood, that our bookgroup has met at.
It is like a wine shop, but also sells by the glass and usually has cheese/nuts/chocolate or other things to try while you are tasting different wines.</p>
<p>I am not a wine snob, I think [box wines are fine]( <a href=“http://www.frenchrabbit.com/french-rabbit-news-reviews.html”>http://www.frenchrabbit.com/french-rabbit-news-reviews.html</a>), although I enjoy wine tastings from time to time & we have a lot in our area to choose from.</p>
<p>Wine bars are a great place to try new and different vintages by the glass that most restaurants might only serve by the bottle. A good wine bar will be run by knowledgeable staff who are interested in introducing their customers to new wine experiences. I very rarely go to wine bars since I am lucky enough to have a very good friend with a world class collection. We have a symbiotic relationship. I cook and he in turn
brings ungodly amounts of fantastic wine over to the house. Saturday was Bordeaux night. My head still hurts.</p>
<p>A wine bar is a bar that has the technology to open bottles of wine and keep them drinkable for more than a few hours. Wine sours unless stored properly. A wine bar provides a great opportunity to taste wines without buying an entire bottle.</p>
<p>Around here most wine bars are run by the wineries or by several wineries. Oregon has 400 wineries. It’s just one more way of increasing the profit margin on grapes.</p>
<p>(I love Oregon Pinot Noirs.)</p>
<p>I think much of the appeal of wine bars is that they tend to offer a more predictably quieter mellower social environment than the typical bar scene. So people looking to sit at a table and enjoy a little conversation as opposed to a rowdier louder environment may opt to go to the wine bar. In cities where there are many bars competing for business, there are various niches and it’s mostly about the “ambience” of the experience. The “product” is “something to do tonight” or “somewhere to hang out with people tonight”.</p>
<p>musicamusica summed it up well. The advantage of wine bars is the availability of a wider (and probably better) variety of wines by the glass, or by the taste than a restaurant or bar. They will sometimes offer “wine flights” which allows a small tasting of several different wines. They usually serve food as well, perhaps tapas or small food items that pair well with the wines, but the focus is onthe wines, and the availability of knowledgeable staff to explain the differences in the wines, and to help you select wines based on your preferences and budget.</p>
<p>UC Davis offered (I assume still does) a degree in oenology- which is the study and knowledge of wines. Sounds like a fun major to me!</p>
<p>And just a note on the “intimidation factor”. A good wine bar should be welcoming and have friendly and informed staff. If they are pretentious and cold, it’s probably because they are not as well informed as they should be. Take your business elsewhere. All real oenophiles love making new converts.</p>
<p>“if you like it, its good”, says our local wine steward at local, full serve, grocery store, which has wine tasting every friday and has two tables on 1st fridays of each month. At 4 bottles minimum per sampling x 50 weeks = 200 different wines each year. I’ve been sampling for at least 5 years at my store, and only a handful of times that they presented a low quality to price, wine. Sometimes the store has been offered a very good deal from the distributor. and the store passes the savings to the customer. </p>
<p>This grocery does a very big business in wine, big store, and in Oregon wine country.</p>
<p>OOh, LP, can I come visit?? :D</p>
<p>And agreed, musicamusica. No one should feel intimidated when drinking or tasting wines. They want you to feel comfortable, to learn and hopefully to like what they have.</p>
<p>I have only been to MarCellar’s in Idaho Falls. I had no idea these wine bars are all over and it’s about keeping open bottles drinkable for more than a few hours.</p>
<p>We have some great wine bars in our area and they do not come across as snooty. They are very helpful no matter whether the patrons are wine experts or complete newbies who want to try some new things. I recommend trying one out with a small group of friends. Tell them as much as you can about your tastes and get some recommendations.</p>
<p>Hmm, I must not be firing on all cylinders today.</p>
<p>When I saw the title of the thread I thought,“Wine bars, like some kind of portable alcoholic snack bar?”</p>
<p>Never mind.</p>
<p>you may certainly visit.
Oregon State University has a wine program. Climate change is bringing NW wines into the forefront.
My bike ride goes by the local CC’s vineyard/winery field and classroom.
I personally like the wine grapes better than the its wine.</p>
<p>Sounds like fun, LP!</p>
<p>worknprogress - lol (you might be onto something, haha)</p>
<p>Thanks for all your replies. I may venture into the unknown yet! To be fair, the “intimidation factor” is my imagination. I have never even been into a wine bar yet - too intimidated, plus we have one in our county. I have seen them in other places though and now I won’t feel so… awkward. ;)</p>
<p>JustaMomof4
you SHOULD. I manage a wine bar As everyone said, it is a chance to try new things and socialize in a less bar like setting. My place is like a wine cellar with a fireplace, nice lighting, etc. We tend to get the 35 and over crowd. I always tell people what you need to know about wine is what you like and what you don’t. If you aren’t sure try a flight (which is a group of tastes…) and then you will know for next time.
In a good place you should be able to tell the server for instance that you like a sweet white wine or a dry red wine and they should be able to quickly give you a couple of tastes to nail down your choice.
If anyone comes to the Central Coast of California PM me and I will do a great tasting for you…</p>