A new breed of wine bars has come on strong since summer. Relaxed in style and forward-thinking in vision, they aren’t as intimidating as their fusty predecessors. Here, that old standby, Bordeaux, is largely ignored. The trend now is to move beyond the standard and familiar to offer wines that are offbeat and low-key, but pleasurable. Expect a savvy server to explain in tech-free language the what, where and why of any wine that’s caught your curiosity — and to offer a sample splash without you ever having to ask. What you shouldn’t expect at a great wine bar is virtuoso counter food in belly-bulging quantities. It’s the vino that’s the star, with simply composed small plates ideally playing a supporting role. Finally, a great wine bar ought to be a comfort zone for gals arriving solo. Paul Grieco of Terroir, possibly the city’s most gung-ho wine bar proprietor, puts it bluntly: “You won’t have hammered guys trying to hammer on you.”
Wine bottled on the premises
The Barrel Room at City Winery, 155 Varick St.; 212-608-0555
With its ho-hum décor, the newly opened Barrel Room wine bar at City Winery is no eye-catcher. But it delivers what no other wine bar in the city can: a range of wines drawn on tap directly from vats and barrels in the on-premises winery — the only one in Manhattan. Grapes are trucked to City Winery from top vineyards in California, Oregon and New York. Since these “appellation TriBeCa” wines, made by resident winemaker David Lecomte, have never seen the inside of a bottle, they are preservative-free, with fresh, pure flavors. And because City Winery is just that — a winery — state law allows you to buy a bottle or even a case of any of its wines that catch your fancy in the “wine shop” at the end of the bar. One more bonus: A closed-circuit television monitor allows you to watch live music as it’s being performed on City Winery’s stage.
SIP THIS! City Winery Haystack Peak Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley 2008 ($16 per glass): An unlisted gem for those in the know boasting a load of sweet and spicy flavors.
* Downtown White, Central Coast, CA ($11 per glass) A multi-grape blend that’s as fresh as a meadow in May. Try it with ceviche in coconut milk, citrus and smoked macadamia nut ($13).
* Pinot Noir 2009, Olsen Vineyard, Willamette Valley, OR ($12 per glass) Aromas and taste of ripe cherries, cinnamon and a bare whiff of cloves. Zesty acidity keeps it lively.
For intimacy and Italian vino
Il Buco Alimentari & Vineria, 53 Great Jones St.; 212-837-2622
This combo market, restaurant and wine bar is the offspring of 17-year-old Il Buco, the superb Italian restaurant around the corner. And like the mothership, it has rugged brick and beamed walls lined with old pottery and copperware. But the wine lists couldn’t be more different. Unlike Il Buco’s imposing 500-label cellar, Alimentari & Vineria’s bar list is deceptively short and simple: just five small producers, all of them Italian except for the locavore’s choice, Bridgehampton’s Channing Daughters. Four to six wines are offered from each producer by the bottle. “It’s like buying a whole album instead of clicking on one song,” says wine director Paul Lang. There’s a coffee and wine bar up front, and a rear wine bar adjacent to the open kitchen, from which chef Justin Smillie sends out bar food that’s a knockout. Alimentari & Vineria is upscale in a friendly way, drawing lots of Europeans, as well as locals.
SIP THIS! Ramato 2010 Rose of Pinot Grigio, Channing Daughters ($12 per glass): A pinot grigio that’s pale orange instead of white? Crazy, but intriguingly dry and grapefruit-y. Austere on its own, it shines with seared Vermont quail with pickled kumquat ($16).
* Nebbiolo 2009 Guidobono, Piedmont ($14 per glass) A good-natured, lively version of what can be a dour grape. Try this with melt-off-the-bone roasted lamb ribs accented by romesco sauce ($14).
Paris in New York City
Vin Sur Vingt, 201 W. 11th St.; 212-924-4442
Feel like ducking into a sleek yet cozy Parisian wine bar without leaving the West Village? This tiny new “bar-a-vin” fits the bill, right down to the chalkboard showing the five-day “meteo” (weather forecast) for the City of Light and Drizzle. And then there’s the all-French wine list — 20 selections each of red and white wines, plus a handful of bubblies and fortified wines. By the bottle, the list expands to more than 50 choices. Vin sur Vingt translates as “wine over 20,” a play on words based on the 20-point wine-rating scale favored by Europeans, explains Paris-born proprietor Sebastien Auvet. Twenty over 20 is perfection. “We know that some people are a little afraid of French [wine], so we keep our descriptions to just a word or two, like ‘buttery’ or ‘vanilla.’ ” The menu is limited to simple but authentic bistro fare, delivered by male waiters turned out in white shirts and ties as purple as Beaujolais Nouveau.
SIP THIS! Gigondas, Pierre Amadieu 2008 ($16 per glass): On the pricey side, this big, spicy red roars out of the glass. It cuts through the unctuousness of house-made terrine de foie gras ($18).
* Beaujolais Blanc, Chateau de Chatelard 2009 ($13 per glass) A bright and buttery white that’s an ideal foil for custardy quiche Lorraine ($10).
A frat-free Murray Hill bar
Terroir Murray Hill, 439 Third Ave.; no phone listed; restauranthearth.com
“What I love about this place is that it’s not a ‘bar’ bar,” a 30-something woman said one recent evening as she sipped sauvignon blanc at Terroir’s black slate counter. If she meant that a “bar” bar is a booze bar, then we’d call Paul Grieco’s third Terroir (the others are in the East Village and TriBeCa) a wine geek’s bar, where the chalkboard is emblazoned with an oversize diagram of a TCA molecule (it causes that nasty, wet-cardboard smell of “corked” wines). You’re not likely to find a corked wine at Terroir. What you will find is Grieco’s galaxy of more than 50 wines by the glass, which lean toward such esoterica as a big red from Mallorca and a sleek white from Santorini, all served in 3- and 6-ounce pours. By the bottle, the list expands to more than 150 selections, including 17 bubblies. At Terroir’s happy hour (5 to 6 p.m.), 10 wines are priced at just $6 per glass, and sherry is flat-out free.
SIP THIS! Vina Cubillo, R. Lopez de Heredia 2005, Rioja ($7.75 for a small pour, $15.25 for a large): A Rioja that’s rich and soft like fine old leather. Sink into it with salty, funky lamb sausage wrapped in sage ($8).
* Bloomer Creek Riesling, Auten Vineyards, Finger Lakes 2009 ($6.25 small pour, $12 large) Upstate is cranking with crisp, apricot-inflected rieslings. They don’t get food friendlier than this one.
All glasses are just $10!
Cédric French Bistro–Bar, 185 ST. Nicholas Ave.; 212-866-7766
On a serene residential stretch of old Harlem, the red awnings and big windows of this new hot spot beckon cheerily. Proprietor Cédric Lecendre’s family owns the ultra-chic but soon-to-be-shuttered Le Bilboquet on East 63rd Street, and his new place effortlessly radiates its own uptown chic. Lecendre, who lives two blocks from his wine bar, makes clear that he wants to focus on serving his neighbors. “Harlem feels like a small village to me,” says the Frenchman. “It feels more like home than anywhere else I’ve lived.” French bistro classics are on the menu, but so are down-home favorites such as sautéed jerk chicken and fish and chips. An oversize ice bucket at the bar always holds several white and sparkling wines for pouring by the glass, and there are a half-dozen reds by the glass as well. Most are French, and all are priced at a modest $10 (it’s a dollar more for sparkling wine).
SIP THIS! Domaine les Haut Cances Cotes-du-Rhone 2009 ($10 per glass): Deeply, impressively red, followed by a thunder of dark-fruit flavor. As the weather turns cool, this wine will be in its element with a grilled steak sandwich ($16).
* Charles Lafitte Brut Prestige ($11 per glass) Bears the name of a pricey champagne brand, but this modest, bracing bubbly is made in the Camargue region of Mediteranean France. Just right with a generous mound of freshly chopped tuna tartar and avocado ($14).