5 Special NYC Wine Destinations to Try

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New York City is known for its fine dining, and what would fine dining be without the wine? What follows is a roundup of some truly special destinations for the forbidden nectar in the Big Apple:

Gotham Bar and Grill (Greenwich Village)

With its goal of sourcing wines that provide value and quality, Gotham Bar and Grill is widely agreed to be an excellent wine destination, featuring nightly wine pairings for its three-course chocolate tasting menu in addition to its nightly five-course tasting menu. Twelve E. 12th Street. (212) 620-4020.

Daniel (Upper East Side)

The world-class wine offerings at this Daniel Boulud restaurant change seasonally but tend to focus on Burgundy and are always sure to be excellent. Customized pairings with tasting menus are one special feature at Daniel, and there are also themed wine dinners that take place in a private room, giving fine diners exposure to new appellations. 60 East 65th Street. (212) 288-0033.

A Voce Columbus (Columbus Circle)

A Voce has a selection of more than 2,800 wines by the bottle, as well as 18 wines that are available by the glass. You can find large format pourings of 18-liter bottles every night at A Voce, in addition to the monthly Sommelier Series, which brings in winemakers and sommeliers from all around the world. 10 Columbus Circle, 3rd Floor. (212) 823-2523.

Brushstroke (TriBeCa)

This joint venture between Chef David Bouley and The Tsuji Culinary Institute (Japan’s top culinary school) is based entirely around seasonally changing tasting menus and features approachable and affordable wines from all around, focusing on Old World, dry and mineral-driven wines expressing their local terroirs. Tasting menus feature individual wine-and-saké pairings, and vintage dessert sake flights are also available.30 Hudson Street. (212) 791-3771.

Otto Enoteca Pizzeria (Greenwich Village)

Accessible and affordable, this Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich creation offers frequent wine-tasting classes (taught by Otto’s sommelier Peter Jamros) that are friendly, fun, and extremely helpful for novices – while also being challenging enough for the more advanced, featuring an introduction to lesser known Italian wines. While most of New York’s top wine classes take place at institutes and culinary centers, this one (ranking right up there with them) takes place in the enoteca of the restaurant itself, which features an encyclopedic three-page wine menu. One 5th Avenue. (212) 995-9559.

Josh Saunders
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