The Zagat Survey’s 2005-06 guide to New York City Nightlife has put six wine bars on its A-list.
The three ‘top appeal’ wine bars, the just-published paperback said, are Bar Jamón, ’inoteca (sic) and Bar Veloce.
In second place in Zagat’s voting are Enoteca I Trulli, Le Bateau Ivre and Ara
Wine Bar.
It’s unclear how many wine bars New York City offers, but anecdotal evidence suggests that the scene is expanding rapidly.
Zagat presents a bundle of recommendations that surely will attract young visitors from the UK and Europe whose holidays capitalize on the weak dollar.
In its ‘special appeal’ category, Zagat lists 30 wine bars, but doesn’t stop there. It also offers 24 spots, including restaurants, where wine by the glass is popular.
In the wine-bar category, the ‘minuscule’ Bar Jamón, in the Gramercy Park neighborhood, offers an ‘excellent choice’ of Spanish wines, Zagat says.
On the Lower East Side, ’inoteca offers ‘generous pours’ at ‘easy-on-the-wallet’ prices.
The ‘suave’ Bar Veloce, in both the East Village and Chelsea, are ‘true Italian wine bars,’ Zagat finds.
Enoteca I Trulli is a ‘heavenly’ spot in Gramercy that offers ‘superb’ Italian wines and ‘fun price samplers,’ contributors say.
The ‘pricey’ Le Bateau Ivre, on the East Side, ‘channels Paris in the 50s’ and makes you ‘feel like an expat living in France.’
In the sizzling-hot Meatpacking District, the ‘sophisticated’ Ara Wine Bar is a ‘welcome’ change from the nearby ‘velvet rope nonsense,’ its fans declare.
Zagat has one caveat for readers: ‘What’s hot one week can turn cold the next, only to warm up again the week after,’ it warns.
Written by Howard G Goldberg in New York
