Matter of Taste

Velluto Champagne
& Wine Bar
dishes including Alsacian sausage in
lentil broth, while heartier cellar servings
range from grilled Orkney scallop to
Aberdeen Angus beef T-bone, roasted
bone marrow and fried pommes anna.
www.terroirswinebar.com
Paris
O Chateau
A five-minute walk from the Louvre, O
Chateau is an equally essential Parisian
experience as the Eiffel Tower or
Champs-Élysées. The wine list runs
to around 500 labels, with 50 wines
served in 15 different shaped Riedel
glasses. Bilingual sommeliers assist
guests with their wine choices and
food pairing, which is an alluring part
of any visit. A cordon bleu-trained head
chef creates everything from cheese
and charcuterie platters to prix fixe
menus. Best of all, the low-slung, halfoval
bar is a gloriously informal place to
enjoy a glass of fine wine or perfectly
chilled bubbles. www.o-chateau.com
Sydney
VellutO Champagne &
Wine Bar
Few neighborhood wine bars are
dressed to impress quite as decadently
as Velluto. Directly opposite Fitzroy
Gardens in Potts Point, Velluto’s
interiors reside somewhere between
a boutique hotel and a period movie
set, with antique furnishings, gilded
mirrors and dark velvet drapes. The
Champagne cellar features up to 15
labels, including a 1999 Pommery
tastings
Louise Cuvée, with five pours by the
glass. The eclectic wine menu charts
an intriguing journey from boutique
wineries in the Loire and lower Austria
to Mendoza, New South Wales and
Marlborough, and an inventive cocktail
menu for non-wine drinkers adds to
the appeal. www.velluto.com.au
Dubai
CaVe Bar
Smart and slinky, this mezzanine-level
wine bar at Conrad Dubai attracts a
well-heeled clientele of “see and be
seen” Dubai drinkers. Designed as a
contemporary take on a stone cave, it
features an open-door cellar housing
about 500 international wines, lounge
beds, fireside armchairs and leatherpadded
private coves. The self-styled
“Parisian soul food” cuisine offers
foie gras macaroons, duck prosciutto
and a pork charcuterie, and there’s
also a popular weekend wine brunch.
Dubai’s rising cachet with global wine
producers means Cave is also able
to host regular wine tastings with
big-brand winemakers and critics.
www.conraddubai.com
Florence
le VOlpi e l’uVa
Invitingly situated between the
Ponte Vecchio and Pitti Palace, this
atmospheric enoteca with a floorto-ceiling
display of wine bottles
has satisfied the wine cravings of
Florentines and visiting sightseers
for nearly 20 years. Named after a fable
called The Fox and the Grapes, its menu
offers 40 or so wines by the glass from
across Italy, plus a Chablis, Bordeaux
and Südtiroler Sauvignon, which can
be paired with aged cheeses from
France and Italy and cured meats from
Tuscany. The horseshoe-shaped bar is
a great place to sip a hearty Italian red
and garner some “off the beaten track”
Florence tips from amiable residents.
www.levolpieluva.com
New York
aBV
This warehouse-chic Upper East Side
wine bar and craft brewery draws a hip
crowd from across Manhattan. Raw
brick walls, leather banquettes and
giant chalkboards create an informal
ambience, while more than 50 labels
showcase lesser-known global wineries
from around the globe. Served by
the glass are six European and North
American reds and whites, plus
sparkling wines from the Loire, New
Mexico and California. An extra boon is
the culinary menu, which is as eloquent
as it is appealing. Signature dishes range
from yellowfin tuna crudo with spicy
ginger-scallion, cucumber and black
cumin seeds to fish Tacos with roasted
poblano, guacamole, kimchi slaw and
queso fresco. www.abvny.com
Hong Kong
tastings
In a city renowned for its cocktail
lounges rather than its wine-bar culture,
Tastings has upped the viticulture
appreciation quotient since opening in
2008. Offering more than 150 labels
from both Europe and the New World,
it serves around 40 by the glass,
half-glass or 25-millimeter “taster.”
Technology plays a prominent part in
the experience thanks to an Enomatic
wine dispenser that protects opened
bottles from oxidation. The food is fun,
too, with sharing plates of wine-glazed
chicken drumsticks and zucchini fries
with a honey mustard dip. True to its
name, regular tastings are also hosted
to introduce new wines to Hong Kong’s
resident and visiting oenophiles.
www.tastings.hk
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