Wine Bars ‘en Vogue’

 
Wine has developed into a trend drink across much of Europe. Small wonder then that specialist wine bar concepts are gaining ground again. They ‘celebrate’ wine with a variety of tastings and seminars in stimulating, trendsetting and inviting settings. Great attention is paid to authenticity.
 

 
The foodservice scene in Linz received a boost around six months ago with the opening of the Steelothek Mach wine bar and lounge. Approximately 100 different wines are offered, 12 of them open (7 white, 5 red). A glass of wine costs from €2.50 to 6. There is something for every taste whereby the emphasis is on Austrian products. The bestsellers are Grüner Veltliner, as well as a number of red wines and cuvees. Popular grapes are the Blaufränkischer and, a newcomer, the Junker. Culinary specialities include liver paste in a glass jar and cheese from various regions of Austria (cheese platter, small for €7.50, large for €9.50). The average bill amounts to €15-20. The food share is less than 5%. Themed evenings, such as wine tastings with selected winegrowers, cost around €20–25 per person.
Seating: 12 bar stools and 8 stools on 32 sq m.
www.steelothek.at
 

 
The Winery is located in a venerable vault – an 18th century house – in Wiener Neustadt. Opened in 2005 with a guest area of 100 sq m, the Winery serves 72 different wines, all of them from Austria; 48 are red, primarily from the Burgenland region (bestseller). Most of the white wines come from the Wachau and Steiermark regions. The price for a bottle of wine ranges from €15-40. A glass costs €2.40-3.40. 12 wines are sold open. To accompany their wine, guests can choose from, for example, a slice of bread spread with chives for €1.70 or breast of duck on lentil salad for €6.80. Austrian specialities, such as black-pudding strudel, are also served. The F:B ratio is 25:75.
www.winery.co.at
 

 
Denner, Switzerland’s leading food discounter, opened the pilot store of a new wine-bar concept in Zurich at the end of November 2006: D-Vino . Here, the subject of wine is tackled in a professional but uncomplicated way. On offer are over 200 wines from the Denner range, 30 of them open. The prices for a glass (1 dl in Switzerland) are generally between CHF4.50-6, the cheapest is a Merlot from the Pays d’Oc for CHF4/dl, the most expensive a Sauternes for CHF9/dl. All bottles will be opened for orders of 3 dl or more with a corkage fee of just CHF25 per bottle being added to the normal shop price. To go with the wine, guests can choose from around 20 dishes: pasta, quiches, antipasti and cheese. Covering 100 sq m, the bar has seating for 50 and standing room for another 50. In planning are events, such as wine tastings organised by experts and wine seminars. As are more D-Vino wine bars in other Swiss cities.
www.d-vino.ch
 

 
| 14 February 2007 |