clo wine bar

new york, ny

CLOSED

this wine bar was so much fun that i didn't mind paying over $40 for 8 oz of wine. it's a small space with a single long table surrounded by cabinets storing over 100 bottles of wine. from overhead, a wine list is projected onto the table which you can control by moving your hand over the images (pictured). you can search the list based on wine feature or simply scroll through every bottle with a wave of your hand. the "waiter" gives you a card and an empty wine glass. once you make your decision, you find the right cabinet, insert your card, press the button in front of your wine bottle, and it automatically fills your glass with 4 oz. it took me a while to master the hand-waving interface (hint: you don't have to touch the table, just guide the orange circle over the buttons), but i really enjoyed being able to read the descriptions of each wine.

my first choice was the 2006 gramercy cellars lagniappe. this wine was meant for me: (a) gramercy is my nyc hood, (b) the wine is from the columbia valley in washington state (as am i), and (c) the wine's cabinet location was K8 (!!). 'twas fate, so i didn't mind the $17 price tag. it was an excellent medium-bodied red with a good spicy kick. (note: an entire bottle only costs $40 in a seattle wine shop). my second wine was described as "belonging in a starbucks" and tasting of chocolate and espresso. another amazing wine - it's really a pity i can't remember the name. despite the exorbitant markup, i will definitely visit this place again. it has a beautiful view of central park, i enjoyed being able to make an informed decision about which wine to try, the hand-waving was super-fun, and now i know about an amazing wine that i will purchase from a wine shop next time i'm in seattle.