"Shared wine knowledge is kind of like relationship insurance. You’ll always have an excuse to hang out and drink together, and you’ll also have plenty of topics for conversation when you’re done venting about loud-chewing friends and your coworker who whisper-narrates every single email that comes through her inbox. Blue Ribbon’s bar in the West Village is a 15-seat space ideal for dates, and the long wine list has a bunch of half-bottles, as well as tasting flights with groupings like chilled reds and white Burgundy." - Matt Tervooren