"Maybe you want to spend the day learning about wine, rather than chugging it from a bottle while staring out of your apartment window. That’s when you should head to Melanie, a wine bar pouring mostly European dynamic wines in a cute space that feels like a friend’s living room. It’s run by the same people as Sushi Note and Augustine Wine Bar, two of our favorite places to drink wine in LA. This is a place where the sommeliers know how to level with you–no question is a dumb question, even if your date asks if orange wine is made from oranges." - nikko duren