Linnea H.
Yelp
Overall, I had a great first experience at Sixty Vines. I think anyone who visited the space when it was still Clyde's will be impressed with how large and open the dining room is. The vibe is very California coastal and there is plenty of modular seating, as well as a private dining space, to accommodate groups of all sizes. Being such an open space does mean it gets quite loud as tables fill up, similar to most bars late at night.
As you've probably guessed, it's a wine forward menu. The paper menu at your table features all of the wines they have (on a unique rotating tap system), along with a few cocktails and non-alcoholic beverages. If you are interested in beer, food, or more premium wine by the bottle, you'll need to use your phone to scan the QR code at the bottom to access those options.
I came for the wine, and was thrilled that you could curate your own tasting flight, which included up to 4 pours of 2.4 ounces. I tried a Chenin blanc, Gruner veltliner/albarino blend , Merlot/cab blend, and Carignan. The white blend, Cadre's "Beautiful Stranger" stood out the most with the most complexity and interestingly most length. The reds tasted a little thin to me, but the wines on tap are also larger volumes; meaning they're good and sure to be consistent crowd pleasers, but nothing excellent. I bet I would have enjoyed one of the bottles from their cellar selection more. Next time! :-)
My cheeseboard was fine. I liked that they had several meat and cheese options, which were then paired with a glob of honey, Marcona almonds, and some pita bread. The almonds were much too salty, but otherwise everything was delicious.
I had attentive service from at least 5 different staff, but they seemed to struggle to make wine recommendations. The only qualifier I heard all night when someone had a difficult time choosing was, "Do you prefer whites or reds?" After chatting with a few staff, though, it sounds like they are all getting regular wine education, so I am very hopeful this will improve very soon.
So perhaps not quite on the same level as your smaller, neighborhood wine bar, but I would absolutely recommend for a large group looking to have a relaxing evening sampling various international wines.