Allegra
Google
I’ve been wanting to try this neighborhood wine bar for a long time, and I finally made it on a Wednesday. Upon my 5pm early bird arrival, I was greeted immediately with a complimentary wine tasting of five stellar Italian wines. Later, I discovered that they offer this tasting every Wednesday. The phrase “neighborhood spot” gets tossed around loosely in Miami, freely attaching itself to mediocre places where prices passively insult the neighboring middle-class households. Are we all living on Fisher Island? How nice. So, I was pleasantly refreshed when I saw a robust and diverse wine offering, with more than twenty selections by-the-glass, priced between $9 and $15, with the majority under $13. It’s smart. As a consumer I won’t consume 4 glasses, but I’m ordering 4 so I can fuss around, explore, and stick my nose in things, like a kid in a Star Wars shop. Foolproof gems include a rare Edi Kante Extra Brut from Friuli for $12, a stunning Müller-Ruprecht Rosé of Pinot Noir from the Pfalz for $12, and an old-school Lang & Reed North Coast Cabernet Franc for $13 (I charged that same price on my list 18 years ago!) There’s also a small but thoughtful bottle shop where you can be a worldly vinous nomad and reconnect with forgotten classics, like Alban Vineyards of the Central Coast, and meet sexy newcomers, like Jean Dauvissat of Chablis. The bottle price tag is for dining-in, while they offer a 33% discount on bottles for takeout. Friendly, but not too friendly, cozy but polished, affordable yet elevated, this is a legit wine bar with an adept selection that’s doing the simple things very, very well. Now, let me go Zillow Search for a nice 2/2 apartment on Harrison Street, with a wrap-around balcony please! ~Allegra A