Return Uncorked Wine Bar in West Hartford, CT

A little over a month ago, SJ posted a recap of our trip to Uncorked: A Wine Tasting Bistro in Blue Back Square in West Hartford, CT. I returned to the bar last night after a delightful meal at the new sushi place in town - here are my two cents.

When we went to the bar the first time it was literally the second day they had opened - in that mind set, you take it for what it is and expect it will only get better. More than a month later, it seems to be in the same state.

While the wine list is superb to my standards, the wine bar has still not crafted their cocktail list - OK so I'm resident wine gal, but what is SJ to do when she visits next time?!

Last night I opted to stray from the sip/half glass/glass dispensers and go straight for the bubbles. It must be mentioned that the fact the sparkling wines aren't considered in the sip/half glass/glass alignment is a definite downfall. A flight of a half glass of all three of the sparkling wines on the list (for less than $100) is available for $20...

OK - so when we went last time, we were told nicer counters would soon be in place and that each wine would have a corresponding tasting card available for consumers to take home. Pretty cool, right? But did they have it? Nope, at least not yet.

At the very least the bar's staff seemed to be a bit more knowledgeable this time around - last time we overheard the wine staff telling customers they knew nothing about wine. I don't know about you, but when I go to a WINE BAR, I'd like to have the wait staff know something about what they are serving me.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not entirely negative. I'll most likely return to this place at least once before my big more to NYC (more on that later) but I will say that I am disappointed in what I thought was going to be a bar to rival Clo Wine Bar in NYC. Due to CT law, patrons aren't allowed to touch the pouring machines themselves, which also takes away from the experience.

On the plus side, the glass of Gruet Sparkling Pinot Noir I had was delicious as always and nicely garnished with a strawberry I happily ate at the end. The bartender was quite friendly and knowlegable, very attentive. There were not too many people in the bar at 7pm when we went, but a few scattered groups of business men and girls night out could be found by the bar's windows.

In the end, Uncorked is an excellent place to get a great glass of wine - it's just not as "cool" as I thought it would be. Definitely worth a trip if you're in the area!

Cheers!

CC

BAT Recap: Uncorked Wine Tasting Bistro

July 1st marked the Grand Opening for West Hartford’s newest wine spot, Uncorked Wine Tasting Bistro. You can bet that Constance and yours truly stayed in tune with our beverage industry roots and checked out the new digs in West Hartford’s Blue Back Square over the opening weekend.

Uncorked features over 60+ wines displayed behind the creative WineStation” technology, the first system of its kind of reach Connecticut. All the wines are automated to dispense a different sized pour based on your piqued interests: a 1 oz. taste, a 3 oz. half glass, or a full 6 oz glass.

We started our adventure with a few tastes of whites, but my interest was more heavily tuned to the selection of reds on the menu (surprise, surprise…). I was immediately grabbed by the inclusion of a member of the Layer Cake Wines family, the 2008 Shiraz out of South Australia. It’s not my favorite from the family – I’m particularly biased towards their Malbec out of Mendoza, Argentina – but I happily sipped away at my 3 oz. pour of the Shiraz.

I asked for Constance’s help when picking my last taste of the evening. We landed on a spicy but inviting 1 oz. taste of the 2007 Pinot Noir Revana Vineyard from the Williamette Valley in Oregon. What a great bottle of wine! Both Constance and I were pretty blown away by this Pinot out of the Northwest. Managing Partner David Rudman also has some great things to say about this bottle, which you can read on Uncorked’s blog.

Uncorked has a very nice, quaint feel to it, with a comfortable blend of dining tables, high-top bar tables, and standing room alongside the WineStation systems. Constance and I “ooh”ed over the menu of both artisanal cheese and chocolate offerings, but were too full to indulge this particular evening. In speaking to Rudman, we received confirmation that the worldly wine list at Uncorked is fluid and will likely see changes as it establishes its niche in West Hartford.

My only initial complaint about Uncorked – from a spirits blogger perspective – was that I was not able to order a cocktail unless I was sitting at the bar, so our waitress told me. I was also informed earlier by a friend in the Twitter community that a cocktail menu was in place, but was disappointed to find no such menu on this particular visit. Hopefully next time. Peering at the back bar, it does seem that the restaurant does have a established interest in the craft cocktail scene; bottles not notably seen in West Hartofrd – Aperol and Veev are a few particulars that stood out – were readily available for the enthused cocktailian.

Until next time, Uncorked, we’ll be dreaming about indulging in those chocolates…

Cheers!

Uncorked Wine Tasting Bistro
63 Memorial Road, West Hartford, CT
(860) 216-2620
www.uncorkedct.com