Vino, a Fells Point wine bar, and Cepa 21 — two discoveries in a day

Vino

905 South Ann Street

Fells Point

Baltimore, MD 21231

410 342 8466

www.v-nowinebar.com
Click here for a Google map

After doing a day’s work in Fells Point, I decided to have a little walk before driving home, which I found absolutely lovely.  This area is known all over the world to followers of the television series, Homicide, and it is delightful to walk around.  It is less full of tourists than the main part of the inner harbor, but you still get lovely views of the water, the boats, and ships.

View of Fells Point on March 27, 2010

Although I used to know this area really well from when I used to work here, many of the restaurants have come and gone.  But I was surprised and delighted on my walk to stumble across a wine bar that I never knew existed!  Well, it was Friday evening, and I was in an especially good mood having done an interesting and long day’s work.  So rewarding myself with a glass of wine seemed to be a very good idea.

Inside Vino, a wine bar in Fells Point

Vino is definitely focused on wine, but they do offer things to eat while you are drinking, including pâté ($7.50), which is served with bread, butter, pickles, and bread from the (excellent) Bonaparte bakery, which is conveniently located next door.  Other  offerings include toasted nuts ($5.00), a cheese sampler ($12.50), chicken terrine ($9.00), and a “rustic” plate of meats, cheeses and pâté ($12.50).

Vino has a very friendly corkage policy.  You can either drink wine by the glass, as I did, or you can pay $7.00 above the retail price and pick a bottle off the shelves.

The bottle of Cepa 21, 2006 at Vino's wine bar in Fells Point, Baltimore

There is not an enormous selection of wine, but obviously  a lot of thought has been put into what they do offer.  I picked out Cepa 21 2006, a Ribera del Duero, which is made of 100% Tinto Fino, the term used for Tempranillo in Ribera del Duero ($11.00 for the glass).  What a treat this wine was!  It was dark, bordering on purple in color with a beautiful cherry/blackberry bouquet that also suggested its relatively high alcohol content (15%).  The wine is well structured with firm tannins from the 14 months spent in predominantly French oak that I imagine will soften nicely by about 2012, which might be the optimal year to drink it.  This is a very interesting wine from the area with a modern style and big fruit suggesting a new world rather than an old world wine.

This was such a good wine that I bought a bottle ($25) to take to a party on Saturday night!  I was so pleased to have discovered a very nice new wine bar and an excellent wine that I had never tried before.