Living Napa Cabulous on The Strip
Living Napa Cabulous is about finding ways to enjoy Napa and its world-class wines no matter your location. Last weekend, I took a quick jaunt to Las Vegas with family and made it a priority to scope out the best wine bars and specialty shops. Yes, I needed something to help keep me busy and away from the roulette and blackjack tables… With its proximity to California and demands of its wine-aficionado visitors to meet, Las Vegas didn’t disappoint. Let me tell you about some of the Las Vegas wine bars and shops I found – some classic, some new – for your next visit to Sin City.
- EATDRINK at The Cosmopolitan – First off, this hotel is a scene! After wandering through its uber-modern lobby and crystal-draped
lounge, I was pleasantly surprised to stumble upon this shop. As the name suggests, EATDRINK is devoted to highlighting the cuisine and wine served by chefs and sommeliers at The Cosmopolitan. A portion of the space is devoted to its walk-in wine cellar and tasting room, which features one of the many enotech/enomatic wine machines I saw throughout the city. Coincidentally, we arrived during happy hour and were offered as many tastes of their 10+ wines as we wanted for $20. They also sold wine by the bottle and the 100 milliliter “test tube” in addition to unique wine gifts. EATDRINK is best for a quick stop to taste if you need a break from gambling or shopping because there were only four chairs in the room. - The Wine Cellar at The Rio – Known as the best wine bar in Las Vegas, The Wine Cellar certainly lived up to its reputation. (Pictured in header image.) Accessible by a winding staircase down below the casino floor, we instantly
felt like we were walking into a Napa Valley tasting room or otherwise magnificent cellar. An impressive collection of wine lined the walls, including an 1855-1989 vertical of Chateau d’Yquem. There were several tables and leather couches to choose from, but we opted for seats at the bar. The wine educator/bartender presented us with expansive menus that profiled at least a dozen flights and even more wines by the glass and bottle. (They are willing to create custom flights, too.) We decided to share oaky-white and hearty reds flights and were really pleased with the line-up. The whites were Far Niente 2010 Chardonnay, Camelot Highlands 2009 Santa Maria Valley Chardonnay (we loved this!) and a third wine I can’t remember for the life of me. We think it might have been a Beringer. Reds included Caymus 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon, Silver Oak 2010 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, Shafer 2009 One Point Five and a French Barons de Rothschild 2010 Pauillac. The service was wonderful and we also had a great time talking wine with a few of the fellow patrons; the atmosphere was more our style than the swanky lounges. The Wine Cellar is a great, cozy place to start your evening before heading out or to end the night. Continue reading Wine Places: Las Vegas Wine Bars and Shops
