I like wine just as much as the next person, but does that mean I can tell a Pinot Noir from a Merlot? Not quite. Enter City Wine Tours, a super fun way to spend a couple of hours in the city! This company offers fun, two-hour wine tours throughout different neighborhoods in New York City, allowing guests to explore award-winning restaurants, while tasting wine, trying food and learning a ton.
Each wine tour has no more than 12 guests on it so that it is a pleasant, small group, which makes it the perfect size for mingling and making new friends. Whether you are a wine newbie or consider yourself a connoisseur, you are sure to have a great time and learn something new. The tour guides are certified sommeliers and are extremely knowledgable and fun.
This past weekend, Manhattan with a Twist set out on their West Village wine tour. We were lucky to have Manhattan with a Twist contributor, Sara Lehman, as our tour guide! Our first stop on the tour was Cantina Corsino, which was a lovely Italian restaurant. We started off with a lovely sparkling Rose, followed by a Chardonnay. I loved both of these wines and could have had much more! With these two light wines, we enjoyed an array of small bites, such as charcuterie, ricotta and orange honey topped bread, and fried brussels sprouts. The chardonnay paired incredibly well with both the bread and brussels sprouts.
Next stop was A.O.C., a cozy French bistro. Here we enjoyed more bread and charcuterie, along with a Pinot Blanc from Alsace and a very delicious Pinot Noir. Here we learned a lot about these wines, the region they came from, and how to pair wines with food. It was fun to learn about different bottle shapes, acidity, corks, tannins and all things wine!
Our last stop was the perfect ending to the tour – Ayza Wine & Chocolate Bar. At this spot we enjoyed two reds, along with two different chocolates. The first was a Garnacha, sourced by Ayza itself, and the second was a Tempranillo. Both were deep red wines that went very well with chocolates, but would also probably go just as well with some red meat. At this stop we learned about different types of wine glasses and much more.
Of course, we don’t want to go too in depth with all that we learned about wine…that would take all the fun out of YOU going on a City Wine Tour! City Wine Tours are currently hosting tours in SoHo and the West Village on Saturdays and Sundays. They are also available for events and private tours. Make sure to book yours asap – we promise that they are full of fun, learning, and plenty of wine.
