Vin Bar & Shop

My favorite bar. No TV, simple atmosphere and very knowledgeable bartenders. They taught me how to make a good gin martini, the difference between shaken and stirred and other must know things. Food is simple, great meats and cheeses and some pasta. Food is not inexpensive, but you do get what you pay for. Drinks are reasonably priced.

Great wine/​cheese bar in downtown Burlington. The staff was so knowledgeable and really took the time to ensure we were content. While it is a little pricey it is definitely a great place to check out while in Burlington!

First visit was decent but underwhelming. The sav b was excellent but the manhattan was subpar. We’ll try it again and stick to wine.

I love Vin Bar & Shop. I’ve been there many times, though not recently, and here’s why…
There are now quite a few new wine bars in the area. Sotto Enoteca is probably Vin’s biggest competition. Vin does many things better than Sotto.
— Vin offers tasting glasses of wine, just a few ounces. For a light weight like me, this is the perfect amount and it allows me to try wines I might not normally get to.
— Vin obviously puts a lot of thought into the wine it serves and how they are served (tastings and flights)
— Vin has a retail shop where you can buy wines and other things.
— Vin has a back room that can rented out for corporate events and other functions.
— Way more selections of glasses of wine and tastings of wine than Sottol
What Vin lacks and why I go to Sotto way more often now is the food.
Sometimes you want to sit down with a great glass of wine and some small plates and tuck in. I’m hypoglycemic, so if I’m drinking even a few ounces of wine, I need the right food to balance out my wine consumption so I don’t fall asleep or get so tipsy I need to go home and fall asleep ;)
While Vin does have some food, the variety is limited and the portions are very small for what you pay. There is no doubt the quality is high, but the quality is similarly high at Sotto and the prices seem more reasonable. Plus, Sotto has a much larger variety of plates with hot ones and cold ones, etc.
Trattoria Delia owns Sotto Enoteca and made sure their wine bar would have access to hot plates from their kitchen when they set it up. Vin is owned by L’Amante which is also next door, but from what i can tell, L’Amante’s kitchen is not set up to be able to send small plates to Vin.
This is the only reason I don’t go to Vin anywhere near as much as Sotto. I’d prefer to go there for the wine selection and the wine serving sizes, but I’d like more of a food selection and food that is less pricey (and I’m not the sort of person who complains about price. For me, quality is key and I’m willing to pay for it. But I just don’t feel like I’m getting what I pay for food-​wise at Vin).
Everyone loves small plates of food. Hen of the Wood is arguably the most popular restaurant in town and they serve small plates that can be shared or eaten by oneself. Sotto serves small plates. Vin should be serving at least a few more food options. Warm food options. The Bolognese L’Amante serves next door is amazing. The stuffed squash blossoms are superb and unusual. Let me have more than a few small wedges of cheese for $ 18 or a few small slices of cured meats for $ 18 and I will be there with bells on. Or at the very least give me more meat and cheese for $ 18. The portions are extremely small and extremely pricey for almost anyone’s standards in the USA.
Thanks for listening Vin. I love your product and space and I would love to give you more of my business. i had my birthday there last year, on which night they actually were serving lobster rolls and salads. That made all the difference and was the reason why we ended up staying there instead of moving on to another place for dinner.
More food, please, and thank you for doing what you do (wine) so well!

This was a wonderful experience. Great atmosphere, awesome staff. Knowledgeable bartenders, well priced, and possibly the best martini ive ever had.

The wife and I tried vin early on a Saturday evening. We come in from out of town four times a year and are perpetually looking for a relaxed but classy, fun but laid back, cool but sans college kids place. We found it. Great service with Nate and Roman, great location just a a stone’s throw from church st, and a nice collection of affordable but nice wines. Slam dunk. Great place. We can’t wait to go back!

I found this place by chance– I just pulled into town for business and figured I would walk around to get the lay of the land– being the dead of winter this quickly became a bad idea– brrrrrrrrr it’s cold out side– I needed to warm up fast that’s when I stumbled upon Vin! From the moment I walked in I knew this place was awesome– Vin offers a great selection of wine (heavy pours) cheese, and cured meats– and I must say YUM! If you’re ever in the Burlington VT area– this is a must! Vin also has live music and offers wine classes! The only thing bad about this place is that it’s not in my town back in Montgomery.

We stumbled upon Vin while in search of a wine bar. We had a couple of hours before our dinner reservation at L’Amante (which we found out later was under the same ownership as Vin). After reviewing the menu we chose the wine flight special, which offers three different wines to taste from. The bartenders were great and took care of everything. In fact the third class in our tasting happened to be corked, and she overheard our description of the wine and quickly tasted it herself and removed our glasses immediately. She handled it professionally and corrected the issue before we even had to say anything.
After we were done with the tasting, my boyfriend and I selected another glass off the menu. I chose a Malbec, while he chose a Rioja. The listed Malbec was out of stock, but another bartender was quick to recommend another Malbec in its place. We fell in love with the Rioja, and bought a bottle from their store adjacent to the wine bar. They packaged it up and left it at the counter for us to retrieve later. We really liked the idea of being able to taste wines and then have the option to purchase a bottle right then and there!
The overall look and feel of the place was great. The atmosphere was sleek and modern, yet still warm and comfortable. They even give you these great house-​made kettle chips as a bar snack! This place is a great hidden gem for a relaxing night out.

This is an amazing wine stop in downtown Burlington. Ask for help when picking your wine. The folks here are incredible knowledgeable and you can tell they have passion for wine!

My boyfriend and I had passed by this recently opened wine bar many times before we were lured in by their Wednesday night special– 30% off bottles at the bar. What a lovely experience we had.
Their wine menu is extensive but not overbearing and the staff was knowledgeable and pleasant. After sampling a few reds, the bartender steered us in the direction of the Domaine la Garrigue Cuvee Romaine Cotes du Rhone (2010) which we enjoyed– rustic and fruity.
The food greatly surpassed expectation. Their minimally descriptive menu offers a choice selection of artisan meats and cheeses. We had the prosciutto, taleggio and olives. What a delightful bounty we received! The presentation was elegant and the flavor pairing were spot on. Candied walnuts, crisp green apples, fig cake and jam complimented the (modest) wedge of taleggio. The tower of prosciutto (sliced on a great big red vintage style volano slicer at the end of the bar) was served with large caper berries, in-​house roasted peppers and fresh baguette. Everything was prepared right in front of us and I always appreciate an element of transparency when it comes to food preparation.
Ambiance is classy yet comfortable. Prices were not inexpensive; however, for the amount and quality of the fair, Vin is certainly a good value. We’ll definitely be back.