Downtown & Vine

Disappointed. The menu on Unilocal didn’t reflect what was offered. The place was empty. I was the only person outside. Waitress said that the kitchen was really busy so the could not accommodate my request for cheese and bread. This is a wine store and it took at least 15 minutes for my olives to come out. Was so looking forward to this. Went down the street to Ella.

Very solidly good!
Had 2 wine flights, both interesting and enjoyable. And beer flight — nothing exotic but again solid.
Pepper staffed w goat cheese was great
Salad and charcuterie also satisfying
Nice ambiance and location
Would come back again

Enjoyed the Andrew Hill Blend from Two Blondes Vineyard.
Paired very well with their meat and cheese plate.
Great place !
Great service, nice people, great wine and good food.
Don’t miss this place.

I went into this place thinking it was a restaurant, but it was wine bar instead!
It was reasonably priced, and the service was friendly and knowledgeable. I ordered some food, from their small selection, and it was quite tasty, even though you could starve to death trying to subsist on the portions. Well, it is a bar, not a restaurant. Lot of wines to choose from. I really enjoyed the «make your own flight» option.

Had a great time here hanging out with some friends after work. We came because Bob Rawleigh was going to be there singing. The food, drink and ambience were great and the the waitstaff were superior. Bob does an excellent job entertaining and I hope they have him again I the future.
We each ordered from the tapas menu and we sampled various selections from their drink menu. Food was great quality and presented well. They have an extensive drink menu with several wines to choose from. Worth checking out anytime but it’s even greater when they have live entertainment.

This place kicked ass. I love wine. I feel like I won’t ever cry again because this place associated the word wine with happiness to me.

This place is on K street, so with that being said it’s usually dead when state workers/​capitol people are not around. Which is fine, this place is quiet and more intimate. That’s ok if that’s what you’re looking for.
Wine selection: PLENTY! Lots of different options by the glass and the bottle. They also have flights available if you are unsure of what you want.
The food: Great cheese and charcuterie board and really great flat breads.
The service: The two younger waitresses were really friendly, informative, and accommodating. Overall I’d give this place 3.5 stars. I’m taking ½ a star away from the lady behind the counter that is suffering from RBF (Resting Bitch Face). We tried to engage her but she was only interested in talking to old white people. So if you’re not that, expect to see some RBF.

Atmosphere is amazing. The beer flights were great and the meat & cheese plate were delish! Wish they stayed open longer.

I can never recommend this place enough to people. It’s a great little spot for some wine tasting (and the cheese and meat platters are always amazing too) and has some of the most excellent customer service. If you feel like talking, sit up at the bar and one of the employees will generally talk to you about pretty much anything, but if you’re interested in wine they can go into great detail about whatever you’re trying. If you want peace and quiet or to be with your friends with few interruptions just sit at a table. Service is always prompt and the staff are knowledgable. One thing I love is that this place is rarely crowded. It’s a little pricy but not outlandish, wine flights with a platter of food is almost always going to run $ 20 – 30. My friend and I had a great time chatting and loved our wine flights so much we each bought a bottle of our favorites. I’ll be back again for sure.

So why is it that people go to Starbucks when this is an option? I may have found a new favorite reading spot. As some of you may know, this is what I do with my life. I boldly go where no reader has gone before, to find comfy chairs and cool bevs to sip on while I stick my nose into a book and ignore everyone else.
Downtown & Vine has quite the selection. On my last trip, I had both a Sangiovese and a Barbera, two of my go to faves. They’ve got a happy hour set up, and something extra special: wine flights! I love this! I have yet to find a wine bar that will do this. Maybe I haven’t asked…
I appreciated the friendly service I received here. I was immediately told about specials and offers, such as the above flight and happy hour options. Then, except for appropriate refill times, I was mostly left alone to read in my comfy chair in peace.
I love this place!

I came here with a group of friends for my birthday for wine and cheese hour. We made reservations so we were seated in the nice back area for a little privacy. The server was nice and was knowledgable on the wine. We ordered sandwiches, cheese and meat plate. The wine was overall good. The cheese and meat plate was disappointing for $ 18. The sandwich was okay. I wish the food was better! My biggest disappointment was the portion of the cheese. It was tiny and the cheese was cut in little sticks.
Overall, I had a good experience but won’t be back for a while.

Wonderful place for GNO! A little pricey but a splurge every now it then won’t hurt! The flights ranged from $ 12+. It was almost $ 30/​person between 4 girls. We each had a flight, and shared the Quattro, Fungi flatbread and the Cheese and Charcuterie.
The Quattro grilled cheese sandwich was seriously one of the best upscale grilled cheese sandwiches I’ve ever had. And the Fungi flatbread was super yummy. If you love truffle oil, you will love it. Cheese and Charcuterie was pretty basic.
I must come back and try the Friday Night Flights! I guess it’s only $ 15 per person on Friday nights if you aren’t willing to splurge on another day of the week.

Perfect for GNO! I reserved a table at 7PM for a friend’s birthday and they seated us in the back where it was semi-​private.
We were pretty much the only patrons in this place. This establishment closes at 8PM on a Saturday (why?!) We ended up leaving closer to 9PM (oops) but the waitress was super patient and I felt bad for making her stay later than closing time but she was really nice and never rushed us.
We all picked different flights, I got the Amador flight and I liked it, especially the red zin. My friends all seemed to like their flights too… Now more importantly, onto the food…
We got the Quattro Grilled Cheese and Charcuterie plate.
**Quattro Grilled Cheese — this was really good! Not your typical grilled cheese as it had Sweet Apple Jam inside, that totally made this sandwich! I highly recommend this plate!
**Charcuterie plate — this was OK. It came with 2 different types of cheeses, 2 different types of meat, olives, pickles (reminded me of McD’s pickles — eww), and bread. I could’ve done without this plate.
They knew it was my friend’s birthday so at the end, they brought out a complimentary Brownie cake that was really good, still warm and fresh from the oven. That was sweet of them!

Always tasty and hits the spot. Love the wine and food. Locally sourced and beautifully presented.

I love to sneak away to Downtown & Vine for a quick glass of sparkling — the atmosphere is calm and the customer service is on point every time. To top it off, the food is fantastic, and you can always count on high quality vegetarian items — even at an evening reception, which is more than I can say for any other restaurant on the grid.
Come to think of it, maybe I should stop in today!

Tucked inside the Kay across from IMAX is a little slice of wine nirvana.
I love me some wine. And the wine here is excellent! I like the different fight options, including dessert, bubbles and even beer. I like to try new things so flights are perfect for me! My last flight there was a rose flight. Nice and dry, not sweet, my favorite type of rose. The fiancé had a red flight which was amazing.
The food menu is elegant. Your standard cheese plates, flatbreads, sandwiches and small plates. My favorite sandwich is the ‘Wine Country’ (prosciutto, fig jam, mozzarella and arugula). So yummy! Although, if the cheese was gruyère I’d love this even more! And cheese plates! Any place that has a triple-​crème brie is going to get stars in my book, especially if that cheese is Mt. Tam (I can eat that with a spoon!!).
I haven’t tried the desserts yet, but I hope to soon!!!

Stormy and I were pleasantly surprised by this place on a recent trip to the IMAX. We were able to meet and have wine and some tidbits and it was really tasty. The staff were attentive and we never had to worry for service.
I only real alert for this place is that the pricing is designed for the Capitol crowd and not for your average Sacramentan. Be aware that they will separate your money from your wallet quite efficiently.

So, let me preface this with, I did not have to pay. My friend actually had a Groupon or LivingSocial thing and hooked it up! Now having said that, and having in the past experience less than great service when using said coupons, Downtown & Vine did it RIGHT!
First, the place is gorgeous. White with hints of color, very rich comfortable ambience as soon as you walkin the door.
They filled our table with wine glasses, food, snacks, more and more every second someone came out with a tray of something or other for us to try, and then…
When we let them know we were celebrating a birthday, they liked us so much they threw in a cake as a Happy Birthday to me! I was a happy girl.

So I am trying to prolong date night, and as we are walking by the area, I say, «Hey, I think I have an expired Groupon to this wine bar. Wanna go have a glass of wine?» Unfortunately, my phone was on the verge of death, his phone would not let me log in, and we barely managed to use his phone to take a picture of my phone with way too much flash before it copped out for good.
We walk into the bar like, «Um, we have kind of a weird situation… Can you accept a really bad screenshot of my Groupon?» They tried to work with us, and I think they were about to tell us it couldn’t be done, when I finally pulled some of my insane tech skills (not really) on his phone and convinced it to let me log in.
What I thought was an expired Groupon had magically converted to one that never expires, which made me really happy, because it seriously expired like two weeks after I bought it. Unfortunately, the terms had also changed, but the servers were really cool and let me use my Groupon by its old terms, which were much better.
ANYWAYS. This place is insanely cute, which of course is to be expected of a swanky little wine bar. There were lots of white armchairs facing each other over little tables, surrounded by lots more tables and a generously-​sized bar, and then even more tables behind a screen division near the back. We chose to sit at the high stools because they reminded me most of my favorite wine bar in Folsom.
My first thought was, damn, this place is way too expensive. For a little over $ 20, we each get a wine flight with three two-​ounce glasses– basically two glasses of wine for $ 20. Well let me tell you, it was worth it. Perhaps they are lucky that I am reviewing them the week before I go to Napa and get some real wine education, but this was some of the best wine I’ve had so far in my life.
At this point I should mention that I love sweets. Not just sweet wine, sweet everything. but sweet wine too. First I tried the Shadow Ranch La Puerta, which was good for port, but I’m not a port person. It did smell amazing though. Next I tried the DeLoach Late Harvest Gewürztraminer. Oh. My. God. Heaven. The look on my face forced my boyfriend to try my wine after he had already said that he was not at all interested in trying my wine. Next, Vino Noceto moscato– yay, moscato, the one wine I know lots about! Okay, I’m no wine snob yet, but I can tell you that this is the best moscato I’ve ever had, and I’ve had more moscatos than I’d like to admit. Again, I love sweets, so if you love sweets, you would probably love the last two wines that I listed. Otherwise, steer clear.
We didn’t try the food, because we weren’t hungry, but this place is SO cute, and the wine is so amazing, and the servers were so friendly that I definitely want to come back and give their plates a try.

A Decidedly Delicious Wine-​Tasting Experience!
SITREP
Unilocal CM Alex L. invited a group of us Unilocalers to this CMYE to experience a uniquie tasting of some of the region’s best wines.
It was nice to get together to with a group of friends for a wine-​tasting at the new wine spot, «Downtown & Vine». And not only was it a wine-​tasting, but also a food-​pairing experience, as we sampled bites with specific glasses of vintage goodness!
The beautiful thing about Downtown & Vine is that they are not «wed» to any specific winery or groups or wineries. Rather they feature a full variety.
SETUP
As a themed-​format presentation, each month they represent 12 wineries as their «Tasting Room in the City.»
This permits a very indepth and personal educational tasting experience of each of these wines by the taste, flight or glass. What’s nice about this set-​up is that, unlike some tasting rooms where you are standing elbow to elbow asking for another taste, Downtown & Vine offers an elegant seated experience.
And with the group we came with, you had several options to meet your comfort level:
* You can choose a seat at the wine bar;
* You may take a comfortable table in the lounge; or,
* You may take a seat on the patio; or,
* You may make a reservation for a private room.
As it was, with our group of 30 people, we indulged in ALL of the above options, moving, and mixing around (except for the patio since it was COLD that evening!)
THE TASTING & FOOD PAIRINGS
* Started off with 2008 Iron Horse Classic Brut (Green Valley — Sonoma), an absolutely delightful bubbly which tickled my nose.
* 2011 Neyers Chardonnay (Carneros District) — our first taste coupled with a scrumptious bite of Spicy Ahi Tuna with capers. It was a good selection and the tartness of the Chardonnay nicely set off the flavor of the spicy tuna.
* 2010 DeLoach Pinot Noir (Green Valley — Sonoma) — a delicious full bodied red that was paired with roast duck. They each brought out each others nuanced flavors quite remarkably.
* 2010 Dillian Barbera (Amador) — this was paired with goat cheese and sourdough, and I could easily live off goat cheese and Barbera the rest of my life I loved them so much. To be forthcoming, this was my FAVORITE pairing of the night.
* 2008 Emblem «Oso» Cabernet Savignon (Napa) — it was a good cab with some more delicious cheese, so I will just say I wouldn’t kick this pairing out of bed.
THE LOWDOWN
Whether an individual experience, but best in a group setting because of the mixing fun, Downtown & Vine is a decidedly enjoyable and MOST WELCOME addition to my K Street hood.
[This is a first: I believe in the ending survey asking for box checks in the Ambiance section, this is the first time I selected almost all of the boxes — except Divey, which Downtown & Vine is decidedly NOT.] ;^)