A Taste For Wine

We finally went back to Taste of Wine and finally they seem to have a strong staff in place! They could still use a bit more variety for their appetizer offerings and would suggest that they include a nice herb, garlic olive oil dip when searching the bread buts that’s the my only immediate suggestion!

So nice and friendly. You are
Away from the cloud, yet tigers the party vibe.
A must see!!! the wine is amazing by the way!!!

This place looks like the meeting house for single ladies anonymous. That aside, the ambiance is cute and the outdoor balcony is nice. I can only speak on the ambiance and the service. We ordered a bottle of rose and I was happy to see it served in champagne flutes as opposed to a wine glass. The service was good, although some waitresses looked miserable. 3 stars for the balcony, but if they didn’t have that going for them I wouldn’t return.

Lovely little upstairs wine bar. Great balcony spot, too. If you love al fresco sippin’ & people-​watching, this is the perch for you. Didn’t sample the fare, but made a dent in the wine list. Not bad. The bartender might’ve needed a hug, but hey, it was First Friday.

I really enjoyed this place. I went on a date here. My date was not a fan of wine but when he left, he found wine he liked. I loved the cute bistro tables. They also let me sample several red wines so I could see what I liked. The meat and cheese platter was delicious. It was plenty of food for 2. My date was a new wine drinker and the server recommended Moscato and he really like it. The server checked on us often, gave us refills when needed and asked if we needed anything else. The manager also came out and polled us for a question regarding wine tastings. It made us feel important. I really enjoyed the atmosphere of this wine bar. I would love to take back some girls for a girls wine night out. It is also super cute and private for a date night. When in downtown St. Pete please try!

A gem, albeit a cheesy name, that is non-​pretentious and to-​the-​point. ATFW is located upstairs above the craziness of Central so you can rest assured that you will have peace and quiet to enjoy your wine and conversation. Inside is a cute, chill lounge and outside is a nice balcony. They have lots of different wines and they are reasonably priced. They also have beer and chocolate-​covered bacon and cheese and charcuterie and pizza and ice cream. How can you go wrong? We were served by two super nice ladies; they are friendly and down-​to-​earth and dressed casually. They even found a can of Mountain Dew for my drink-​challenged boyfriend and didn’t turn their nose up about it. I’m a big fan. :D
Oh, the only downside would be the slow service. We did have to wait awhile to get a new glass of wine and to cash out and they really weren’t that busy. :/​Oh well.

Went as a group of 10 for First Friday this month, and it was fun to sit out on the balcony & people-​watch while listening to the nearby music & just having a good time chatting, etc.
My brother & his wife are somewhat regulars here, so I was pre-​warned that the pizza would take a while & that the three pizzas we ordered probably wouldn’t even come out at the same time. He was correct. We went with one meat pizza, one veggie pizza, and one mixed. I thought I had taken pictures to post, but I don’t have them on my phone to share.
The waitress was really friendly (Colleen, if I remember correctly), and she kept up with the group’s multiple refill requests. The bartenders were also seemed pretty friendly, though there was much less interaction with them since we were outside.
The water was poured from a glass jar/​bottle rather than a pitcher, & I probably had two+ bottles by myself. The others were drinking wine & beer & they were all quite happy with their selections.
I’m glad I was with someone who knew where to go, because you need to enter through a narrow alley touting tattoos & then up some stairs to get in to the bar.

This is one of St Petersburg’s hidden treasure. The owners and staff are so friendly. If you are not sure what type of wine you may like, they will help find the one for you. The food is delish. The balcony is an added touch to sit and relax.

The ambiance and service were fantastic at A Taste of Wine. Unfortunately, I can only give three stars because of their menu. We ordered a bottle, only to be informed that they had run out. We chose an alternative, only to be told they had run out of that, as well. The server did go out of her way to find another bottle to our liking, but when 90% of your business is your wine list, it should be available, especially since we were their first customers of the day. In addition to the wine, we ordered the cheese platter which the menu touted comes with «fresh baked French bread.» The cheese was fine, and the chèvre was particularly good, but the «fresh baked bread» was clearly store-​bought crackers.
Altogether, we enjoyed our experience, but did not fully get what we expected or paid for.

Wow is all I can say. I was in the St. Pete area with a couple friends. Planning for the day ahead, we determined that wine was needed. We popped into A Taste For Wine and I was very impressed. The shop was closed for a wedding but the owners graciously let us in (the wedding was a couple hours away). They were more than helpful in assisting us with picking out some fine wines and they helped us look for wines based on our preference. There is a beautiful balcony here and I must say that I would like to come back sometime to sip some wines in the beautiful St. Pete sun!

Not sure how this place is rated number 1. We went to check it out and it had been closed down.

RELAX WITH A VIEW… IF YOU CAN
With its balcony views, this is a great place to relax with a glass of wine and watch the craziness below you during First Friday. Unfortunately, the balcony isn’t that big… probably the size of two apartment bathrooms so that chances there is a free table during a First Friday can be hit or miss.
No worries, the seating inside has a comfortable look and feel to it. Lots of dark colors with dim lighting yet it doesn’t feel too posh-​posh. You can still hold a conversation with your date here – the open space invites a little noise.
HELPING A NEWBIE
I’m a wino newbie so it was very helpful to glance at the Wine list and see the descriptions of what was available. Everything was written to sound delectable. Many time’s I’m torn between choices so it helps having a Flight of Wines – all for a good price. The Flight presentation is not the best… the Wine names are written in dry-​erase marker over a laminated, simply designed paper and your glass goes over that. Ah well – minor complaint.
There have been times I’ve told the server how I was feeling and had them suggest for me – and not only do they give good recommendations they also explain WHY they suggested a particular Wine. That’s great service.

This is the perfect wine bar from the ambiance to the ever changing wine list. Great place to start out the night for a date night or if you just like a good glass of wine. We sat down with the owner and she was really nice and welcoming. Great to talk with. Nice wine snacks to munch on while you are going through the menu.

Strolling down Central after eating dinner at the Birch & Vine, we nearly missed this gem of a wine sipping bar! What a mistake that would have been because this place is amazing. The owner, Rochelle, has been serving thirsty wine consumers at this location for 19 years, and if you’re not looking for it, you might walk right past it. I’ve got a keen eye though, and the bright ass green neon light in the alley caught my attention. I started walking towards the sign and La Chica hangs back at the street, peering in at me as if she wasn’t sure about walking into the darkness. It was quite hilarious. The atrium/​alley or whatever it’s called is completely safe, and tall glasses of wine await upstairs, so don’t be skeptical. The atmosphere is very chilled, a little dim, and adult-​like. No loud college kids or hipsters with beards and dreadlocks. A definite escape from some of the absurdness going on at street level below. Very relaxing. The wine selection is always changing, so you might not get the same one twice, but that’s okay. They carry some off-​the-​wall wines, so don’t go in here expecting to drink Barefoot or any other grocery store brands.
We had a blast hanging out in here, and can’t wait to revisit!

Great place to have a nice glass of wine and relax. The balcony overlooking central is really nice. Our bartender was great and very friendly. Can be a little pricey IE $ 15 for a 6oz glass but it was delicious! Not a food place but the lite fair they have is really good and goes pretty good with the wine selections. Oh and it is not just wine, their beer selection happens to be pretty darn good as well!

Went there last night and didn’t have to wait which was nice given that it was «First Night; First Flight». I had the proseco which was good. We also ordered some pecan pie bites and a cheese platter and both were delicious. My only suggestion would be to serve the platter with fresh bread (preferably warm) and add a few more slices of cheese to the «platter» as the selection was slim. Service was great though and if you do visit, it’s nice to sit out on the balcony.

We found this place on a recent trip to St Pete Beach. After getting fed up with the terrible food we had been eating on St Pete Beach, we went to Saint Pete our last day/​night in town. We parked and started wandering. We love wine, seen the sign and wandered our way into a neat little alley, up a stair case and into a really neat little wine bar. One of the owners was working the bar, late afternoon, Wednesday, and she was very friendly, personable, and after hearing about our displeasure with food, directed us to go to the Birchwood, which we loved completely. I so appreciate a person willing to help out a tourist.
I enjoyed their wine selections here, especially the Schug Chard, Schug is such an awesome «sleeper» wine across the board, especially their Cab, I enjoy it at home, but few people seem to offer it.
Nice little balcony, although I’m never one to enjoy outdoor space when the view is a street/​cars sort of scene.
We didn’t try any food/​apps, so I can’t comment on them. But I will say, we are visiting again in Dec, and we will make it a point to spend some time/​money here because of the wines, and the service, and the hospitality.

Hidden little gem on Central Ave. The staff is knowledgeable about their wines and extremely helpful. Super casual atmosphere and the balcony is great for sipping a glass and nibbling on a cheese plate or dessert while watching the fun spectacle of St. Pete passing by below you.
Tip: Great place to meet up with friends or after dinner drinks for a date

Wonderful:)
Great service

This is a great place to just sit and converse and enjoy some great drinks and snacks.
Now that they have some great beers the hubby enjoys it a lot more too. Their snacks, although not many, are very good and a decent enough assortment to please everyone.
Nice outdoor seating overlooking central ave. too