We’ve reviewed Enoteca on this site and given the Downtown mall wine bar many plus points. We like it. It’s sexy, well designed, owned by “The Empire” and attracts a very hot crowd. Check out our older reviews:
enoteca is making an effort to educate wine drinkers about what they’re doing with their Italian offerings
enjoyable, gossip friendly, non-UVA infested, place to meet and hang with friends
Now, what would piss me off?
Enoteca DOES NOT LET YOU TASTE ANY WINE BEFORE YOU BUY.**UPDATED
This is a petition for Enoteca to change their NO TASTE policy.
I’m not going to visit the place, talk about it, tell my friends to go there or mention it until they do so. Enoteca, quite frankly, makes enough money off of an $8 dollar glass to give its customers a little quarter ounce pour. I don’t care if you have a you must buy a glass, limit tastings to 3 tastes, and only let people taste the wines you have by the glass, but it’s absurd to go to a wine bar without being able to taste anything.
Seriously folks… am I alone in this one? Am I being reasonable? I am pissed.
What do you think?
UPDATE**The GM responds and says that Enoteca does, in fact, allow customers to taste wine before they buy. I will double check this in typical disguised fashion.
Popularity: 9% [?]
Tagged as: Charlottesville, Gripes, Wine
Umm, no.*
I think you have to have either a winery/wine shop ABC license OR a restaurant license. Wineries/wine shops don’t appear to have the same 40% food sales requirement. Also, since they serve teeny-tiny glasses in 3 oz. pours for very reasonable prices, allowing even a free 1 oz. taste seems a bit counterproductive.
Running, sprinting in fact, from the “we” at the top of this. I like Enoteca a LOT.
*Editing this comment because I’m trying to say “no, not reasonable” and I originally wrote yes.
Gotta be about inventory control. That and the hell of pouring a half dozen tasters, in different wine glasses for a half dozen people can get very deep into wine, labor and dishwashing etc etc.
I’m not a big wine fan, but I know most bars won’t give you a taste of beer with no purchase. Just sayin’… some bars will some won’t.
Lighten up Thor. When you go to Christian’s Pizza do you ask to taste a slice before you buy it? When you go to Miako do you ask to taste a piece of their spicy tuna roll? Do you ask to sample the latte from Mudhouse before the purchase? Why should this wine bar be any different? Seems to me a socialite such as your self would be offered tastings without having to beg or pout.
Thor, you’re 100% right on. Even if they limited it to tasting 3 of the wines that are currently open, they’re losing (at most) $1, but I’d be willing to bet the average person coming in there spends at least $20 on food and wine.
Most of the wineries in town give you a tasting of 5 or more wines, usually based on the fact that they are going to make at least a 1 bottle sale. And they’re typically not selling a whole load of $$ food.
And I’ve never had trouble tasting beers at any given pub. mmm….this Mickey’s tastes especially basementy today…what year is this?
trashworth is right, some places do let you try, some don’t. It’s a privilege, not a right.
Thor’s going to be very disappointed the first time he visits a brothel.
Nah, this is different than food. I’ve never had a bar say, no you can’t taste that fancy micro-brew beer before you buy it (if it’s on tap).
It’s not about losing money; they are a high end establishment. They should care about pleasing customers, because those are the people that are going to keep coming back for more. I’m not and certainly before I venture into the $10+ glasses of wine I would like to taste them to make sure they taste 50%+ better than the “low-end” wines.
This also has nothing to do with the food requirement. No one is trying to drink the tastes to cheat the place out of a purchase. I legitimately want to taste wine before I buy. I don’t know what a “standard taste size” is, but I don’t think it’s really going to hurt them that much.
Crush lets you taste….
BYO et all, this is more about a retail wine bar than a retailer.
I’ve asked on several occassions to taste and on all I’ve been allowed. And if the wine I taste is not to my liking they of course offer a different one and do not charge me for any of those “tasted”.
Stanley: hilarious
Lizzie, funny cause I asked and I was denied.
With all due respect to the God of Thunder, I find the “may I sample the beer/wine” to be presumptuous and unnecessary. If you have doubts/questions about a libation, ask the barkeep for a description. If the description is enticing, order the beverage. If not, don’t. Of course, I’ve never met a drink I didn’t like.
I don’t always ask for a taste. I have had some wines I don’t like at Enoteca and I was trying to prevent myself from not paying for something I wouldn’t like.
I am a big tipper and I spend too much money out. If other places are happy to let me taste, I will go there instead. That’s my deal.
I would love it if you could sample some of the wines before buying a glass. If its a cost thing I would be willing to pay something reasonable to be able to taste a few and then get a glass or a bottle. It’s not something I necessarily expect from a place like that, but I think it would be a great thing for them to offer. Last time I went I wanted to try something new and really didn’t like it at all, which is a risk you take, and thats fine …but its a shame to pay almost 10 bucks and not enjoy it.
From the point of view of the establishment, I think the problem could be the fear that sampling becomes a trend. It’s one thing for a person knowledgable about wine to receive a sample, but when the idiot at the next table sees the sample, then he/she wants a sample, and they’re like, “this tastes too yucky, can I sample something else that’s not so ewwwy,” ad infinitum.
Why not get the small tasters? Sparklings excluded.
i haven’t been to enoteca (not a huge wine fan in general), but perhaps they could enact a sampler option ala michael’s bistro and countless other beer pubs: for the price of one glass you can choose from 4-5 samples. that way, enoteca gets paid, patrons get samples, and perhaps try stuff they wouldn’t want to drop full price on.
roffle meow, yeah, I am a huge fan of wine AND beer flights. If you like that, go to Blue Mountain Brewery in Afton. I would love to know why I don’t see more of them in town.
I feel like mommy and daddy are fighting.
Tastings has wine flights.
@20: off-topic, but i really need to get out to blue mountain brewery! how many styles do they have on tap at a time?
I ain’t no wine shop but I’m from the school of if your customers wanna try it, LET THEM! I give away free juices, free coffee, let my customers sample the soup and the baked goods. It’s all in the name of excellent customer service. Does it cost me money, yes, but in the grand scheme of things it’s a small price to pay to have repeat business and a happy loyal customer base.
Daddy drinks because you cry, truestory.
well played mctuffleby. all my retorts were just….wrong so i’ll leave it at that.
off topic but pertinent to the grape juice, we had a german family come in to do a tasting last weekend and the 6 year kid stomped and piddled until he got his own glass. definitely the german branch of barrymore.
Thor, I completely agree with you. If I’m going to be paying premiums for wine I like to have a chance to try. It surely doesn’t look like enoteca is hurting for money so it seems absurd to have a not tasting policy. However, I was in there on Friday night and saw a woman and her daughter being allowed to taste wines. so maybe it depends on the server… or who you are.
Maybe I am scary looking to the servers.
enoteca does flights of wine, and that might be the reason for no tasting.
also it may be the server/bartender/mgr/customer factor.
it may, in fact be the previous customer’s attitude. ?
consistency is not a natural human tendency. especially when dealing with lots of humans;)
McGilli, since when?
Also, adding on to my previous post…
Being a wine bar that appreciates and understands wine one would think that they would take more consideration for the fact that one persons taste in wine can differ greatly from another persons taste. I know people that will find a 10-15 dollar bottle of wine fantastic but put something thats in the 40-50 dollar range in front of them they turn up their nose (and vice versa). In an unprofessional opinion they would probably keep their clients much happier if they would allow tasting (of course within reason).
It does seem like they would be more than willing to give you a glass of something different if you don’t find your choice to be what you were expecting (a person in our group wasn’t as happy with their wine, but didn’t demand something different). They could avoid 6 oz of sent back wine with a 1 oz taste… More efficent in my view.
maybe not anymore? but i have heard from others they serve flights of wine and half glasses…actually a selling point from reviews i’ve heard.
honestly- i haven’t had the time to go there. so i’m just a hearsayer.
i like my wine in a box these days. (that’s what he said.-sorry, couldn’t help it).
what’s anyone think of siips? all i know is i looked at their menu and the $x.95 irritates me for some reason.
Can any lawyers or small business owners tell us if there’s a different license for wineries/wine retail stores in regard to tastings?
If I don’t like a wine I’ve ordered at a bar/wine bar/restaurant, I never hesitate to send it right back from where it came. Wine Bars/some restaurants tend to not always check the “freshness” of their product before serving it (often the staff wouldn’t understand the difference between oxidized swill and a good wine anyway.) The wine list becomes a variable guessing game as to which wine I think is least likely to have been opened two weeks ago. It is also the responsibility of the restaurant’s purchaser to put decent options on the menu. At the end of the day, Thor, the restaurant is out a whole glass as opposed to a little taste if the wine is bad and I send it back. Sux for them.
Well, now I just don’t know what to do. I won’t go to siips, cause there are too many i’s in the name and they ran out of spinach balls, and now Thor has declared war on Enoteca. Where is one to go for an overpriced glass of wine in the middle of the downtown mall? Ugh, the humanity.
I have your solution, but you will have to wait for tomorrow.
uh- i’ve noticed zo.ca.lo writes numbers on their bottles of wine. i’m guessing they are the date opened. so if that is being done… i guess they get rid of it if it is too old. or they just practice ocd.
and wines i have had there are usually 1-2 dollars less then other restaurants for the same glass.(cough…mas-cough)
i also enjoy c&o or escafe for wine.
not so much miller’s for wine;).
and since they have offed the young’s chocolate stout, not so much for anything special.
Thor: @28 - Its the long braided beard and loincloth.
McG @32 - Siips was CRUCIFIED by this site a couple weeks back.
Gob @35 - Drink fortified wine with me at the greyhound station, of course!
Whoa there! To clarify, Siips was critiqued the first week it was open, which is usually just cruel, and quite a few people commented who never actually ate or drank there, myself included. I wrote that when I went in, it was not my demographic, and I wanted to go back another time when I was more appropriately dressed, which is to say, more dressed.
So diiplomatiic, liiliith.
I don’t know a thing about the different licenses, other than what I just Goggle’d up.
There are a zillion and 3 types of licenses: http://www.abc.virginia.gov/licensing/liccost.htm
And for someone far more industrious than myself (sorry; gots to be workin’ for a livin’ right now), here are the links to the laws and regs: http://www.abc.virginia.gov/licensing/laws_regs.html#summary
Ha! Yeah. It’s the “I heard she’s a real bitch!” principle. “Well have you met her?” “No, but I heard she’s a bitch.” I hate that shit!
Wow. I meant “Google’d” instead of “Goggle’d.” Maybe I’m already drinking.
I would guess (no firsthand knowledge, but just from what I’ve observed there) that Enoteca makes most of its moolah from being a wine bar, not from selling the wines it carries — the idea being more “Hey, I really liked that; think I’ll buy a bottle” than “I’m in here to buy a bottle of wine.” If they gave away a free 1/2 oz taste of three wines to a customer who decides to purchase just one glass, and they have a lot of customers that do this, that could slide into being a bad economic policy. I think because they’re mainly a bar, that will alienate only a small percentage of customers. If they were mainly a wine shop, they’d have a bigger problem.
Regardless, Thor, I think an online petition to get a private business to change a policy that doesn’t hurt anything but your ability to taste booze for free is a bit over the top. Chill, baby.
I know they offered flights up through last fall; don’t know if they still do.
selling the wines it carries -> selling the wines it carries by the bottle.
@44 FDR: I still think it’s bad business and I’ll be spending my money at places I can sample beforehand. I am unhappy about it and I will be spending money elsewhere because I prefer to trust my own tastes, not people who read off the menu when they make wine recommendations.
It’s a “I care about the customer” issue, not a let’s let the customers “rip” us off.
I can’t believe how something so trivial has blown into a hot topic. So, you weren’t offered a tasting…Big deal. Grow up and move on. Declaring war on a business because you didn’t your way is ridiculous. I personally enjoy going to Enoteca. Have I ever sampled a wine? Probably. But I can tell you that even if they said no that would have been fine too. It is just my opinion but with the way you are attacking the establishment you probably were and are probably a rude customer who thinks he’s entitled. That said, get over it and move on. I will continue to visit Enoteca on those days when I desire a good glass of wine in a relaxing atmosphere.
you should throw a tantrum
or you could get some cheese to go with that whine
hahaha I crack myself up!
@47 ss : Actually I’m a very respectful customer who used to wait tables, knows many restaurant/food industry people and tips well north of 20% when service is good. I love food, wine and spending time out. I respect restaurants but I’ve had too many bad glasses of wine at Enoteca to want to go back without being able to taste them.
If I were entitled, I would obviously reveal myself as Thor so I could be treated as a VIP or whatnot, but I like being incognito.
@49 shen: what kind of cheese?
tomme de savoie?
that’s my fave
Only on cvillain would people get tense and inspired to boycott about wine! Are these bottles we’re talking about in the hundreds of dollars range? If so, I guess I could see wanting a taste first. I wouldn’t take a risk on something pricy like that. I wouldn’t buy a guitar without playing it first unless it was $40 and looked cool, in which case there is an acceptable risk. I have never been in any of the wine bars downtown. Maybe this is a badge of honor or something I need to get over as a 30year old who LIVES downtown and only goes to Miller’s, OXO, Ten, and Eppie’s. Eppies ftw btw.
ooh we need a cheese post. it’ll get like 299 comments. 291 of which will be mine.
I’m bummed cuz no one lets me taste the tequila before I buy a double shot. What are those little glasses for, anyway?
This reminds me of my bartender post back when this site began…If the bottles are open and are being poured by the glass and some Norse God walks in to buy a bottle, there is nothing to lose here. A tiny pour of a bottle, if that sucks, then another pour, then another, 3 oz later he is back to ruling Thunder with a pricey bottle of wine. Any decent wine store will let you sample wine if the bottle is open, period.
If we are talking about bottles that are for sale but not sold by the glass, then its totally fine for them to not offer a taste on an individual basis.
Same goes for beer, if its on tap, bartender should be willing to give you a taste. If you’re asking for a taste of bud-light then get the hell out of here.
We had a girl come in last weekend, wanted a BL. No luck. Mich light? No luck. Et al… Gave her a taste of every single beer we had to oppose my elitist bitch rep and finally made her a Sex on the Beach. Which she lovvved. So there.
She was so entitled.
shenanigans….had some tomme de savoie at Zinc the other night….very tasty
B-yo! I’m with you. I found a little tequilla shop on the beach in Playa Del Carmen that would let you taste anything in the store. The guys opened a $350 bottle of Tequilla for me, although I told him he shouldn’t. I went back everyday, of course. On the last day, I dropped $150 in his store.
Good customer service -> Good customers….usually.
Um yeah! “Here’s to you Trashy-Drink Ordering girrllll…You go to fancy bars and ask for trashy drinkssss…Don’t be afraid to order a pina coladaaaa….” (sung like those BL Real Men of Genius commercials)
@15 I have had some wines I don’t like at Enoteca . . .
@51 . . . I’ve had too many bad glasses of wine at Enoteca . . .
God of Thunder, is it possible that the problem is not that they won’t let you sample, but that Enoteca has poor judgment when they pick wines to sell by the glass? Are the problems you’ve encountered due to spoiled wine, or wine that isn’t good and/or worth the price? Examples, please.
WHat?!! Zinc’s got Tommy S?! That place rocks!
It is very possible that they have poor judgment when they pick wine for me.
I haven’t had any spoiled wines there. I would send old wine back.
I’ve drank wines that I would never order again. Are they bad wines? For me yes, because I wouldn’t order them again due to bad taste/overly high prices. Or, just plain old lack of Thorojo (thor mojo). They don’t jive with me. Would I send them back, no.
Shenanigans, ever had St. Simeon cheese? Feast used to carry it. Looks like a little wheel of brie, from the outside. Way creamier. Awesome stuff. Haven’t seen it in there, in a while.
I’ve had some wines for which I didn’t particularly care, at Enoteca. But I do make an effort to try new things, there. Stands to reason I’m not going to like everything I try. In that sense, I’ve only paid for a glass, whereas I might have wasted money on a full bottle!
@22 Smiley - you’re killing me. Ahh yes, it’s been a few since I’ve had a good wine fight at Tastings.
Also, Wine Warehouse, up the road is, always a helpful, educational, and wonderful stop to make on your travels.
drink on…
How’s the list at Fellinis? I guess you’re looking for Italian vino if you’re at Enoteca. And furthermore… rant ahead… how about this for some instant mythology? Those Empire restaurants tend to feel good on first look, but scratch the surface and it’s all pasteboard and dowels. Ten, Enoteca, Blue… thin satisfactions, like spray can whip cream. Mas is an exception but they built some serious infrastructure before the Emperor acquired. Might have something to do with employee realtions, no se’. Enoteca appeals to me, Italian wines, along with Spanish, are a thing for me, but the Empire is strong so why not support the other joints?
colfer, I don’t know about Fellini’s wine list, but Yupster had the story on ordering martinis there. Long story short of it: don’t. (For the long story, try here: http://cvillain.com/?p=770)
Even though it’s way out in the burbs of 29 north, Doug at Rio Hill Wine and Gourmet does a very nice job. While I buy single bottles at Crush, I usually buy my mixed cases at Rio Hill.
@46 I’m with you thor. It’s an “I care about the customer†issue indeed. You should be able to sample wine in a setting like Enoteca. I would not go back if they did not let me sample.
@ Softshell….whatevs.
Trying to clarify a little between retail and bars. Wine shops that are only wine shops, no bar or food attached, are legally required to do tastings for free. It is the type of license we have. Market street, Crush, Wine Warehouse etc.
Sian’s a lawyer
i’ve had people send back white zin because “this wine is PINK! i ordered WHITE zinfandel!” and then other people send it back because it isn’t pink enough. obviously wine elitists.
perhaps if my bar gave wine samples that could have been averted…
a really tough cutsie lawyer.
what the hell is cutsie? sorry drunkie.
She’s a cutter???
That’s tragic; should we have an intervention?
yeah, she’ll cutchya!
Enoteca is a great bar, and their little 3oz glasses are there so you can sample things. Some of those are only $3, and one might be just $2.50. Ok, so it’s more than you’d pay for bud light, but it’s nice for wine. And the wine is good. Their edibles too. Sure, it might be nice if they gave out freebies, but get over it.
[…] can taste the wine before you buy it. They encourage it for their wine by the glass. (*COUGH*). Orzo sells a good selection of $30 bottles and $8 glasses. You can spend boatloads of cash, but […]
That white zinfindel story makes baby Jesus cry. On, like, a million levels.
Hey, I kind of agree with this post that you have about the no tasting policy. However, as a fellow wine enthusiast I was thinking about all of the wine drinking and tasting I have done. Any vineyard you go to charges you for tastings and if not they fully expect you to at least buy a few bottles. I happened to have loved this place as I thought their descriptors were really a cute idea and I loved the service (once we got it, took a while). I was able to try several half glasses based on what I knew I liked and servers suggestions. I hope you do decide to go back…I know I will!
The GM of enoteca here to say that our policy is to always allow a customer to taste a wine that we sell by the glass before ordering something. So Thor, I apologize that your request was denied. We know that Italian wine is unfamiliar to many and while my staff is trained to guide customers to a varietal similar to one they drink more regularly, we aren’t mind-readers, so we would rather taste you on something and know that you will be happy than to send you away with something you don’t like. I am sorry that you didn’t get that opportunity. Our ABC license does require us to charge a tasting fee, but we waive it if the tasting is in an effort to sell a half glass, glass, bottle, or retail bottle. If you ask to taste a wine that we only sell by the bottle, than obviously we can’t taste you on that, but we will describe it at length or even find a wine-by-the-glass that is comparable and that will give you an idea of what the bottle might taste like. May I suggest that you give us another chance? We’ve just changed the wine list…41 wines by the glass and 94 wines by the bottle all from a country where bargains and terroir-driven wines still exist!
ooooh somebody on staff at enoteca’s gonna get in trouble.
go to Petit Pois, they have a non-pretentious wine list and the staff will let you taste whatever you want.
@GM - That is strange. I only asked to taste a wine by the glass. I shall return and verify. Thanks for chiming in! I updated the top of the post.
i went to enoteca tonight & i guess i can’t truly judge because it was a private party but i pre-tasted 3 of my 4 glasses of wine. and i a IN LOVE with the boy who worked tonight. enoteca is a lovely place.