Drink Le Point Rouge wine bar and cocktail lounge opened in December in a formerly disused chateau in the developing Quai de Bacalan district not far from Gare St Jean.
Blah-Blah's menu features a high-style selection of beers -- from lambics (Lindeman's Framboise) to lagers (Ambita Amber) to Belgian ales (Chimay Rouge) -- wines, teas and coffees, as well as interesting food, from apple quesadillas to mussels in garlicky green sauce.
I would rather take one of the features I like and make a statement with it – which is why I have taken to Illamasqua's "Salacious" lipstick (three-plus wine glasses on the IW scale) so enthusiastically, or Tom Ford's "Scarlet Rouge" (two wine glasses).
For the tasting, Florence Fabricant and I were joined by Pascaline Lepeltier, wine director at Rouge Tomate, and Carla Rzeszewski, wine director of the Spotted Pig, the Breslin and the John Dory Oyster Bar.
For the tasting, Florence Fabricant and I were joined by Pascaline Lepeltier, wine director of Rouge Tomate, and Jordan Salcito, wine director at Crown, a restaurant on the Upper East Side scheduled to open in September.
Of course, many patrons are attracted to Rouge's exceptional wine list and the light fare that complements it — like the cheese plate (with four choices); the charcuterie plate (four sausages); an appealing variety of tapas and mezze; and a good selection of raw bar offerings.
During the advent of the Industrial Age in the late 19th century, production shifted towards mass-produced le gros rouge — cheap red wine that could satisfy the growing work force.
Château Lafite-Rothschild may never stoop to naming the grapes from which it is made, but in Burgundy more and more winemakers are adding pinot noir to labels that once said merely Bourgogne Rouge and chardonnay to wines long identified simply as Bourgogne Blanc.
ALL-AROUND It's a tie between Gramercy Tavern, where the list has been stellar for a long time, and Rouge Tomate, where the wine director, Pascaline Lepeltier, has built a canny model of diversity.
The first glass put in my hand, a sample of Margaux's second wine, Pavillon Rouge, instantly showed that here at least, we were in for something else entirely.
Hausmann Famille, a branch of the firm Châteaux en Bordeaux, has introduced Rouge Sucette, a red wine doused with cola flavor targeted for a younger audience.
