33 Wine Bar

33 Wine Shop & Tasting Bar is an intentionally obscure hole in the wall just a couple doors down from the more ostentatious Chocolate Bar in the historic Lafayette neighborhood.   It lacks any street side identifying marks because the owner intends to build his business solely by word-of-mouth reputation.  

Upon entry, you will be met by a minimalist setting and the smell of old, wet wood, reminiscent of an ancient wine cellar.  For a place designed to cater to wine lovers, that's a good place to start.

The wine list is very extensive - 20 pages - so unless you know infinitely more about wine than I do, you'll probably want a recommendation from the helpful sommelier.


Don't show up expecting to have a meal because 33 is all about the wine.  They do offer a meat and cheese tray that is exceptionally good, but that's all you'll find in the way of food.


Go with a group of 8-10 and explore some new wines!  You won't be sorry.

Marlboro Man Cab

I sit here basking in one of those rare discoveries for me...a wine which I love from the first sip to the last.  But this one is even more rare...because it ISN'T!  It's readily available.

All too often I taste a wine I can't wait to have again, only to find it is no longer available or it's inordinately expensive.  This one, however, is neither.  For most of us, at $16 it's not going to be an everyday bottle, but it qualifies as a regular.  I'm speaking of Rodney Strong's recent vintages of Cabernet Sauvignon.  Both the '06 and '07 vintages are quite good (the '06 is slightly better). 

It possesses those characteristics that I consistently, yet inexplicably, find desirable in a wine.  I am not a trained connoisseur, so my description is limited to my own layman's terms: it has an earthy, musty, smoky flavor reminscent of the barnyard...and which I have therefore dubbed "Marlboro Man."   That's the highest compliment I can assign to any wine.  Here is a readily-available, reasonably-priced, American-produced cab that brings it all together for me. 

Bottled Poetry

Occasionally I taste a wine that I just can't wait to have again; one that I am willing to search for online or trek around town to find. Last night's dinner guests brought a bottle of Faust Cabernet 2004, and it turned out to be one of those rare finds!

The technical reviews offered on their website sound like every other wine description and do not do justice to the rich, full-bodied flavor of this wine. Try it, if you can. If you're like me, you won't taste black currant, orange, creme-brulee or plum, but you'll taste a truly fabulous wine!

"Wine is bottled poetry."

(Robert Louis Stevenson)