Wine Truth: by Michael Dominic

My wife Ting and I just bought our first home. A huge prewar apartment in Jackson Heights, Queens. I’m sorry to leave behind the movement of Manhattan, but the trade-off in space makes it a no contest. 280 square feet to 1400 square feet.

When I first went to see it, I saw that in the kitchen was a 50 bottle built-in Vinotemp wine cellar. I swear, I got a little choked-up. Vinotemp is not a brand that I would trust long term with my finest bottles, but I figure I’ll keep it at drinking temperature, and keep more bottles at the ready. Of course I will still have my 3-temp EuroCave.

We should be moved in by the end of May or the start of June. If you want to see more pictures of the apartment go here. That’s not our furniture and stuff in the place, it’s the sellers.

After ingesting a good, albeit, oleaginous meal at Great Jones Diner, my friend Todd and I wandered over and down to East 1st Street. A new wine bar opened a few months back named Simon Sips. My wife and I sat and had a glass there a week earlier, while waiting for a table at a restaurant around the corner. It was relaxed, small and welcoming in comparison to other similar places, and made me want to return. My friend and I were greeted by a frazzled but kind-eyed woman. In the evening the space is dim, but in the day it’s large plate window pours the sunlight in.

One of the six or so small tables was available, so we sat down and looked over the menu. Next to us were a table of lanky women that could have only worked in fashion. At the outside tables there were men fiddling with laptops. Not only is Simon Sips a wine bar but it is also a cafe, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as brunch and an array of desserts.

It’s been a long, cold, hard winter. I’ve been absent from this blog for many reasons. Most prevalent, the illness and passing of my grandmother. I want to continue writing here even if not with the same frequency.

Today I’ll start easy with a wine that I shipped back from Sonoma. My wife and I spent a few days in Sonoma County when we went on our honeymoon over the holidays. We visited many of the small local wineries were we found some lovely wines. I, in total, shipped back more than three cases.