• Terroir

  413 E. 12th St., nr. First Ave.; 646-602-1300

  To Paul Grieco, Terroir’s not just a nice place to quaff wines. It’s a “soapbox platform” for his oenophilic predilections. The co-owner’s global wine list, with 50 selections by the glass, is interspersed with notes on the history of Châteauneuf-du-Pape and a comparison of the rogue Spanish winemaker Alvaro Palacios to the Sex Pistols. Varietals or regions change depending on when you go: Winter brought sherry, March is all about Madeira, and Rieslings come pouring in during the summer. Bartenders cheerfully analyze what you order or discreetly hand over chef/co-owner Marco Canora’s veal ricotta meatballs to go with your Austrian Blaufränkisch.

From the 2009 Best of New York issue of New York Magazine