Cab Saavy: Grape and Bean

Buying a nice bottle of wine and enjoying it in your apartment with some friends is always an enjoyable experience. However, there's something to be said for wine bars. Wine bars allow you to meet and mix with more people, not to mention not having to clean up after all those people in your apartment. Rather than constraining you to just one bottle, you are able to select among many different varietals sometimes accompanied by tasty food. You also have the added bonus of being able to drop the fact that you went to a real life wine bar in conversations. With that in mind, we bring you Grape and Bean, a cozy wine and coffee bar/shop in Old Town. The name, possibly referencing the Edna St. Vincent Millay poem, If you're anything like me the notion of two of my favorite things in one spot almost overwhelmed me. While certainly quite different poisons, coffee and wine both share a rich decadent flavor both powerful and complex.

We discovered this newly-opened gem after a nice dinner in Old Town. While it serves as a fantastic after-dinner coffee or wine spot, with a wide assortment of prepared food you could just spend all night there. I did not have the opportunity to enjoy the selection of coffee there, and as this is meant to be a wine column I will leave any mention of that to my friends in Fresh Grounds. The wine selection is decent without being overwhelming. They do not seem to restrain themselves by region offering European, American, and Australian alike. I settled on an $11 full glass of the 2005 Mitolo Jester Cabernet Sauvignon. They also offer half glass pourings around $5 or 6. The wine was quite good, fruit forward and dark with tastes of blackberry and pepper. Still stuffed from dinner I did not order any of the food, but the friendly staff served some anyways. They provided samplings of their delicious flatbread with gruyere and prosciutto. They offer a number of food selections designed to compliment their wines, mostly simple but delectable dishes such as these flatbreads but also a number of different cheeses. The best part is, as a wine bar and shop, you can buy everything you try here.


All of the wine, cheese, glassware, and even a number of beers are on sale from their retail section. Speaking with the owner, they also offer wine tasting events, mostly where they explore one region or varietal. On March 31, they will be doing a tasting of Italian wine varietals that a number of Eat the District staffers plan on attending. Be forewarned, this is a popular spot with not a lot of sitting room. However, if you are willing to be flexible, you will find a cozy yet warm and friendly spot to enjoy some wine, coffee, and food with some good friends.