B Street & Vine Review

The food menu looks interesting, the Jazz band is a nice touch, and I like the concept of a wine bar in San Mateo, but B Street and Vine misses the mark. During a recent visit I only came for the wine, but I left unsatisfied. I am tempted to go back and try the food, but if I want a good glass of wine, I'll stick with one of the local restaurants. A few comments on the downers...

Stemware
The stemware is really bad. My red wine glass would have been better served as a water glass due to the thickness of the crystal. Also, it appears they only had one generic red and one white wine glass. They really need to match the glass to the varietal in addition to slimming the crystal.

Wine Menu
The wine menu was disappointing. At a wine bar, I want to experiment with great wine that is either hard to find or cost prohibitive at the bottle price. While I assume they have some hidden gems, nothing really jumped out at me, or maybe the menu just lacked inspiration. One critical faux paux was their Zinfandel selection, or lack there of. Considering this is one of the more popular grapes, if not "the grape" of California, you would expect a broad selection. Their selections--Ravenswood (yack!).

Temperature
My [red] wine was about 75 degrees. It should be served in the 60 degree range. It was hot that day, but that problem is easily solved with a wine cooler. No sense in drinking good wine if the subtle notes cannot make an appearance.

In short, there are not that many flaws, but the few flaws really are deal breakers if you are seeking a high quality wine experience. On the other hand, if you hate Merlot just because of the movie Sideways, B Street & Vine might be the place for you.

PS: Check out Pride Mountain Merlot if you think they all suck. You will change your opinion.