Tangled Vine, NYC

Tangled Vine, nicely positioned on the Upper West Side, is determined to change the concept of the wine bar. Most establishments of that ilk, while they may have an extensive wine list, serve only small platters, cheeses, tapas. But Tangled Vine breaks away from that mould. Former Mercat executive chef David Segal leads the kitchen and a Mediterranean-centred menu, all seasonal, and always organic when possible. And if a wine bar evokes images of high tables and standing space, banish them now from your mind; Tangled seats sixty, and will even have an outdoor patio come springtime, as well as a bar holding sixteen chairs, and high top tables for you purists.

But don’t let this new style and cuisine fool you, Tangled is first and foremost a wine bar, clearly evidenced by its 160 wine list, and selection of 30 by the glass. The menu focuses on older wines from Spain, Austria, Italy, Germany and France, and about eighty percent of those wines are organic, biodynamic and sustaining. And here we come to yet another example of TV ‘s originality: they are the first wine bar in the Upper West Side to offer such conscientious wines.

Essentially, biodynamic wines are those whose processes take the spiritual and holistic approach to viniculture; it takes the principle of organic farming, and integrates it with the philosophies of Rudolph Steiner (do your homework, now). In everyman terms that just means that the wines are natural, unmanipulated by forced fermentation and chemical yeasts, and most of all, artificial alcohol levels.

Essentially, Tangled takes you back to a time when a grape made a better wine. Now, if all this seems snobbish to you, Tangled Vine certainly isn’t for you. While the restaurant doesn’t market itself as an exclusive establishment, there is a certain amount of sophistication and decorum present. And that’s saying nothing of the clientele’s exorbitant levels of appreciation for viniculture. So leave the baseball cap at home.

Address: 434 Amsterdam Ave, New York, NY 10024
Contact: 646-863-3896
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Area: Upper West Side
Hours: Sunday – Wednesday from 5pm to 1am and Thursday – Saturday from 5pm until 2am
Price Range: $$$ (Within Reach)
Payment: Cash, American Express, Visa, Master Card, Discover

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