Ladies' Night Cleveland

Royal Vine Wine Bar

Review by Rachel

           Tired of reading about happy hour specials that you can never make? If you're amongst the sad, underprivileged few whose boss never releases you from your shackles in time for a cheap martini no matter how fast you speed down I-71, we've got a royal treat for you!  Stop by Royal Vine Wine Bar at 12766 Royalton Road in North Royalton Tuesday through Thursday for three separate all-night specials, equal opportunity style. Grab a five buck martini on Tuesday, or get three dollars off a gourmet pizza with your beer or wine purchase on Wednesday. More, you say? Head over on Thursday to score a comp'd cheese platter when you pop for a bottle of wine. With a unique, well-selected wine list, the only issue will be narrowing it down to one (or two… or three). No more swearing at the clock from your work desk as happy hour comes… then goes.
            We opted for a Wednesday night review, our eyes (and stomachs) set on gourmet pizzas and wine flights. (There's something overtly satisfying about three miniature glasses of wine aligned behind a delectable specialty pizza.) As we approached our destination, we noticed that Royal Vine stood out against the slightly unusual location. We found the large, comfortable patio more populated than the classily designed bar interior, as would be expected on such an agreeable spring evening. All three of us walked inside, immediately greeted by Brad, the general manager and our proficient bartend for the duration of the evening. We selected our flights with the intent of playing nice with one another by sharing tastes of our tastes. The warm, sunny weather practically begged that we order "Sweet & Fun" ($8.50) - a combination of Muller Riesling, Darting Gewurztraminer, and Aurora Cortona Moscato. Unlike so many sweet wines, all three of these were perfectly balanced, each with multiple fruit flavors that were not masked by overly saccharine bodies. Surprisingly, none of us had the pleasure of tasting any of these three prior to tonight, which was an added bonus. Our second flight was the "Italian Red" ($11), comprised of Pavia Casareggio Barbera d'Asti, Poggerino Chanti Classico, and Uccelliera Rapace. (The only thing disagreeable here was our debauched pronunciation of the wines!) Our final selection- the "Prestigious Reds" ($15), included Testarossa Palazzio Pinot Noir, Uccelliera Rapace and the Big Red Special (a rotating heavy red of the night). We enjoyed each and every sip of the reds (especially when paired with our pizzas) with Testarossa and Uccelliera standing out as our favorites. 
            We also had the pleasure of each choosing a gourmet pizza to accompany our wines (at LNC we order food to accompany our drinks, and not the other way around!) With many lip-smacking options to choose from, we grudgingly passed up the Porta-bac-onion, Pepperoni Artichoke, and the Bianca pizzas (feta, mozzarella and herbs atop olive-oil brushed pita) in favor of the ABC pizza and Margherita. The Margherita was a more traditional thin-crust pizza, covered in fresh tomato sauce, mozzarella, and basil. It was simple, and simply delicious. The ABC was a bit more unusual, but the culinary risk paid off. Presumably named after the first two ingredients- apples and bleu cheese, its combination with rosemary and pieces of toasted walnuts resulted in a refreshingly unique culinary delight. At first bite, the lengthy and powerful flavor of bleu cheese predominated, which became tempered by the sweetness of the apple mixture with the rosemary peeking through at the bite's finale.
Overall, we had a lovely experience at Royal Vine Wine Bar. The service was excellent, as were the food and drinks. With three dollars off the regular prices ranging from $8-11, ordering a Wednesday night pizza is definitely a worthy decision.  With 24 different glasses of wine to choose from thanks to a wine preservation system, we will be back ourselves to sample a few more glasses, as not all of them were available in any wine flight. Here, even the most experienced wineaux will find at least a few wines they have not yet tried. And, chances are, they too will be pleased.
6/11/2008