“I love bringing the exact right wine to the right person,” says Lisa McCoy, owner of BarVino, Dana Point’s newest wine bar. “I really want to bring well made wine to people at a reasonable price.”
Located inside a Mission Revival-style building steps away from the coastal enclave’s clock tower, BarVino, which opened in September, Is McCoy’s first brick-and-mortar space. Guests are welcome to pop in to buy a few bottles or grab a seat at the 13-seat bar where they can sip on a selection of grapes from notable terroirs in California, Washington, Argentina, Australia, Spain, Italy and France.
She explains that “many restaurant wines or grocery store wines are manipulated, often using mega purple,” a syrupy grape concentrate used to amp up color, texture and sweetness in lesser, albeit widely available, wines. “Using preservatives and other things that really shouldn’t be in our wines is allowed without manufacturers telling us what’s in it.”
This is where McCoy’s years of experience managing wine bars comes into play. The seasoned wine expert, who honed her skills at wine bars in Chicago and Southern California, says, “I want to deal with wines that are made today like they were 300 years ago.”
Label highlights at BarVino include a Mencia Altos de San Clemente by Soto Del Vicario, a pinot noir from Paul Lato in Santa Barbara, a rosé champagne from Palmer Rose Solera and an Anko Estancia Los Cardones Tigerstone Malbec from Argentina, to name a few. “We have a Toso rosé brut sparkling made from 95% chardonnay and 5% malbec, and we can’t keep it on the shelf,” she said.
In addition to McCoy’s roster of wines, BarVino also offers cheese and charcuterie at the bar, like Meredith Daity’s marinated sheep and goat cheese from Australia, serrano ham or bresaola. Happy hours are from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday and all day on Monday. Guests can get a $6 glass of Toso rosé brut, a $7 white, and an $8 Cote du…
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