Enoteca

After a classmate's orchestra performance Saturday evening, we headed over to Enoteca on the downtown mall so she could unwind. It's an urban cool type of wine bar, very hip vibe. Hip enough to see two sets of professors there! Aside from the slight discomfort of having to sit between them, Enoteca was a fun place to hang out. You sit at long tables that are lit at intervals by a light hanging from the ceiling, which created a communal yet intimate setting. Their wine list has a good range of prices--ones that both students and professors can afford! We got a bottle for $30, apparently once a favorite of Napoleon's. It was incredibly light and fruity tasting with an incredible juicy raspberry color. By the way, you should know that they make every wine sound delicious by characterizing them as "relaxed," "candid," or "curious" along with the major flavor notes. It was hard to decide, but our budget helped.

For some reason we were all starving even though we'd eaten dinner (guess just listening to Stravinsky's Firebird and Brahms works up an appetite) so we ordered a few bites to share. These are on the expensive side, unfortunately. At $2-$5, they were way pricey given that they each came as a small slice of toast with toppings. We had the goat cheese mixed with sundried tomato paste, roasted mushrooms, fig preserves with something-I-forget and three bacon wrapped dates. The only memorable one (ironically) was the one with fig preserves. The bowl of olives was surprisingly big, though. The desserts were well worth the price. We had the grappa pear cake and tiramisu. The grappa pear cake was surprisingly good. It had tiny chunks of pear and raisins; heavy tasting yet light; and a pleasant, crunchy, sugary crust. Definitely going back if I can.

Enoteca
401 E Main St
Charlottesvle, VA 22902
(434) 974-9463