This monochromatic bar is your best bet if you’re looking for a crash course on wine. Praelum stocks about 350 labels in its walk-in cellar that you can order in tasting pours (from $4/25ml) and half-portions (from $9/75ml). Or leave it to the somm with the ‘Learn-a-Drink’ option ($13/75ml). Also check out the wine bistro’s weekly flight tastings (around $35), such as ‘Cabernet, the Bastard King’, where you’ll be sipping three Cab varietals.
Gerald Lu, National Sommelier Champion 2010, is the main man you’ll want to seek out for recommendations. Reds, whites, rosés, dessert and sparkling wines – an even mix of both classic and modern producers, refreshed every week – range from $15 to $200 a glass, and $70 to $10,000 a bottle. But the most popular tipples are grower champagnes (from $23/glass) – particularly the NV De Stefani Prosecco Brut Zero.