Good Wines Combine With Friendly Conversation In This California Gem
Of all the fine wine tasting rooms as part of the Carmel Wine Walk, Galante is my favorite.
That’s because the hostess, Jenna, is lively and lovely, mildly sassy, loves Jimmy Buffett, will have wine herself with you, breaks out cheese and crackers and doesn’t mind giving you an extra pour if you are having a good time.
And here, I do have a good time for all those reasons. Jenna has lived in Connecticut, Chicago and Fort Lauderdale, FL., so she can talk to anyone in the country about just about anything.
She makes Galante comfortable, like walking into a good friend’s living room. And that’s what wine tasting rooms are all about, right, feeling at home and sharing good wines with good friends.
I also like Vino Napoli, which is basically out the door from Galante. That’s the great thing about the Carmel Wine Walk and the wine tasting rooms that are popping up in small California coastal cities like toast. You can stumble from one to the other and be back at your hotel in minutes.
Vino Napoli has cute girls who are great conversationalists, and when I have a few glasses of wine, I like to have friendly conversations. Again, it’s what wine drinking is all about to me.
And Vino Napoli has, without question, the best tasting room atmosphere in Carmel. It’s not only the largest, it has a fireplace and a warming, inviting vibe. It was running neck-and-neck with Galante for my top spot until I stopped in to have a glass of red and was charged an outrageous $12 for it. The girls who poured it apologized but geez, that’s ridiculous.
The glass I had at Galante was $5. Where do you think I want to drink wine!?
There are seven tasting rooms as part of the Wine Walk, which cost $50 and this is the way to go because tastings are $10-12 if you go individually. And the gem that is Galante is located below a small square and tucked into almost a secret corner.
For more on the Wine Walk, read PubClub.com’s review here.
Cheers!
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