The Local Vine

Dear Foodies,

My best friend Megan and I are wine buddies. She’s the wine expert and I am the tag along who will try whatever she orders.

One of our favorite wine bars is The Local Vine, located in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. The Local Vine’s menu is constantly updated, so you can go be wooed by the culinary delights every time you make a visit.

Aside from the wine, we usually split a few rounds of their tasty appetizers. On our last visit, we shared the Sweet Tomato, Garlic & Anchovie Bruschetta, Moses Sleeper Vermont Brie with Spiced Apple Compote, and the Tumalo Tomme Oregon Goat Cheese with Black Pepper Shallot Jam. We topped the night off with Fig Cobbler (amazing!).

The Local Vine prides itself for local, sustainable, organic, and flavorful food. You will find superb small plates that, as their site explains, are approachable, communal, and wine-focused.

Most importantly, after searching for an entire year, we found a close match to my favorite bottle of wine that we failed to write down the name of on a previous wine tasting expedition. It’s a Cabernet Franc (Sauvion “Les Roches Cachees,” Chinon, France 2008). I can’t find anything like it elsewhere. It’s rich, earthy, smoky, and hosts a hint of tobacco flavor.  It’s heaven in a bottle (ahem, I mean glass). In fact, I bought two bottles. Trust me, the two bottles were against my better judgment, as I was more inclined to buy their entire stock.

I highly recommend giving The Local Vine a visit. It has a more intimate feel than most wine bars. Padded red seats line the front of the restaurant’s floor to ceiling glass windows, and you feel like you are sitting on your couch at home in comfort talking with your best friend. The space isn’t overly large, loud, or trying too hard to be cool. It’s comfortable and classy.

Wine lovers and wine novices alike should make their next night out at this fabulous city jewel.