IF IT'S BEFORE 5 P.M., THIS IS THE PLACE TO GET $5 WINE.
POSTINO OFFERS, FROM LEFT: PROSCIUTTO WITH FIGS AND MARSCAPONE; RICOTTA WITH DATES AND PISTACHIOS; TOMATO JAM WITH SHEEP’S CHEESE; AND BURRATA, BACON, ARUGULA AND TOMATO
There was scarcely a seat to be had at the brand-new Postino wine bar at 3:30 p.m. last Sunday. The big front patio was full; the bar was packed; there were no empty tables.
But I didn’t understand why Houstonians have embraced this new Phoenix-based import so enthusiastically until I got a look at its wines-by-the-glass list. I had to blink twice for the $5-before-5p.m. prices to register.
Really? Five bucks for a glass of wine (or a pitcher of beer, for that matter)? When was the last time any of us has seen drinkable wine priced at 5 bucks a glass? Back in the previous century is when.
From a list of 28 wines, my friend and I picked a French Grenache, La Damase 2016, which had a gorgeous dark plummy nose and flavors; and a grippier Chilean red, 2015 Bouchon CarmenerePais. They were served in modest pours escorted by small carafes holding more wine. So the 5-buck afternoon price was a steal in terms of both quality and quantity.
What made the wines even more fun to drink was an assortment of bruschetta I’d peg as some of the best in the city. You can pick four varieties to make up a $15.50 bruschetta board (they are not sold individually). And for the most part, these rustic bread slices crowned with various ingredients avoided the usual Houston sin of being too top-heavy.
Each crusty platform was neatly divided into four fingers, the better for sharing. A seasonal special
bruschetta of spicy, sweet/tart tomato jam over a layer of salty sheep’s cheese shone like garnet-colored stained glass. It tasted as good as it looked.
Thin sheets of prosciutto blanketing dried figs and a creamy slide of mascarpone was all elegant simplicity. So was whipped ricotta spangled with bright-green pistachio nuts and preserved dates.
The sole disappointment was featured burrata cheese, bacon, tomato and arugula. It sounded so good, but the burrata and tomato had thrown off so much water by the time I bit in that the bread had sogged out. Perhaps I would have enjoyed it more had I eaten it first instead of last.
Still, I did find myself uttering a sentence I never thought would pass my lips: “There’s too much bacon on this!”
Postino’s tightly edited menu offers a variety of snacky appetizers; cheese, charcuterie and crudité boards; plus panini and a handful of soups and salads.
The wine list is edited with an eye to “approachability,” according to Postino’s website, a cue for wine snobs to stay away. The 28 choices change quarterly, and not all are created equal, naturally.
An exclusive of Redwood Alley Carignan from California tasted so strongly of wood and vanilla it stopped me cold; an Italian Negroamaro was so locked down it took 10 minutes of aggressive aeration to release any aromas.
Still, at $5 a glass, you can do some experimenting here if you come before 5 p.m. And, with buoyant crowds all around and the bustle of the young Heights Mercantile development as a backdrop, it will feel like a party.