Back in the college days we used to sit waiting for a movie to begin and yearn for a movie theater where we could get a beer while watching the show. Now, that concept is commonplace, and innovators have turned their attention to more pressing matters, like getting drinks served at food trucks.
The Los Angeles shopping mecca, Westside Pavilion has a very nice bar just outside its AMC multiplex. Lots of dark wood and plenty of plush chairs and sofas take up a fair sized space that gets a lot of light. It's not actually in the theater, but customers of The Wine Bar are allowed to take their drinks with them into one of the first two screens, which are designated as "21 + movies." If you want to see "Smurfs," you'll have to wait until after the picture to get your drink on.
While the movies showing at the cinema are as predictable as Hollywood can make them, the wine list at The Wine Bar is rather inventive. There were choices I don't see on a lot of lists, and some I didn't expect to see at all at a wine bar in a mall.
I chose the Cline 2007 Ancient Vines Mourvèdre. The grapes are sourced from Contra Costa County and the wine is aged in toasted American oak. It has an alcohol content of 14.5%. A whiff of that alcohol appears on the nose, but it's not hard to dig out the cherry, lavender and chocolate notes. The flavors center on a broad expanse of wild cherry with a streak of black tea running through it.
I was quite pleased. It was a pleasure to find such an enjoyable wine at the mall - and at the movies.
Follow Randy Fuller on Twitter.
The Los Angeles shopping mecca, Westside Pavilion has a very nice bar just outside its AMC multiplex. Lots of dark wood and plenty of plush chairs and sofas take up a fair sized space that gets a lot of light. It's not actually in the theater, but customers of The Wine Bar are allowed to take their drinks with them into one of the first two screens, which are designated as "21 + movies." If you want to see "Smurfs," you'll have to wait until after the picture to get your drink on.
While the movies showing at the cinema are as predictable as Hollywood can make them, the wine list at The Wine Bar is rather inventive. There were choices I don't see on a lot of lists, and some I didn't expect to see at all at a wine bar in a mall.
I chose the Cline 2007 Ancient Vines Mourvèdre. The grapes are sourced from Contra Costa County and the wine is aged in toasted American oak. It has an alcohol content of 14.5%. A whiff of that alcohol appears on the nose, but it's not hard to dig out the cherry, lavender and chocolate notes. The flavors center on a broad expanse of wild cherry with a streak of black tea running through it.
I was quite pleased. It was a pleasure to find such an enjoyable wine at the mall - and at the movies.
Follow Randy Fuller on Twitter.
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