The city of Oaxaca, in southern Mexico, finally has a wine bar, opened by Luis Espinosa & Chef Pilar Cabrera, upstairs at their La Olla restaurant.
It’s been a long time coming, but Oaxaca has finally come of age and opened a wine bar, at the recently renovated upper level of La Olla restaurant in Oaxaca’s downtown centro histórico.
It was only a matter of time until someone in the Oaxacan hospitality industry realized that the success of a couple of higher end wine and spirits stores in the city (La Cava and Prissa Gourmet), together with Sam’s Club's reasonably good selection of wines, signaled that the palates of residents of Oaxaca had become sufficiently refined to warrant opening a wine bar.
Tourist demand for wine service in a pleasing ambiance with a selection of tapas / botanas, has existed for some time. The Freixenet wine bar in Tequisquiapan, a tourist town in the state of Querétaro, bears witness. But the vagaries of tourism in Oaxaca dictated that entrepreneurs wait until there was sufficient interest on the part of resident Oaxacans.
La Olla Restaurant’s Decision to Open its Upper Level as a Wine Bar in Oaxaca
Luis Espinosa and renowned chef Pilar Cabrera, owners of La Olla restaurant, had renovated the upper level of their restaurant a couple of years ago, building a full – length bar, and sprucing up the decor with mauve, wine and deep rose tones, and vintage chandeliers.
La Olla stands unique in Oaxaca, a city which relies on tourism for its very existence, in that the restaurant boasts a healthy complement of locals as well as tourists as its clientele. So even with the ebb and flow of tourist travel to Oaxaca, knowing that there would always be Oaxacan residents as patrons of a wine bar served to spur on La Olla’s owners.
Booking.com
Selection of Wines and Botanas / Appetizers Available at La Olla Wine Bar in Downtown Oaxaca
Currently there are two white wines, and nine reds from which to choose, ranging in price from 190 to 595 pesos per 750 ml bottle, or by the glass across the board at 55 pesos. The latter pricing and broad choice of product enables patrons to try wines that they perhaps otherwise would not, without breaking the bank.
The wines on the list are from Mexico, Spain, Chile, South Africa, and Argentina, weighted in favor of cabernet sauvignon. Management assures that there will be some tweaking in terms of both countries of origin and grape varietal, and that an Australian shiraz is on the way, replacing one of the cabs. This will bring the selection of reds to cab, pinotage, malbec, merlot, shiraz, grenache blend and tempranillo blend.
Two of the current wines are organic, Okhre from Spain (595 pesos), and Tormenta from Chile (335 pesos). Without a doubt, the classic Spanish Gran Sangre de Toro (400 pesos) will remain on the wine list. Priced at the bottom end of the range at 190 pesos is La Campana, exported by Freixenet Spain and imported by its sister winery in Querétaro.
The botanas / tapas currently on the menu are:
Selection Oaxacan cheeses (requesón with fine herbs, chipotle, fresh cheese, quesillo and cheese from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec [cuajada]), served with baked tostadas
Fish picadillos
Tomato, fresh basil and garlic
Brochettes of: jícama, avocado, serrano chile and cilantro; watermelon, fresh mint and cherry tomatoes; goat cheese, salami and grapes
Growth Opportunities for Wine Bar at La Olla Restaurant in Oaxaca
Co-owner Espinosa has a wealth of ideas in mind to keep patrons returning, to attract new clientele and to educate both residents and tourists alike. For now, all he’ll say is “... we have so many ideas we want to pursue, but Pilar and I are taking it slowly, while we analyze and assess the interests, wishes and level of sophistication of our clients' wine appreciation.”
One can anticipate formal wine tastings and perhaps even the odd lecture, feature wines offered at attractive prices in co-operation with distributors and manufacturers, special evenings centering on wines of a particular region, country or grape varietal, and so on.
Visitors to and residents of Oaxaca can certainly look forward to priming their palates through gaining increased knowledge of the selection of wines from Mexican wineries, and who knows, perhaps with wine tours to Baja California, Querétaro, or even further abroad in the works. But for now, and correctly so, the La Olla wine bar in Oaxaca is concentrating on giving residents and tourists an excellent opportunity to imbibe, as rarely before experienced in Oaxaca.
Notes: Wine Bar at La Olla Restaurant in Oaxaca, Mexico
Thursday through Saturday, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Live music from 8 p.m.
Dinner service available
WIne Bar daily during high tourist season (hopefully commencing year round in the near future)
Calle Reforma 402, Oaxaca Centro
t: 516 – 6668
e: laolla@prodigy.net.mx Booking.com
It’s been a long time coming, but Oaxaca has finally come of age and opened a wine bar, at the recently renovated upper level of La Olla restaurant in Oaxaca’s downtown centro histórico.
It was only a matter of time until someone in the Oaxacan hospitality industry realized that the success of a couple of higher end wine and spirits stores in the city (La Cava and Prissa Gourmet), together with Sam’s Club's reasonably good selection of wines, signaled that the palates of residents of Oaxaca had become sufficiently refined to warrant opening a wine bar.
Tourist demand for wine service in a pleasing ambiance with a selection of tapas / botanas, has existed for some time. The Freixenet wine bar in Tequisquiapan, a tourist town in the state of Querétaro, bears witness. But the vagaries of tourism in Oaxaca dictated that entrepreneurs wait until there was sufficient interest on the part of resident Oaxacans.
La Olla Restaurant’s Decision to Open its Upper Level as a Wine Bar in Oaxaca
Luis Espinosa and renowned chef Pilar Cabrera, owners of La Olla restaurant, had renovated the upper level of their restaurant a couple of years ago, building a full – length bar, and sprucing up the decor with mauve, wine and deep rose tones, and vintage chandeliers.
La Olla stands unique in Oaxaca, a city which relies on tourism for its very existence, in that the restaurant boasts a healthy complement of locals as well as tourists as its clientele. So even with the ebb and flow of tourist travel to Oaxaca, knowing that there would always be Oaxacan residents as patrons of a wine bar served to spur on La Olla’s owners.
Booking.com
Selection of Wines and Botanas / Appetizers Available at La Olla Wine Bar in Downtown Oaxaca
Currently there are two white wines, and nine reds from which to choose, ranging in price from 190 to 595 pesos per 750 ml bottle, or by the glass across the board at 55 pesos. The latter pricing and broad choice of product enables patrons to try wines that they perhaps otherwise would not, without breaking the bank.
The wines on the list are from Mexico, Spain, Chile, South Africa, and Argentina, weighted in favor of cabernet sauvignon. Management assures that there will be some tweaking in terms of both countries of origin and grape varietal, and that an Australian shiraz is on the way, replacing one of the cabs. This will bring the selection of reds to cab, pinotage, malbec, merlot, shiraz, grenache blend and tempranillo blend.
Two of the current wines are organic, Okhre from Spain (595 pesos), and Tormenta from Chile (335 pesos). Without a doubt, the classic Spanish Gran Sangre de Toro (400 pesos) will remain on the wine list. Priced at the bottom end of the range at 190 pesos is La Campana, exported by Freixenet Spain and imported by its sister winery in Querétaro.
The botanas / tapas currently on the menu are:
Selection Oaxacan cheeses (requesón with fine herbs, chipotle, fresh cheese, quesillo and cheese from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec [cuajada]), served with baked tostadas
Fish picadillos
Tomato, fresh basil and garlic
Brochettes of: jícama, avocado, serrano chile and cilantro; watermelon, fresh mint and cherry tomatoes; goat cheese, salami and grapes
Co-owner Espinosa has a wealth of ideas in mind to keep patrons returning, to attract new clientele and to educate both residents and tourists alike. For now, all he’ll say is “... we have so many ideas we want to pursue, but Pilar and I are taking it slowly, while we analyze and assess the interests, wishes and level of sophistication of our clients' wine appreciation.”
One can anticipate formal wine tastings and perhaps even the odd lecture, feature wines offered at attractive prices in co-operation with distributors and manufacturers, special evenings centering on wines of a particular region, country or grape varietal, and so on.
Visitors to and residents of Oaxaca can certainly look forward to priming their palates through gaining increased knowledge of the selection of wines from Mexican wineries, and who knows, perhaps with wine tours to Baja California, Querétaro, or even further abroad in the works. But for now, and correctly so, the La Olla wine bar in Oaxaca is concentrating on giving residents and tourists an excellent opportunity to imbibe, as rarely before experienced in Oaxaca.
Notes: Wine Bar at La Olla Restaurant in Oaxaca, Mexico
Thursday through Saturday, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Live music from 8 p.m.
Dinner service available
WIne Bar daily during high tourist season (hopefully commencing year round in the near future)
Calle Reforma 402, Oaxaca Centro
t: 516 – 6668
e: laolla@prodigy.net.mx Booking.com
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