Miami Wine Lists

MIAMI—When you think of imbibing in Miami, the image that leaps to mind might be mojitos by the dance floor or lemonade at the beach. But the city has some great wine lists, too. Certainly anyone slogging through two dozen fairs, hundreds of galleries, and thousands of artworks will need a glass of something during Art Basel Miami Beach’s four-day run—I know I will. Instead of subsisting on party drinks fueled by sponsoring vodkas, take the time to check out these five very worthy wine lists.

1. Blue Door Restaurant at the Delano
Delano Hotel
1685 Collins Ave.
Miami Beach
305/672-2000
www.delano-hotel.com/delano_hotel_blue_door.asp

You’d expect this chic watering hole to have some good vino, and it does. Luckily it’s also one of the headquarters of the weeklong party that is Art Basel. When I first ate here in 1996, I was dining alone, and the list has a feature any solo traveler appreciates: great by-the-glass and half-bottle selections. (Half-bottles are too rarely seen on lists. They’re handy for couples, too; you can order a white followed by a red without getting sloshed). Here you can order a half bottle of Jarvis Cabernet Sauvignon for $99, among other goodies. On the other end of the scale, oversize bottles are great for celebrating, and the Blue Door offers some nice magnums (the size of two regular bottles), like Château Haut-Brion 2001 for $1,280. C’mon, it’s Art Basel—this may be your only chance to impress Jay-Z at the next table.

2. Setai
The Setai Resort & Residences
2001 Collins Ave.
Miami Beach
305/520-6000
www.setai.com/dining/thebarandcourtyard

Sommelier Sergio Caceras presides over a big, fancy list that states flat out on the first page: “Wine is a way of life.” I couldn’t agree more. This cellar is notable for some small-but-serious “verticals,” groupings of the same wine from different years: Guigal’s Côte Rôtie La Landonne is about as serious as red Rhône wine gets, and Setai has five different vintages. This list also finds room for much lesser-known areas in a section called “The Emerging East,” with bottles from Israel, Greece, Lebanon, Turkey and even India. One caveat: It’s all pretty pricey. In terms of bottles under $100 (the new bargain threshold in upscale restaurants, I’m sorry to say), Setai’s beachfront competition Blue Door offers a lot more.

3. Casa Juancho
2436 SW 8th St.
Miami
305/642-2452
www.casajuancho.com

This restaurant is way off the beaten track for art-world denizens who are cavorting up and down Miami Beach, but if you like Spanish wines, this is your destination. Have your town car driver set a GPS-assisted course over to this traditional Spanish place and dig into serious selections like Vega Sicilia’s famous single vineyard creation Unico, from the white-hot trendy Ribera del Duero region; it’s arguably Spain’s most collectible wine, and the price of $500 is actually quite reasonable. In fact, the owners are selling quite a lot of good bottles under $50 here (Teófilo Reyes Ribero del Duero 2002 for $48 definitely qualifies), which can’t be said of a lot of restaurants in South Beach.

4. Pascal’s on Ponce
2611 Ponce de Leon Blvd.
Coral Gables
305/444-2024
www.pascalmiami.com

I’m opposed to huge wine lists in general—who wants to spend 20 minutes reading one? Then again, I’m a wine geek, and I like to graze. Pascal’s, known for its innovative French cuisine, is a nice compromise between minimalism and maximalism. The restaurant focuses on wines from five countries—France, Spain, the U.S., Chile, and Argentina—and prioritizes small, hard-to-find producers. It’s the kind of strong concept a lot of other restaurants could learn from. Pinot Noir lovers can feast on excellent wines from the United States (Robert Sinskey’s entry from Carneros for $85) as well as Burgundy (Domaine Jean Chauvenet’s Les Damodes Nuits St. George premier cru for $115).

5. Casa Tua
1700 James Ave.
Miami Beach
305/673-1010
www.casatualifestyle.com

The welcoming vibe of this hotel (“your house”) is evident on its serious-but-friendly wine list. The centerpiece is the “Cellar Selections,” a group of fairly astonishing wines like Château Margeaux 1983, Antinori Solaia 2000, and all the wines you’d dream of having if price were no object (and weirdly, on their Web site at least, no prices are printed). The main list is grouped in the manner that has become popular of late: The headings have descriptors like “Delicate, refreshing, crisp choices” instead of regions or grapes. The “Bubbly” section smartly lists some “grower Champagnes,” those made by smaller farmers in the region, not the big houses; this is one of the trendiest things in wine. And there are also sparkling alternatives to the French stuff, namely some nice Franciacortes from Italy.

Ted Loos, executive editor of Art+Auction magazine, is the former features editor of Wine Spectator and has written on wine for Bon Appétit, Town & Country, and many other publications. He's the author of Town & Country Wine Companion: A Tasting Guide and Journal (Hearst Books; $12.95), published this fall.

Tim Minerd is an intern at Art+Auction.

"In the Cellar" appears on ARTINFO every other Wednesday.