vino locale PALO ALTO One of the friendliest and thriftiest local wine bars, Vino Locale can’t be beat for alfresco dining, with spacious outdoor areas in both the front and back of the charming Victorian house/wine bar, which is right off Palo Alto’s main dining street. Besides its popular happy hour, Vino Locale serves lunches and dinners and offers live music several nights a week, from acoustical guitar to bluegrass and jazz. Small-production wines are a focus and fans love sipping and supping under the twinkling lights outdoors. Events like a wine education series and “bottles & blues” with discounts on the vino are regularly held. Besides the usual assortment of cheeses, meats, olives and the like, food highlights include bison meatballs, bacon-wrapped dates, seared ahi tuna salad, vegan fusilli alfredo and bigger plates such as beef shortribs, crab-stuffed salmon and rotini pasta. PAIRINGS ON THE PATIO Munch on a warm mushroom tart paired with a rich Peter Mathis grenache from Sonoma Valley. Or baked goat cheese and fig jam with a flowery Downhill viognier from Paso Robles. DETAILS 431 Kipling St., 650/328-0450; vinolocale.com August/September 2016 91 wine bar MORGAN HILL It’s hard not to crack a smile while enticing sparkling wines tickle your tongue, although Bubbles offers lots more than just the bubbly. But in the champagne department, try an international flight to honor this establishment’s name and check out the cool vault that now houses a wine room; Bubbles used to be a bank. The wines include lots of California favorites while the food selection is larger than most, inbubbles cluding spreads, various appetizers, salads, flatbreads, crostinis and appealing desserts. Besides a simple interior with hard wooden chairs, there’s a small patio in front. This wine bar puts on lots of events to draw in customers, like happy hours with $5-a-glass wines, ladies nights, men’s nights with discounted draft beer, “flights & flatbreads” and more. Some wines with retail prices are available to sip in house or take home by the bottle. PAIRINGS ON THE PATIO Sample an ahi tower with mango and avocado with a grassy MacMurray sauvignon blanc or pulled-pork sliders with a fruity Rombauer zinfandel. DETAILS 17105 Monterey St., 408/779-8800; bubblesmorganhill. com n TOP: COURTESY OF VINO LOCALE; OPPOSITE: NOEMI ENRIQUEZ
South Bay Accent - AugSep 2016
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