Guess WHAT? There’s a new wine player in town and it’s bringing quality vino and a high-end tasting experience to Lido Isle. Lido Tasting Room, the brainchild of Northern California’s Bravante Vineyards, recently opened a small space overlooking the quaint courtyard that also houses a local institution, Sabatino’s Sausage Company.
If you haven’t been, Lido Tasting Room boasts a cozy yet intimate open-air bar, high-top tasting tables and warm nooks and crannies decorated with nautical charm. It’s ideal for date night, pre-dinner libations (especially if your dinner happens to be at nearby Sabatino’s) or a casual post-work, happy hour hang.
“Our vineyard meets The Shipyard” reads the official website, and really, Lido Tasting Room is just that — a convenient confluence of an established waterfront watering hole (The Shipyard) and its newly anointed, cozy oasis to sip California wines.
The price for a tasting is also completely affordable. A varietal tasting by flight costs $16-$30 and single glasses range from $10-$16.(Discounts on tastings are available for those who join the wine club.) Bottles and cases are available for purchase, all sourced from Bravante Vineyards, a boutique winery located on Howell Mountain in Angwin, Calif.
Seeds of Bravante Vineyards were first planted in 1993 by Nancy Nies and George Bravante, a husband and wife duo who share a love of agriculture, grapes and wine. According to its website, Bravante Vineyards follows a “quality over quantity” winemaking approach to best preserve the integrity of the land. As the site explains, “Bravante Vineyards is committed to bottling perfectly balanced wines that offer true expressions of all that Howell Mountain fruit has to offer.”
It’s a worthy sentiment by an even worthier winery now calling Newport Beach its tasting home. So, grab your friends and head down to Lido Tasting Room for excellent wine in this still somewhat-secret spot.
To make a reservation at Lido Tasting Room, (201 Shipyard Way Cabin 3, Newport Beach, CA 92663) call: (949) 524-3200.