A22 Wine Bar

A22 is my favorite place in Austin. Shelley and Miguel are awesome sommeliers, and their wine and cheese suggestions never let me down. The prices are extremely reasonable, and if you don’t want anything off the menu, you can buy a bottle and drink it there. The classes are very good, although they are a bit expensive for my meager budget. There has been talk that the new store manager may want to close A22, so if you find yourself in the store, stop by and have a drink to help keep it open for us hardcore fans.

How can I rate a wine bar less than 5 stars when it is conveniently located in the middle of my grocery shopping trip. A22 makes me actually WANT to do the weekly chore of picking up groceries (and fighting the crowds of ankle busting carts maneuvering around). The wine list changes pretty much monthly. The choices vary from bubbly to full bodied reds. You can choose a flight (3, 4 or 5), order a glass, order a to-​go glass for the rest of your shopping trip, or even open up any bottle from the store and enjoy it right there! On one trip my husband and I were enjoying a cheese flight and decided to open a nice bottle of Stag’s Leap– paying no wine bar mark up sealed the deal on my love for this bar! Even if you do get some awkward stares from passer byers who don’t understand how you can be drinking a bottle of wine in the middle of the afternoon in a supermarket. HINT: if you decide to order a glass near the beginning of the month you might want to ask what specials they have. They dump the previous month’s wine at discounted prices.

Let’s go grocery shopping, and drink wine at the same time. When Central Market West Gate opened A22 Wine Bar, I couldn’t quite grasp what the concept was. We walked by the place a couple of times before, we finally stopped and asked waz up? This is a wonderful concept. You can sit at the bar, and order a flight of wines and a cheese board. The wineistas behind the bar are very knowledgeable and pour a serious flight. You can have a beer or 6, if you wish, at 6-​pack prices, and a great selection of cheeses. If the beer you wish to have, is not in their fridge, they will be happy to get you what you want. The cheese’s are paired with the wine you select, and they are generous portions, very well prepared with some figs and those great almonds which I forget the name of right now, and breads/​crackers.. Okay, here is the catch, you can actually just stop and get a glass of wine/​beer to walk around with while shopping… Yes you heard that correctly. The only con is once you arrive, make sure you have no perishables in your cart, since they are apt to get warm, while you while away your Sunday afternoon. Although, they did put my leg of lamb in their fridge the other day.