The Punchdown

Five stars is not enough. They deserve 8 — 10.
These guys go beyond the call of duty. They know every wine and have an interesting story for each.
They are friendly, warm and fun. Coming to Punchdown feels like coming home. When home is a wonderful place to be.
Great location.
The prices are fantastic.
The wine is basically all organic.
I hesitated posting a review cuz y’all don’t need to crowd yourselves into my wonderful wine bar!!!
However, it’s the right thing to share with you this great venue. And it’s never wrong to do the right thing!!!

It was a really relaxing casual yet tasteful experience. The staff was helpful and knowledgable. Check out the huge wooden vines on the walls and ask the staff for the history!

I rarely write reviews (especially while I’m still at the location and haven’t even finished my experience) but this place is exceptional. Jack was beyond wonderful. Fun, good ambience, great wine, good food, extraordinary service. What else could you want? P. S. Blind taste test is super fun!

Connor is very friendly and an awesome bartender! I recommend this place for anyone who wants to grab a glass of wine!

Went to this place for happy hour last Friday, and had an excellent time. We were tempted away from the happy hour deals (great as they are), toward some of the interesting flights. My personal choice was the Pink Rainbow, a 4 course flight of Rose.
The one thing about this place, is you have to be open-​minded with your wine preference when you go. This isn’t going to be one of those Wine Bars full to the brim with your California Variety. While they do have a good showing of CA wines, their jam is bringing you unique varietals from the lesser known wine regions of the world — think Herzegovina, Georgia etc — so the flavor profiles may feel pretty alien. If you’re down to try something new and different it’s worth the try.
We also enjoyed some appetizers — Stuffed Artichoke, Goat Cheese with Wine Poached Pear, and Charcuterie Board. The portions of the food were pretty small considering the price, but they were good quality and delicious nonetheless.

I rarely give Unilocal reviews but felt this place deserved it. They bring something different and cultural to the area. Completely impressed with this place. Hope everyone goes here so these guys don’t go away.

The first wine of the evening reminded me of beer… I don’t like beer.
We really liked our first server, he had an amazing memory too! We ordered 4 different wines and 5 food items and he took that order, walked away and came back with everything we asked for!
Second waiter was clearly way too cool for us… ignored me when I walked up to the bar for like 5 mins while he was busy having a conversation. Just talkin… ignorin. Then he came to the table with hella tude and took our order.
He thawed at the end once we asked questions about the wine we’d had, which was nice because we had a good time and his vibe was fucking up our good time.
The food — we had the cheese platter (amazing!) and 2 grilled cheese sandwiches. my friend got the apple and goat cheese and I stuck with ham and cheese, claiming that I hated goat cheese. When I tried my friend’s sandwich, that goat cheese was a total game changer for me. woo wee, it was damned good!
I’d definitely come back and stick to the wines I enjoyed most and more of that damned sandwich.

The Natty Reds was my favorite flight; it was reasonably priced and tasty. The generously portioned bone marrow was only $ 5! The braised beef was good, as was the ambience and servers. Nice place.

Great vibe, great wine. Will be back!

Such a wonderful Saturday afternoon experience. Lovely owner, unique and delicious wines at different price points — flawless

i was really happy this place re opened– they are very friendly, the wine is fabulous (i went for the very reasonable happy hour), and its in a good location. it was busy which is great for them– and there were some tasty looking snacks on the menu too. check it out.

The Punchdown is now one of my favorite things. I was always bummed that I missed it the first time around after hearing so many great things about it, but now it’s back in a new location. It even has that «new car» smell so to speak.
They have a truly unique wine list and great flights all in different price ranges. Don’t have much to spend? Go for the «I’m A Broke Ass» for 3 wines at $ 9. And their house wine is very exceptional. They also have a lot of bottles for purchase to take home with you. There’s also a food menu that’s small, but good. The cheese plate and charcuterie were great as well as the olive tapenade. (I have my eye on you, Grilled Goat Cheese sandwich!)
They also have wine events and a wine club that is pretty tempting. It’ll be hard not to come in here since I walk by it practically everyday, but I think I can live with that.

They have the most unusual and exciting selections of wines which are also very reasonable in prices. The owners are knowledgeable, friendly, and passionate about what they do (try their blind tasting). Highly recommended.

I love the new space — bigger and so cozy! Lisa and DC’s passion for wines is evident from the moment you walk into the punchdown. They love to educate if you’re interested. Go natural wines — you won’t have a hangover the next day with no artificial ingredients! So glad they reopened!

Five stars is almost hyperbolic on Unilocal– it’s the best score you can give, thus the establishment should be (nearly) perfect… Most of the time five star places fall short. Punchdown is worth 5 stars, like actually a flawless experience. It’s got natural wine so that in and of itself if worth three stars for me; however Punchdown is so much more than a great wine list.
Upon entering the place you are greeted by truly happy people who are genuinely excited to serve you. For those that don’t know the whole story, they were previously open in Uptown with a huge following but their lease was yanked. They had to close down and spent the remainder of the 2+years closure plotting their magnificent return. Well they are back and better than before.
Proper food will be rolled out soon, but for now stop in and grab a taste, glass, bottle of wine, cheese plate, and enjoy. What the owners have accomplished is nothing short of art by offering wines that mimic the ambiance they’ve created– place driven with an intense attention to detail. Bravo and welcome back.

So glad these guys have reopened in a beautiful spot (and it’s right by my office, perfect place to hang out between work and a movie at the New Parkway!)
D.C. and Lisa are so friendly and welcoming, and their passion for the wines they pour really shows. They have visited a lot of the vineyards and their descriptions of their travels make the wines that much more special. Tried a great Sicilian red tonight, can’t wait to come back and try their other wines and new food menu!

I love this new location! Super cute inside and same great people! I came in for the opening night, last minute. I loved going into the old location and was bummed it closed. Now their back and better than ever.