New Orleans is a city enamored with history and custom, and not one carefully related to modernity. As such, the most renowned wine cellars in the area tend to be the earliest, grandest, and most pricey, found at fine-dining institutions like Commander’s Palace, Antoine’s, and Brennan’s. But a brand-new natural red wine bar in the Lower Garden District, the Tell Me Disallow, is bringing the contemporary world of red wine to this tradition-rich city.
Party Fine Red wine and Spirits alum and sommelier Uznea Bauer and Choice Massale founder Cory Cartwright, in addition to Tyler Robinson, opened the Inform Me Bar at 1235 Saint Thomas Street late last year. It’s a rich, sultry area hid on a dead-end street in the shadows of the Ponchartrain Expressway, not far from the New Orleans Convention Center. The immediate surroundings slope as soon as inside, where candlelight and vintage wall sconces combine with vibrant green palm leaves and vines to produce a glowing, transportive experience.
Then there’s the white wine. It’s a list of bottles and glasses to rival that of any natural white wine bar in New York or San Francisco, highlighting primarily young, small-production labels focusing on low-intervention winemaking. There are at least 10 wines by the glass, and dozens more by the bottle on an ever-changing menu. A few of Bauer’s favorites right now consist of “Lyr,” what she calls an “under-appreciated shimmering Sicilian” from winemaker Marco Sferlazzo in Porta del Vento; a 2020 La Bruja de Rozas Garnacha from “renowned” Spanish winemaker Task force G; and a Domaine du Fables Gamay called “Gama Bumba” from Savoie, an area Bauer is “presently in love with.”
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data-cid=” site/picture _ element-1674695053_5286_188814″ data-cdata =’ ‘ > Randy Schmidt/Eater NOLA Randy Schmidt/Eater NOLA The choice is notified by Bauer and Cartwright’s years on the planet of advanced white wines. Bauer worked as a white wine buyer at the now 20-year-old, locally and nationally-acclaimed Party Red wine from 2009 to 2016 prior to starting red wine internships, initially at Le Clos de Caveau in Vacqueyras, France, and after that Department Red Wines in Portland, Oregon. In 2019, Bauer and Alexis Tabor( who is now at hotspot the Chloe) developed a backyard pop-up white wine bar at Sneaky Pickle (back when it was on St. Claude Opportunity) called Mouthfeel, also focusing on low-intervention ranges. Cartwright’s wine profession started when, he says, he attempted a bottle of white wine that changed his life so much that he left his task and began a wine-importing business, the California-based Selection Massale, prior to transferring to New Orleans. While they were dealing with the Saint Thomas Street space– which is bewitching even from the outdoors– Bauer and Cartwright appeared under the Tell Me call at spots like Bar Marilou, the ultra-chic downtown hangout tied to Maison de la Luz, and the Rabbit Hole, an LGD music venue and club. The red wine bar has actually been a hit since opening in late December, drawing in-the-know locals and clued-in travelers eager for an area to attempt something new– practically an assurance here. There are DJs every Saturday, a menu of tinned fish treats from brand names like Fishwife and Jose Gourmet (along with Cajun caviar service with Zapp’s potato chips), and food pop-ups Wednesday through Saturday featuring kitchen areas like Oyster Daddy, 2 Live Roux, Vegetopia, Wood Duck, and M. Florian’s Confit Baby. It’s an undeniably cool spot, but not one to be daunted by– personnel are as friendly and inviting as they are well-informed. The Inform Me Disallow is open daily, Sunday to Thursday from 4 to 11 p.m., and from 4 p.m. to midnight on Friday and Saturday.
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Randy Schmidt/Eater NOLA Randy Schmidt/Eater NOLA
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