Really craving a glass of crisp white wine last night, the hubby and I headed out to try a new wine bar (new for us anyway). We ended up at Heartland Wine Bar in St. Paul which offered us quite an experience. Located off St. Claire in St. Paul, it’s a cute, little place, tucked in next to the neighborhood dry cleaner, giving it a nice, neighborhoody feel. There was a small lot adjacent to the restaurant itself and plenty of parking on the street as well.\r
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The restaurant and wine bar themselves do not open until 5:30, so don’t ask for the happy hour menu, there isn’t one. We were the only patrons in the place at 5:30 and the next guests didn’t show for another hour. The “wine bar” area itself is long with 10 or so spots with a handful of tables in the back. Very quaint atmosphere, quiet, with low lighting, although I would have liked a couple of windows or at least better decorating as I felt wedged into their back hallway. I guess they certainly make due with the space they have.\r
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The wine list was impressive with a lot of unique choices. Although I love when wine bars offer flights, as it’s a great way to sample a nice variety, and Heartland doesn’t offer any. We settled for four full glasses of wine and eventually ordered a bottle of Albarino from Spain. This was the recommendation of our server/bartender and the pick was spot on, we really did enjoy it! We also ordered the cheese sampler, which again was an excellent pick, with three cheeses from Minnesota and Wisconsin.\r
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It was a wine and cheese night, so I can’t speak to their full menu, but overall we really enjoyed ourselves. I would certainly recommend this spot, but for $8/glass for their cheapest glasses and no happy hour specials, the bill adds up quickly.
Pros: Great wine selection, very helpful server
Cons: Wish they had wine flights
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