After all, the disciples of Bacchus (or Dionysus, if you’re more Greek-inclined) are not content enjoying wine at home or in a restaurant, but instead want to taste delicious wines without having to get out the corkscrew.
These types of bars tend to offer a large variety of wines, accompanied by sommeliers able to help you find the wine to fit your tastes. The other main attraction of wine bars is the food on offer - after all, you don’t want to drink on an empty stomach. Therefore, wine bars offer charcuterie and cheese platters as a minimum.
A newcomer in the wine bar scene, you can find le Pas Sage in the middle of the city centre. The bar was opened by Baptiste Sarra, helped by the guidance of sommelier Fernand Klee.
The menu is mostly orientated towards French wines - notably Burgundy ones - which you can enjoy in their wonderful dining room or on the small terrace.
As for nibbles, the Basque chef Sergio Villada emphasises Iberian flavours in fresh and tasty meals. His Iberian ham is of course excellent, but the tuna and sesame, the vitello tonnato (veal covered with a mayonnaise and tuna sauce), and poached egg on a bed of spinach are equally worth trying.
Rodolphe Chevalier did not wait for wine bars to become trendy to establish his own bar in 2008. The terrace boasts a view of Kirchberg and the dining room has a classic design. There are only about twenty wines on offer by the glass, but if you decide to opt for a bottle, there are hundreds of options.
In addition to wine, the selection of sparkling wine is certainly marvellous. Mostly there are French champagnes, but Vinoteca also offers bottles coming from other parts of the world, including Luxembourg, Italy, and Spain.
As for the food, there are traditional offerings such as various sausages, pâtés, and cheeses, alongside sandwiches or even steaks.
Dipso is managed by the expert that is Tanja de Jager and can be found in the old town with a terrace that spills out onto the pavement. The setting of stone and wood may not be incredibly sophisticated, but makes up for it in comfort. The name is also fitting, as it is the Greek root of the word ‘thirsty’.
Dipso offers local and international wines, selected thoughtfully and put together with some crémants, which will make you forget most champagnes. Foodwise, customers can choose between Luxembourgish, Italian, Spanish, or Japanese sharing platters. For events though, the bar does offer more ‘haute-cuisine’ options.
Heading away from the city centre and towards Limpertsberg, you’ll find La Réserve, which has had no difficulty establishing itself in the wine bar landscape. The bar has three small rooms which often fill up very quickly. Customers can choose from a dozen options by the glass, which change regularly. Most often, French, Italian, and Spanish wines are well-represented.
If you get peckish, the bar offers charcuterie options, such as lomo, coppa, and other sausage varieties, cheeses, and tapas including grilled peppers, bruschettas, and more. Finally, if you want to take the food home, you can buy from the bar’s selection of deli products.
If you move away from the Ville Haute area of Luxembourg City, you’ll find Vins Fins in the Grund neighbourhood, on the corner of a road. Rossi Petkova and Franz Dickes focus on offering natural, organic, and ‘biodynamic’ wines, selected carefully from different vineyards in France, Italy, Portugal and Spain. The bar itself is simple and cosy, and the terrace gives the impression of being on holiday with its colourful garlands.
Nibble include meat and cheese platters, including a special duck option. Otherwise, the bar offers soups, salads, and seasonal dishes. In winter, the bar has a special Elbling ‘fonducale’ on offer.
