The list of natural wines is extensive, with plenty in all categories, mostly European but with a small, excellent selection of progressive American producers like Martha Stoumen and Clos Saron in California, and Southold in Texas.
One night, sitting at the handsome marble-topped bar, I had a glass of spicy pineau d’Aunis from Emmanuel Haget in the Loire Valley, followed by a mellow, pure 2010 Château Massereau Cuvée K Bordeaux Supérieur. The wines were delicious accompanying chewy, flavorful sliced duck breast and lacinato kale in a sort of nutty romesco sauce.
231 Court Street (Warren Street), Brooklyn, 917-909-0434, junebk.com.
More Not to Be Missed
Terroir
Paul Grieco’s maniacal temple of riesling worship in TriBeCa has much more to offer. It’s rustic and satisfying, with simple dishes, a lot of great wines beyond riesling and a manifesto of wine from Mr. Grieco himself.
24 Harrison Street (Greenwich Street), 212-625-9463, wineisterroir.com.
Aldo Sohm Wine Bar
Aldo Sohm Wine Bar is the exception to every rule. It’s in Midtown Manhattan, affiliated with Le Bernardin, where Mr. Sohm is wine director, and looks it. Yet it’s an easygoing place to stop among the Manhattan canyons, midafternoon or pretheater, for simple, elegant foods and the sort of wines you would expect at such a place, with special attention given to Austria, Mr. Sohm’s homeland.
151 West 51st Street, 212-554-1143, aldosohmwinebar.com.
The Four Horsemen
At this point in its existence, the Four Horsemen in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, may be more restaurant than wine bar. The food is so good, and the largely natural wine list so enticing, that it’s awfully hard to get in. If you can wangle a table or a seat at the small bar, you won’t regret it.
295 Grand Street (Havemeyer Street), Brooklyn, 718-599-4900, fourhorsemenbk.com.
Wildair
Wildair, too, might be more of a restaurant. Yet this casual counterpart to Contra on the Lower East Side, with its natural wines and simple yet adventurous dishes, pleases whether for a snack or a meal.
142 Orchard Street (Rivington Street), 646-964-5624, wildair.nyc.
