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Tastevio

Pl. III · The back of the shop · since 2017

The Tasting Bar

Eleven stools at an old haberdashery counter, at the back of a Napier wine shop. Hawke's Bay wine, poured 75 ml at a time.

No bookings at the counter, just walk in and sit down. A flight of three is $18, five is $28, a glass runs $11 to $17, and the board of local bread, two cheeses, olives and pickled walnuts is $16.

we pour short so you can try more

Plate III: the anatomy of a tasting glass A tulip-shaped tasting glass drawn in elevation. A 75 ml tasting pour sits in the bottom of the bowl, a dashed line higher up marks a 150 ml glass, and labels name the rim, bowl, stem and foot. rim, turned in 1 bowl, tulip-shaped 2 full glass, 150 ml 3 75 ml, a tasting pour 4 stem: hold it here 5 foot, wide and flat 6
  1. Rim, turned in
  2. Bowl, tulip-shaped
  3. Full glass, 150 ml
  4. 75 ml, a tasting pour
  5. Stem: hold it here
  6. Foot, wide and flat
Pl. III. A tulip tasting glass at the 75 ml line, drawn at the counter.
Tonight's five pours Private tastings

Walk-ins, Tuesday to Sunday

Pours 1 to 5, light to deep

Tonight's Flights

Five pours of 75 ml, in this order, for $28. The first three make the $18 flight. A wine leaves the list when its bottle runs dry, usually by the weekend.

01 / 05
Pl. III · Fig. 1
The flight mat and the bar board, from above Five tasting glasses on a paper mat numbered one to five, a full 150 ml glass beside them, and a wooden board holding two slices of bread, pickled walnuts, two cheeses and a dish of olives. FIVE POURS · LIGHT TO DEEP 1 2 3 4 5 the flight mat 1 75 ml in each glass 2 a full glass, 150 ml 3 two cheeses 4 olives in a dish 5 pickled walnuts 6 local bread 7
  1. The flight mat
  2. 75 ml in each glass
  3. A full glass, 150 ml
  4. Two cheeses
  5. Olives in a dish
  6. Pickled walnuts
  7. Local bread
Fig. 1. A flight mat and the $16 board, seen from above.

The bar ledger

What a Stool Costs

Everything is poured at the counter, and everything grew within an hour of it. Start with a flight, stay for a glass of whichever pour you liked, or open anything off the shelf.

  • Flight of three $18 Three pours of 75 ml, the first three on tonight's list.
  • Flight of five $28 All five, 75 ml each, light to deep.
  • A glass, 150 ml $11-$17 Any wine on the flight list, priced by the bottle it comes from.
  • Shelf bottle, opened here +$10 Anything on the shelf, $22 to $140, plus $10 to open and pour it at the bar.
  • The bar board $16 Local bread, two cheeses, olives and pickled walnuts.
  • Last pour 30 min to close 6:30pm Tuesday to Thursday, 8:30pm Friday and Saturday, 4:30pm Sunday.

ID is checked for anyone who looks under 25. The counter is walk-ins only; groups of six or more, email a day ahead so we can push the stools together.

Pl. III · Fig. 2
The old haberdashery counter, in plan and elevation Above, the counter seen from overhead with eleven round stools lined up along its front. Below, the counter from the front, with two rows of small haberdashery drawers, a foot rail, and a tape measure stretched along its top. PLAN ELEVATION eleven stools, no more 1 tape, along the front edge 2 haberdashery drawers 3 foot rail 4 the counter, as it came 5
  1. Eleven stools, no more
  2. Tape, along the front edge
  3. Haberdashery drawers
  4. Foot rail
  5. The counter, as it came
Fig. 2. The old haberdashery counter in plan and elevation, with the tape still on it.

Hana, on the counter

Why There's a Bar at All

When we cleared the back storeroom in 2017, the old haberdashery counter was still standing there under a dust sheet, and when I ran a tape along it, it fitted exactly eleven stools, not ten and not twelve, which felt like the counter telling me something. The real reason, though, is that most growers in the Bay don't have a cellar door of their own. They grow lovely fruit, make a few hundred cases, and the only way you'd ever taste it is if someone opens a bottle for you, so that's what the bar is for. A 75 ml pour means you can have the Syrah from the gravels and the Gamay from out near Haumoana side by side and actually notice how different two places twenty minutes apart can be. One grower drove in on a Thursday afternoon with a bottle still cold from the tank, and we poured it for whoever happened to be sitting there, and I think about that afternoon more than I probably should. I'd much rather you tasted three things you've never heard of than one you have. Anyway. Pull up a stool.

Hana

Pl. III · Fig. 3
The private tasting table, set for fourteen, from above A long table in plan view with seven chairs down each side, a glass at every place, six bottles in a row down the middle in pouring order, and a board at each end. fourteen chairs, seven a side 1 a glass at every place 2 two boards 3 one long table 4 six wines, in pour order 5
  1. Fourteen chairs, seven a side
  2. A glass at every place
  3. Two boards
  4. One long table
  5. Six wines, in pour order
Fig. 3. The private tasting table, set for fourteen, from above.

After hours, Tuesday to Thursday

Private Tastings for Eight to Fourteen

Once the shop shuts at 7pm on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, the stools go back against the wall and the long table comes out. Hana pours six Bay wines in order, talks you through where each one grew, and there's a board at each end of the table.

  • Per person, six wines and a board $45
  • Deposit to hold the evening $100 Refunded in full if you cancel 7 or more days out.
  • NightsTuesday to Thursday, from 7pm.
  • Group8 to 14 people, all at the one table.
  • BookingBy email, at least 14 days ahead. Send the date, how many of you, and anything you'd rather not drink.
  • Smaller groupsSix or more coming to the bar in opening hours? Still walk-in, but email a day ahead and we'll push stools together.
Ask for a date at hello@tastevio.com

Specimen label

What the Bar Turns Down

Eleven stools make a small room. These are the things it isn't built for, and we would rather say so here than at the door.

  • No. 1

    Weddings and Off-Site Events

    We only pour at this counter. No marquees, no functions, no bar hire anywhere else in the Bay.

  • No. 2

    Bus Tours

    A coachload can't sit at eleven stools, and the growers on the flight deserve better than a race through their wine.

  • No. 3

    Hen and Stag Groups

    We like a celebration. This just isn't the room for one. Come back for a quiet flight the week after.

  • No. 4

    Pouring After Closing

    Last pour is 30 minutes before the door shuts. We'll happily sell you a bottle to finish the conversation at home.