My immediate impression when I walked in was that I was at the old Spago's Trattoria: heavy stone and wood decor, dim lighting, with an enormous pizza oven anchoring the room. I liked it. Between the dim lighting and Ray Charles softly playing, I felt pretty relaxed right away.
I sat down at the bar and perused their wines available by the glass, which was quite a lengthy list. I had a glass of California Chardonnay, which I loved, and a glass of Côte du Rhone. The Chardonnay was accurately described by my server, Tina, as smooth yet very full bodied. I was extremely impressed that each wine I ordered had proper corresponding stemware, I haven't seen that in Windsor before.
I had oysters, a meat and cheese platter, and a pizza. The oysters were big, briny, well-shucked Malpecs, which is hard not to like. The meat and cheese platter costs $25 but is extremely generous. It had five different cheeses and four different meats, as well as some bread, olives, dried fruit, nuts, as well as some fig jam infused with red wine. None of the cheeses or meats were spectacular on their own, but as something to snack on with wine, it works well. I had Vince's Pizza, which is topped with figs and prosciutto. It was a little dry, it could have done with a little olive oil or drizzle of balsamic, but again as a casual snack, it's tasty.
The service was undeniably terrific. Tina seemed to know what she was doing, though she did refer to my Chardonnay as a Napa Chardonnay, which is untrue because it's actually a blend of grapes from three different counties, one of which is Napa. But she was very kind. She went above and beyond by giving me change when she said she saw parking services eyeing my car. I have heard that when it gets busy here, service takes a slight hit. That's always going to be the case to a degree. But, since it wasn't busy at all - I was there shortly after it opened - and my service was spot on, I can't speak to that much.
The reserve list of wines by the bottle looked pretty cool as well, wish I had more time or was with a bigger group. Would have loved to try the French Sauvignon Blanc by the bottle.
Wineology is certainly imperfect, and there are things to nitpick about the wine list. I dislike the focus on local wine, it's nice to have some local wines but within reason. I understand that they'll sell, though. I also wish they had some more high end glass pours that aren't from Italy. It's a personal preference for me, though, because I've never been an Italian wine fanatic. My final minor gripe would be that I wish they had some more Pinot noir, other than the one from Ontario, available by the glass.
This place is a great start for a city like Windsor. A friend told me before that Wineology isn't a place to go if you want to have dinner, it's a spot for wine and snacks. And I think that's really the best way to summarize it. read more