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Hotel's wine bar offers more than 50 vintages by the glass
Phil Real serves guests at the Prelude Wine Bar
Heidi Murrin, Tribune-Review
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Dave DeSimone is a member of the American Wine Society. He can be heard daily on KQV Radio with the Wine Cellar reports. He can be reached via e-mail.
Recommended:
Indicates a well-made table wine ready for immediate enjoyment with everyday meals and offering good value.
Highly Recommended:
Indicates a well-made table wine ready for immediate enjoyment and offering very good value on a particularly well-made example of its type.
Cellar Selection:
Indicates a well-made table wine that requires additional bottle aging in a temperature-controlled cellar to reach peak enjoyment.
Note:
Code numbers and prices refer to the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board system unless otherwise indicated.
One of Pittsburgh's most dynamic and exciting wine venues owes its reputation to Bassem El-Rabaa, director of operations, and Prelude server Phil Real.
The wine is El-Rabaa's brainchild. As a native of Lebanon, he grew up enjoying a rich stew of Mediterranean-influenced dishes and developed the region's simple but classic pleasure of enjoying wine with food.
Later, as a food and beverage professional in the hotel industry, he long dreamed of creating a casual and fun, yet hip and sophisticated, wine bar. The timing was right two years ago when he was assigned to help open the new hotel.
The hotel, in the former Fulton Building, was a historic and daunting rehabilitation project with many challenges. El-Rabaa and his colleagues were faced with renovating the marvelous marble-clad lobby that features a soaring glass rotunda in the center ceiling.
Initially, the hotel developers suggested a large concierge’s desk for the corner of the lobby just outside the hotel’s restaurant, Opus One.
But El-Rabaa thought the large space called for a more intimate and relaxing enclave. He argued that a wine bar would allow guests and visitors to enjoy a glass of wine in a low-key, comfortable atmosphere before moving to the restaurant for dinner or out for a night on the town in the surrounding Cultural District.
Early results at Prelude were impressive. "I finally was able to offer over 50 wines by the glass," El-Rabaa says. "If you appreciate high-end wines, then you can try a glass without having to suffer by paying for an entire bottle."
Customers agreed, but the project sputtered after the original wine server moved on.
After an extensive search for another wine professional, Real was hired just about a year ago. He and El-Rabaa have made a good team.
Real spent almost 15 years selling wine, first in retail shops in San Francisco and later for a wine distributor in Pittsburgh. Says El-Rabaa, "Phil has really taken charge and has a passion for wine. He personalizes the experience for the customers, so tasting wine at Prelude is never intimidating."
Real clearly enjoys the customer exchanges. "It’s fun and interesting," he says, "because we have a total cross-section of business travelers, tourists, people from the Pittsburgh area in town just to relax, people who work in town, and people who are either going to or coming from shows in the Cultural District."
He adds, "The customers all have different levels of knowledge, so I like to sound them out to see what they like. And one nice thing we do is allow people to taste a wine before they buy a glass. If they’re curious about a wine, they can try a sip or two first. It’s a no-lose situation, because (they know) they’re going to like it when they buy a glass."
One of the wine bar's most popular programs is the "Around the World in an Evening Tour" each Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday night, a concept created by El-Rabaa and Real. For $19.99 per person, excluding tax and gratuity, patrons have a choice of four wines from different regions and countries in 2-ounce pours complemented by the chef’s nightly tapas features.
The tapas might include delicately fried calamari, fresh mozzarella and tomatoes with olive oil, salami and various cheeses. Other upscale wine bar menu items include escargot baked in butter with garlic and herbs, and mozzarella and tortellini salad.
Desserts and a fine port are quite popular with the after-show crowd at 10:15 p.m.
"Phil is constantly changing the wines offered, so there’s always something new even if you visit Prelude often," El-Rabaa says.
He and Real are considering a wine school for customers. Stay tuned.
Prices for a 5-ounce glass of wine at Prelude Wine Bar range from $5 to $55 (the latter being the much-sought-after Opus One red from California). There are many excellent offerings for less than $15 a glass, including these:
About the wine bar
Best Buy Recommendation
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