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“Terroir”

From the Latin terra ferma comes Terroir, a term used in wine circles to refer to a wine’s sense of place—characteristics driven not only by the specific soil structure and climate of a given region, but also its history and culture. Embracing this sense of place, Terroir is also the namesake of this 500-square foot wine bar from Hearth partners Paul Grieco and Marco Canora. Located in a former bike shop just a few doors down from their East Village gem, they’re offering a menu similar to the one Marco first conceived for Craftbar (except this one’s being served from a tiny electric kitchen).

Expect old Craftbar favorites like fried sage leaves stuffed with lamb sausage ($7), tomato and egg bruschetta ($5), chicken soup with farro and escarole, duck ham with taleggio and hen of the woods panini ($9), and those heavenly veal and ricotta meatballs ($15). The menu also includes new bar snacks like beet risotto balls with gorgonzola cheese ($6), fried turkey wings “agro dulce” ($7), and a hand-cut charcuterie plate stocked with country pork terrine, Jamon Iberico, duck prosciutto, mortadella and cacciatorini ($21 gets you all of it), along with large plates like broiled sardines with herbed breadcrumbs and grapefruit ($15), and cotecchino sausage with castaluccio lentils and a fried egg on top ($15).

While the food is always the draw when Canora is in the kitchen, Terroir is a wine bar with 22 distinct “Paul Grieco” wines by the taste and glass, and 150 by the bottle. Do you know what a “Paul Grieco” wine is? I didn’t. That was until I spoke with him about the opening of Terroir and more specifically about his feelings on what he likes to call the “cool juice.” To learn more, check out my interview with Paul in Pot Luck! (You’ll want to because you can learn about Wine Bingo, Iron Maiden Nights and more!)

Terroir is located at 413 East 12th Street, no phone. For more information, call Hearth at 212-602-1300. Terroir is open Mon-Sat. 5pm-2am, with food served from 6pm until 1am.

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