Finally, a wine bar in the South Bay I’m super excited about!

I heart wine glasses that are the size of my face.

Like my love affair with Press Club, I’ve been singing the praises of Enoteca La Storia to everyone in sight ever since checking it out on Saturday with Shrek. That night we decided to celebrate three years of dating with a little wine tasting at the (relatively) new wine bar in downtown Los Gatos followed by dinner up the street at Nick’s. It was just perfect, all of it. The weather outside was miserable… big fat rain drops pelting us from the sky, thunder, lightning, the works, and much of Los Gatos lost power. But inside Enoteca La Storia it was bright and warm and there were smiles, rosy cheeks, and a fab selection of wine, beer, cheese, cured meats, olives, sandwiches, and salads to savour… My kind of place!

I did a “Make Your Own Wine Flight” with three sparkling wines. I highly, highly recommend ordering a glass of the NV Gosset Grande Reserve Brut from Champagne, France. If you like reds, get the ’08 Paraiso Pinot Noir from the Santa Lucia Highlands. You won’t be disappointed if you like reds with a little more body.

There was beer for Shrek, which he highly recommends.

And, ohmmmm — THE FOOD!

Piccolo House Platter. $15

The food was simple yet sublime. Our “little” platter that serves 2-4 was brimming with various meats, cheeses, breads, olives, along with a HONEY and tapenade. And, hey, I ate prosciutto-butter! And liked it! Shrek loved the green olives so much he bought a pound for $10 to enjoy at home. As I mentioned, they’ve also got sandwiches and salads which I’m looking forward to diving into next time. And there will be a next time. This is such a great place to meet up for lunch, after work, before dinner out with your girlfriends or a date for the evening. Really, you can’t go wrong bringing someone who loves wine and food here.

Nom.

When you go, know that it’s kind of in an obscure location in relation to all the other cute little bistros and shops in “downtown Los Gatos.” It’s located across the street from Chevron and Walgreens on the corner of Highway 9 and North Santa Cruz Avenue but the tradeoff is easy breezy parking as they’ve got their own lot. The interior of Enoteca is completely charming. It hasn’t got the lounge-y, hip, urban vibe that Press Club’s got going for it, but it definitely holds its own as a sophisticated wine bar.

The guys and gals behind the counter are friendly and knowledgeable. We event met one of the owners, Mike, who was behind the counter as well. I told Shrek and my friends that I’d come here over Vintage Wine Merchants on Santana Row which is saying A LOT since it’s about 6 times as far from my home. Interestingly enough, this wine bar’s by two of the guys who started up Vintage. And, since this is their second entrepreneurial endeavor it’s EVEN BETTER. But don’t take my word for it. Check it out for yourselves.

Enoteca La Storia

416 N. Santa Cruz Ave

Los Gatos, CA 95030

http://www.enotecalastoria.com/