He agrees – it’s an easy way to remember the exact wine. If you hate it, you only hate it for two ounces and then you can move on to the next thing.” I volunteer my habit of keeping corks from restaurants or dinner parties from bottles I loved. The Wine Emotion comes in handy here – you can get two ounces of something. You’ll be set up for success the next time you get your hands on a wine list.” After a while, you’ll see a pattern, and bam, there are your wine preferences. My advice there is to try everything you can and make notes about what you like and don’t like. I’ll admit it’s hard to recommend a wine to someone who really doesn’t know what they like, or doesn’t know that they like a particular varietal or flavor. I assume that as a bar manager, he must get countless requests for recommendations. He names pungent, earthy reds as a perennial favorite, but also garners a love for local IPAs and his own signature infused alcohols, which you’d be lucky to get your hands on (NB: his pineapple/jalapeno tequila is dynamite!). He says the swordfish at The Green Room is his current favorite, especially when paired with a “grapefruity Sauvignon Blanc”. I always ask where my subjects are eating and drinking when they’re not on their respective lines/food trucks/farms, and Brad is no exception. After all, we aren’t about to send someone away from the bar with a fantastic wine in a flimsy cup!” Considering that it took me half a glass to notice the difference, I feel solidly assured.įlatbreads from SIP’s menu: blue cheese, caramelized onion, and walnut smoked Gouda, sriracha, and bacon next to goat cheese, fig, and honey and roasted tomato, olive, and Humboldt Fog next to Garden Spread.Īs I nibble on the flatbreads a bit more (the Garden Spread (my personal fave), which I love with the Chardonnay, and a Humboldt Fog/roasted tomato one that I wash down happily with the Pinot), we chat about the local food scene. “It alleviates a lot of worry for safety, obviously, but more importantly, we put a lot of time and research into finding an un-glass that wouldn’t react with wine, leave a residue, or change the taste of the wine at all. It’s at about this point that I notice that the glass I’ve been drinking from isn’t actually a glass at all – noting my perplexed expression, Brad tells me that SIP serves solely in New Zealand-sourced polycarbonate. “Those rules don’t necessarily apply anymore,” Brad explains, “increasingly, you’re seeing flavor profiles (like earthy and salty) instead of particular foods paired with white wines, and for good reason: many whites are flat-out versatile.” We discuss the idea of Chardonnay and other whites being traditionally paired with fish and white meat. I can imagine that, in Summer, this place becomes a hot property.Įven the bar’s decked out for a good time. The floors, I’m told, are made of materials recycled from egg cartons. Even on a gray, not-quite-Spring day, the area is gorgeous and looks very comfortably outfitted. I decide that since I’ve driven here today, it’s probably a good idea to skip the wine-o-matic and head to the bar for a pairing lesson – but first, Brad invites me to step out onto the expansive rooftop porch that makes up more than half of SIP’s real estate. Start with a reloadable prepaid card and see which labels catch your eye. This, Brad tells me, is the Wine Emotion machine – there are 40 wines ranging through loads of varietals. The moment I walk into SIP, my eyes swing left to a giant, industrial wine dispenser. He helped open SIP and in addition to acting as Bar Manager, is involved in sourcing and pairings. I headed to SIP on a blustery afternoon armed with only my wits and preferences in hopes that Bar Manager Brad Palmer could give me the good word on good wine. A Savannah native, Brad came to the Upstate two years ago after spending time on both South Carolina and Georgia coasts. SIP, a tasting room and rooftop lounge in downtown Greenville, SC.
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