The Tasting Room is a nice change of pace from the usual Town Center program- i.e., restaurants that turn into bar clubs after 8 or 9PM. Instead, what you get here is a genuine wine bar that is what it is every single hour it's open. It's a refreshing option, to be sure.
There's really no way to list which wines you'll find on tap here from day to day, as they change nearly every day. And yes, I said on tap- you won't be served your vino via traditional bottle service, but from cool-looking taps that are arranged in two different "bars." You're given a charge card which you place in the machine when you select your vintage, which in turn keeps track of all your selections, adds them up, and you are then charged the resulting amount afterwards.
It's a cool system, and is just another reason that makes this place fun to visit. There's also live music several nights a week, along with a nice little outdoor seating section which affords you a nice view of Reston Town Center's Library St.
It's the perfect spot for an after dinner drink, or just a quick rest with friends. No matter what your purpose, stop by sometime soon and check it out for yourself.
Went with my husband, another couple and their two kids. We got a card with $20 to share for tasting. The machines to do the tastings were interesting, but then you miss out on information about the wines. The wine selection was a bit limited. I loved their Riesling, but did not enjoy any of the other reds. If we happened to be in Reston Town Center we might go back, but I wouldn't make a special trip just to go to the Tasting Room.
Review Source:I don't know what happened to this place...the service just isn't what it used to be. Le sigh. I came here right around the time they first opened but after a couple of job changes and a move to Maryland I was far removed from this store (yes I realize they have a Chevy Chase location, I haven't patronized it yet). Anyway, now that my latest gig is across that thurr Potomac in NoVA and not too far way from the Reston Town Center I thought I'd pay the little wine bar a visit after 2 or so years. Hmm..maybe I shouldn't have done that. The band was too loud, some of the other patrons were more like drunken frat house revelers whose conversation was mind-numbing (yeah, they decided to come by our table...le sign again) and the service was...ok. I put in an order for a cheese plate, 40 mins later still no cheese plate. I hunted down a waitress, informed her of the time lapse, she apologizes profusely and brings me the cheese plate about 15 mins later. One hour for cheese on a plate? But they did remove it from my bill so...I guess fair's fair. Either way, I'll probably won't be back.
Review Source:Nice place to sit outside and people watch in RTC while enjoying a glass of wine. Â We usually order off the wine list rather than using the eno cards. Â The selection is not extensive, but not bad at all and all offered by the glass. Â We have ordered off their menu only once - an Italian panini to share which was surprisingly fresh and flavorful. Â We have visited several times for a glass (or two) of wine and each time service has been attentive and friendly. Â However, as other reviewers state, inside the Tasting Room is very small. Â Would love to come for the live music some Thursday or Saturday night.
Review Source:My only complaint is the size of this place. Â Love the ambiance and the staff is so friendly. Â You can do a tasting and put money on a card that you can use again or you can buy by the glass/bottle. Â There are a couple of small things to nosh on; I like the 8 cheese plate with the granny greens and honey and meats. Â Pretty low key with the occasional entertaining drunk. Â Not sure about the sound volume. Â Once I came in and it was noisy other times it has been quiet. Â Great place for a date.
Review Source:Broad range of wine offerings by the glass and plates of cheese, tapenades, honey, and Charcuterie make this place a favorite haunt for me!
Even for a traditionalist oenophiliac, machinations which preserve the quality of good wine in an airtight environment are a necessary evil, just for the benefit they bring. Love to sit outside from Spring to Autumn and try different pairings! From a lean citrus Riesling paired with pickles in brine to a chalky Malbec with Manchego cheese to a classic Sauternes paired with stinky blue cheese that smells like other people's feet, this place is fun for the thinking class and the epicurious alike!
The Tasting Room is one of my favorite places at the town center. The wine selection is great and rotates frequently. You can get an eno card and help yourself or let the friendly staff get your drinks.
They currently serve wine only but are about to start serving beers. This place can only get better.
I am not from the area but was celebrating my birthday in this area.... I called in advance to ask a few questions and I found the employee kinda rude and not willing to help at 3:00pm. After that phone call, I was not sure if I wanted to go but we did. I found this place really nice and clean. Their selections were not bad but could be better. The employee that was helping us was very helpful and nice.
Review Source:Ooo-la-la....that's how I would describe the interior. Â A great visual treat and the location couldn't be better for people watching. Â The selection of wines here is bound to astound you so I don't think you'll have a hard time finding something you like.
The only downer was the really cold service my girlfriend and I encountered when we walked in the door. Â I have a feeling the wait staff here must have to deal with some really stuffy customers so I think they automatically put up this guarded attitude. Â All it took was a little small talk on my part to get our waitress to settle in though and after that the service really was great.
I would recommend this place for sure!
We did a guys evening out @ The Tasting Room. I picked this place after reading the reviews on Yelp and was looking forward to some good wine.
Unfortunately this place did not wow me as I was expecting it to. First thing, this place is small and can get a bit to cramped during busy evenings - something not desired for a wine tasting setup!
Secondly, we saw one of the servers bring in bread and other stuff for the appetizers from Panera! Really??? Must you walk the entire length of the restaurant with stuff from Panera Bread and then serve it to us for a premium! Big Dislike :(
Service otherwise was good! Can't say that about the wines though. The house wine is a big fail and most other wines were A-OK at best. There were a couple good wines though.
Will try other wine tasting places in the DMV before I come back here...
What a neat concept. Â Buy a smart card. Â Put it in the stainless steel dispenser. Â Get a glass, half glass, or sample which is decrimentated from your card. Â Sure, ideally I might like a few more choices and over time I guess I'll see to what extent they rotate their selection. Â But neat. Â Next time I'll try a few appetizers and see how they measure up to my four stars.
Review Source:This place is a good addition to the RTC. It has an "intimate" atmosphere due to the small size of the place. Good for couples and small groups. Our group got lucky and we pushed some tables together. I noticed some very affordable wines. We had a sweet Riesling that was really good just the way I like it!
Review Source:Came here on a Saturday evening for a romantic glass of wine with my man. Â Sadly, the music killed any kind of romance possible. Â The music playing while the "live Jazz" musician was on break was too loud and outdated. Â Then, when the "Jazz" musician came back, he ended up only being an acoustic guitarist playing unpopular cover songs. Â And he had an AMP. Â There is absolutely no need for this in a small, cozy nook such as The Tasting Room. Â Honestly, if he had merely been strumming his acoustic guitar with no additional singing or speaker, I think my experience would have been one star better. Â However, the waitress told us we couldn't have water, which we assumed was a joke...until she didn't bring us any. Â Luckily she remembered 20 min later and made a good wine recommendation so she did somewhat redeem herself. Â
As far as the wine tasting selection goes; I really love the concept. Â I think I may be a little spoiled because there is an AMAZING little locally-owned wine tasting shop in my hometown that is much more quaint with many more varieties to taste. Â (If you're ever in Raleigh, NC be sure to check out Uncorked) Â So if I didn't have such a high precedent set I am sure I would have been more impressed and would have actually participated in the wine tasting selections. Â
I do think this place is cute and cozy, and can see it being nice on the (small) patio when the weather warms up, just get rid of the "live Jazz." Â Or actually hire a real jazz musician. Â Just sayin'
This place is fun to have a glass of wine. Â I like the entire card thing it just adds to the fun of a glass of wine. Â Service was great and I enjoyed entertaining out of town guests here while we waited for a dinner reservation down the street. Â
Not a fan of  the cheese either.  I was expecting a better quality being this is a wine bar...and it is not cheap either so that is why I knocked off a star. Â
Found the patrons very warm also very willing to share their experience with the wine that is being offered prior to buying a pour. Â All in all fun place, but would not order any of the food items, very below par in that regard.
I like this little place. I think it's a great little spot to grab a glass of wine before dinner or after with a friend or two. The servers are nice and the wine is pretty good. I love the Boxwood Topiary. However, when I brought a bottle home I discovered that you need to open and drink it when you know the entire bottle will be consumed. We tried to finish the bottle the next day and it was not anywhere near as good as the night before.
Review Source:So after leaving the meat market/frat party across the street, I spotted a wine bar! So my gentlemen escorts and head over. We were greeted and seated at the bar where I took a moment to look around. The Tasting Room is just that, a bar that offers tastes of wine. You can load a card, and swipe it by the wine you want to try and a dispenser gives you a glass. You can also choose by the glass or bottle at the bar instead of dealing with the dispensers. We chose to order from the bartenders. The ladies behind the bar were SO NICE! Â We discussed our favorite wines and 2 of the ladies suggested a bottle for us. One bottle ended up being bad, and they immediately fixed the issue and apologized even though, it probably wasn't their fault. Cork happens.
 I didn't much care for their selection of cheeses, but it seems that their focus is the wine. I just wish for better munchie foods. Also a bummer is their bubbly collection. They only offer bubbly by the bottle only. Ah well.
The staff more than made up for those small issues and the wine selection was tasty. I made the Tasting Room a regular stop during my stay in Reston and was glad I did!
Nice wine bar with the cool wine dispensers - the bar served a variety of wines. You can order from the server or obtain a pre-paid card and dispense the wine yourself. The bar was dark and sterile with jazzy music playing in the back ground. I tried a spanish wine - syrah, mouvedere and something else it was deep, bold and dry, good wine!
Review Source:Tiny little wine bar that takes great pride in their selection of wines from Virginia. Â They try hard to sell it, but, Virginia wine has a way to go before I become a fan.
They have a limited menu, but, the fruit and cheese were fine as a compliment to a glass of wine.
They have an interesting collection of machines that dispense several wines by the glass. Â You purchase credit on a card from the bartender and then use your card to pour your own wine. Â It was a little confusing at first, but, pretty cool once I got the hang of it.
Very cute little place and interesting concept. Stopped by here with the bf one bored, cold weekend in Reston...
Only one bartender/waitress there, who was super-nice and helpful. Very attentive. We didn't do the card option, but I would like to try it sometime in the future...Just sat at the bar and ordered some drinks. Some were great, some not so much.
Would go here again, but nothing so special that I'd say you should go out of your way. If you're in Reston and looking for something cute to do, it's not bad -- pretty relaxing, cute, and different.
This is a small place with not a huge amount of choices (mainly stuff from their own winery) and some small plates.
Limited seating/space but definitely unique. The wine enomatic machines were lined up on both left and right sides of the wall. They seemed intimidating...I should really try it next time. Haha...
The bad thing about this place is the closing time. 11pm. And we were there on a Saturday night. But we definitely stayed way past 11 and the servers were not in the tiniest bit rude to us. There were other customers who mingled past closing time as well so I guess they're pretty nice about it. Excellent service!
If you come here, come early.
My husband and I went to a winebar very similar to this one in Miami last time we were there and really enjoyed ourselves. I was really looking forward to trying the Tasting Room and having a similar experience, but I was very disappointed.
I'll admit I'm not a huge red wine drinker so I didn't experience the red wines, but those that were with us did and had the same experience I had with the whites. Not a very large variety and nothing amazing.
After I tasted all the whites and didn't find a single one that I would drink a whole glass of I ended up getting a half bottle of sparkling which was not too bad.
The waitress wasn't to helpful or friendly either and while we were there the guy restocking the glasses dropped a whole tray. Yikes!
If you've never been to this kind of wine bar where you get a card and dispense your own wine then I suggest you go check it out because it is a cool concept. Unfortunately for The Tasting Room, I've been to a place like this that was way better so this one pales in comparison.
After having wanted to check this place out for quite some time, I finally stopped in here with a dear friend after dining at nearby Jacksons.
He and I took one corner of the bar while another couple took the other end of it. Â Since there were no other patrons there that night, we were given a personal introduction to The Tasting Room and Boxwood Winery. Â The individual attention was a nice touch.
The TR operates on a similar concept as a wine bar down in Fredericksburg: Â Kybecca. Â This was the first place I've ever seen the Enomatic wine machine in use. Â The way it works is this: you put money on a debit car that is given to you. Â You activate the "wine machine" (Eromatic) with it and select either a sample, half pour or full pour. Â
Right now I can't recall the specific amounts to get a card and the prices of the pours, but I do remember thinking when we were given the run down, that the prices seemed to be a little on the high side.  I'm prone to thinking this way simply because I'm not a wine connoisseur  and don't have enough knowledge or experience to discern between a good wine and a cheap wine.
My companion had two glasses of the Boxwood (Cabernet based), and I had a glass of the Rose, along with a sample of the Topiary and the Boxwood. Â Personally, I'm more of a white wine drinker, but I really wanted to try the local (Boxwood) wines. Â The menu featured French and Argentinian wines, all averaging about 8.00-10.00.
I'm glad I finally got to check this place out, but I'm not certain we would come back.
Strange place. Â Wine dispensed in self-service taps. Â If you're a techhead, you may get a kick out of the card you load up with $$$, and insert into the machine to get your choice of wine, and your choice of size. Â Boxwood is a winery out in Middleburg owned by Jack Kent Cooke and the elitism of that place (you have to make an appointment to get a tasting there...) turned me off big time. Â But I was curious to taste their wines. Â They are good, I'll give them that. Â The Tasting Room is a good place to try them. Â This is Reston Town Center, so don't expect a lot of ambiance. Â But I probably won't be back. Â For the amount of money I spent here on miscellaneous glasses, I could have bought two bottles at nearby M & S Grill.
Review Source:Overview: Â What a comfortable place to sit down with friends and sample local wines. Â Very clean and relaxing atmosphere (inside and out)
Staff: Â Super friendly and knowledgeable! Â They definitely seem to love what they're doing. Â Heidi - we'll see you on Thursday for Jazz night!
Wine: Â Not the biggest selection, but enough of a good variety to find a favorite for the evening. Â I liked their white selection while she liked the $7/oz one!
Parking - Convenient
Money: Â Love the idea of the ATM-ish card. Â Though, it feels like converting cash for poker chips
I don't know that I'd really care a whole lot to come here on a regular basis, but for a fun special event, The Tasting Room provides a nice experience. Â The format is that there is a bar and there are several machines that dispense wine in one of 3 three amounts. Â I can't remember the exact sizes, but there's a sample, half glass and full glass. Â You put money on a special debit card that you use in the machines, it reads you your balance and then you choose the amount of wine you want and it dispenses it into your glass and charges you the amount. Â The premise is kinda cool, but I think it does sort of interfere with the "experience" of wine. Â Having someone talk to you about the wine, or pour it a certain way. Â And also you're unsure of how fresh it is since it's just a bottle in a machine. Â The prices vary, but $4 for a small taste really seems like a lot.
The wine selection is pretty decent, and I imagine it must rotate with the seasons or from month-to-month. Â They had a red section and then a chilled white section. Â The reds seemed to be mostly merlots. Â I definitely liked the selection of whites more. Â Still, after a little while the novelty wears off.
My understanding is that they do sell finger foods, like a cheese plate, but there is not a kitchen preparing meals for patrons. Â It's mostly an automated wine bar with a bartender to answer questions and I think sell you bottles if there's a particular wine you'd like to take home with you. Â A unique idea, but still leaves a bit to be desired.
I love wine so I had to check this place out while in Reston. The selection is limited to Boxwood wines but the wines they do have is excellent. The music they played, Richard Marx- the entire bloody album - was not the best of choices for a wine tasting atmosphere. Maybe classical? or jazz? sure! But Richard Marx wanted me to drink Mr Pibb not a French Merlot. They are only open till 11pm on weekdays which for my urban-self that time is when I usually start going out.
With that said if you are in the 30's and up age bracket and you like wine and you are with either a date or by yourself (and you like Richard Marx) you would love this place. Anyone younger not so much..
Actual date visited: August 8, 2009
Bored on a Saturday night and wanting to try something "new" the boyfriend, mother, and I ventured off to The Tasting Room.
Ambiance:
The inside is small and intimate but holds an extended bar, a few tables, up against the wall seatings, and outside seatings.
I immediately noticed the "enomatic wine machines" as I sat at a table.
Wines:
The tastings are for Boxwood winery and a handful of French wines. It seemed there were more reds than whites and the price range is decent.
We ordered the large cheese platter as well, which also included bread and pepperoni.
The pours are 1, 3, or 5 oz., each consisting of a different price point. Between the three of us, I believe we tried every wine they had in stock.
If you choose the tasting route, versus buying a bottle or a glass, your server will put a value of your choosing on a card. You insert the card into the machine, chose the pour value, the wine you'd like to try, and voila! you get wine. As the value in your card subtracts you can add more by letting your server know how much to add on. Note: this can start to add up rather quickly.
Service:
It was a bit intimidating when I first entered but our server was very accommodating and explained how everything worked. Â
Overall:
I wish our server would've made some recommendations on which wines to try, as it seemed at one point I was drinking without any knowledge of the wine.
The place also closes at 11 PM but we didn't feel rushed at all to leave and stayed about 30 minutes after they locked the doors (note, we were NOT the only customers still sipping).
The price point seems to fit the pour amounts but I'll opt for a full bottle next time.
I am far from being a wine snob, but I love this place. Gadgets have always impressed me, and the fact that you can sample expensive wines for really cheap is awesome. I prefer just sitting at the bar and enjoying glasses upon glasses of fine French red wine.
The staff is nice and attentive. You'll be taken care of. Just remember to tip your bartenders. The bar stools are comfortable; outdoor seating plentiful.
The only negative I can think of is that this place closes at 11PM.
So it seems that someone finally found a loophole in the rule that a business that serves alcohol in VA must have %50 food business. Â So Reston Town Center now has its very own winery... I mean tasting room. Â
After dinner on Saturday we decided to check this place out. Â The first thing I noticed upon enter the place is a big wine fountain gizmo, this is where you'll be getting your wine. Â I think its a clever way to get wine into glasses but you really miss out on the experience of wine tasting this way. Â The menu here does have flights but we opted to just pick and choose. Â The wine fountain take a card that is purchased from the bar, it works much like a debit card, the money depletes until you put more on it. Â The machine dispenses wine in 1(tasting), 3(half glass), and 6(full glass) ounce portions. Â
The wines themselves are not all from Boxwood winery. Â In fact most seemed to be french imports, and on top of that most seemed to be red blends. Â We sampled a bunch but didnt take any notes. Â
I guess if you are looking to try some wines and just talk amongst yourselves this would be a good spot for it. Â If your looking for a wine tasting with a big presentation and explanation you might be better off heading to the country side. Â This is not to say that if you order a flight you wouldnt get the explanation, I just don't think that is what might attract you to the Tasting Room.
The 5 best restaurants in the 2015 Denver Restaurant Week
3,607 Views | Category: Denver
The complete list of 2015 Denver Restaurant Week businesses
1,970 Views | Category: Denver
The tourists' guide to Portillos: 5 must have dishes
3,306 Views | Category: Chicago
Pho = Pronounced "fuh" not "foe" for pho-king sake
2,904 Views | Category: Denver
Indulgery selected to exhibit at Collision Conference
2,983 Views | Category: Press Releases
Not Logged In
BUSINESSES
Local Businesses
Near Me
My Favorites
SOCIAL
Blog & News
MY ACCOUNT
Login
Register
Contact Us
Add Your Business
