I was in wine heaven when I walked through these doors! it's like you had access to the greatest wine vending machine on the planet. really great selections and the food they served there was superb as well. We had ordered a cheese plate which was more then enough food for 3 people to snack on. Â I really enjoyed the atmosphere in the little sitting/hangout area. they were playing an old fashioned black in white movie on the wall, the kind where they didnt talk it was all in text at the bottom of the screen. It was adowable. Cant wait to come back :)
Review Source:This place is awesome--a chic yet friendly atmosphere where you can enjoy wine tasting at a reasonable price. The selection is extensive (but not so much that it's overwhelming) and Phillip--one of the owners--is very friendly and happy to help you with the selection. Since the area is not too big, it doesn't seem to get too noisy or crowded so you can have a conversation without yelling and mingle with others/ the workers/owners. I hope more people decide to try this place out!
Review Source:My girlfriend and I stumbled upon this place as a back up to another spot. Â Our original place was way too busy and we wanted to have a conversation without screaming. Â
Upon entering you see that they have a selection of wines at tasting dispensers. Â Interesting. Â The gal at the counter welcomed us and was friendly. Â She gaves us the low down and we each purchased a wine tasting card that you use to serve yourself. Â I like the concept...
My only issue was that I wasn't overwhelmed by the selection. Â Red or whites. Â It seemed fairly limited and the tastings were a little pricey.
We ordered a cheese plate and it was delicious. Â In fact it was the first time I've ever liked goat cheese so good for them.
The atmosphere was tidey and subtle. Â They had an old B&W film playing silently against one of the walls so that was cool.
I was a little surprised by the lack of customers. Â There was only one other couple there besides us and when we left only two other people had come in, one of which left almost immediately.
I will give this place another try but more wines and more people would make it feel more fun. Â Perhaps some local advertising or specials would have helped. (If they had "special nights" we weren't aware of it. Â If they do, they should make sure customers know about it...
A Few Good Things Beginning With "G":
Gewürztraminer
Gamonéu
Grenache
Grevé
Grigio
Gevrik
Gouda
Good thing that each pour at Wine Detective is a reasonable one ounce, or I'd be drunker and full of even more cheese right now.
For Wine Detective makes gluttony simple, you see: with the swipe of a card, one can experience any number of expensive wines or excellent cheeses, all in exotic Pasadena. While the sommeliers are helpful and able to direct the drinker towards those wine profiles that might interest them, Â the cheesemonger* was, next to the Gouda, the highlight of my visit. That man really knows his queso.
Finding the bar can be a bit of a challenge and parking can get goofy, Â but that shouldn't deter you. After all, there is cheese to be mongered.
Great, right? Four stars!
*actual name for this position; I am not clever enough to make these things up.
Been a few years since I strolled back here, but i wanted to show my friend a different style of wine tasting. Great selection of just about everything. Nice interior with a chill lounge type atmosphere to sit down and enjoy a glass. Tried everything ( cabs and sirahs that is). Found this really good cab from Montes Alpha, but the last bottle was on the demo rack :( One of the employees recommended an 08' Carmenere of the same winery. This one smelled a lot more pungent with a strong aroma of tobacco. Nasty right- Negative! This thing tasted way better than it smelled and was really smooth. Great recommendation. Took this bottle out for a spin to Bar Celona.
Review Source:Taste all the wines you want with their 2oz pour machines.
Great ambiance provides the perfect place to gather a group and mingle. Discussing your pours gives you a start to conversation.
Pintxos offer great variety and flavors in easy to eat-while-mingling bite size portions.
How fun it would be if this place would really take off and there would be a good sized crowd each night.
This place is great overall. Â It had around the world selection of wine. It is perfect for new people tasting and wine gurus. The place had a great cheese dish which are great with pairing. But the best thing about this place is the owners and workers. Not only are they knowledgable but friendly. It a six star to me!!!
Review Source:I'd rate this more as a 4.5~star spot. Â I'll change it to 5~stars when they upgrade. As a way to encourage Wine Detective to get a shiny new enomatic dispenser. One that can handle champagne and sparkling wine! Please?!
I read through the other yelp reviews, as to get ideas on how I should write this review... so let me start with this: Â Wine Detective is an apropos name for this establishment.
For all the 1~stars given to Wine Detective, I can understand that rating if you come in with a mentality of:
1. Â Looking for a cheap place to get alcohol. Â (Wine is not cheap. Like any hobby, such as cars, guns, photography, prostitutes, etc, the good stuff costs money.)
2. Â Looking for a restaurant. Â (This is not an eating destination. It's called Wine Detective after all.)
We'll start with food offerings. Â The charcuterie plates, the cheeses, and platters of duck rillettes aren't meals. Â The prices aren't too far off from what you'd get from a gourmet specialty foods store (there is a happy hour too, which helps). Â They exist to create a "mariage" with the wine. Â Like the ideal relationship: when you marry someone, you should be bringing out the best in each other. Â The wine helps draw out the best flavors and aromas of the food, and the food makes more apparent, the flavor and bouquet of aromas in the wine. Â When you get it right, it's a blissful relationship leaves you content, yet longing for more.
Anyways, this is a place to discover and experience wines; Â a breadth of wines. From as local as California, to international as Italy and Portugal, they're made available for $2.00 ~ $4.00 a taste. Â That's just brilliant!
It's like, usually if you want to learn about wine or find new favorites, you'd have to pay maybe $40 ~ $80 for a tasting event. Â And even then, those tastings only focus on regions such as Santa Barbara or Cotes du Rhone. Â
A friend brought me here 'cause she knows I love wine. Â Even though the address is 146 S. Lake Ave, you can't see it from the street. Â You have to walk further in the plaza, to the back alley street. Â It's pretty much situated across from The Counter. Â
We step in on a Monday night. And save for one worker, the place is desolate. Â There could've been tumble weeds, as soft country music guitar plays in the back. Â I think piano jazz would've been more apt to the cushy, contemporary modern decor. But the girl seemed to like it. Â
Well, time to play. Â Like GameWorks, or Round1, you get credit cards to stick into the machine dispensers. Â What's great about having someone to share it with is being able to experience a bigger variety of wines. Â We both got different wines to taste throughout the night, and shared tastings. Â In some cases, we just switched glass because we preferred each other's current wine more. Â
When you do this, you can start discovering the subtle differences between merlot, pinot noir, and blends of wines such as cabernet sauvignon/cab franc/mourvedre, etc. Â I can see that she preferred sweeter, softer wines, like reislings, and pinot noirs. Â I can see her face wrench in reaction to the strong tannins in a Margaux or Beaucastel. Â
You may even find that your personal taste may not even be for the expensive French wines that rate 97 points. Â You may just end up enjoying that 91 point wine from Argentina, much much more. Â Maybe you'll like it enough to get a whole glass. Â Maybe you'll like it enough to buy a bottle for that next dinner party, and it won't be some garden variety that could be found at Trader's Joe's or BevMo.
What a fun and relaxing way to catch up with someone. Â But really, mostly if you have the passion and taste for wine.
I absolutely love this place. Delicious food. Great wine. Great ambiance. You can order wine through the wine detective spouts (not sure what to call them), but I prefer to just order and have the waiter give me a recommendation for a glass. Â I go here all the time with my girlfriends for great wine, great atmosphere, great music, and delicious food. It's a hidden gem behind Lemonade and across from The Counter.
Their little gourmet sandwich bites called Pinxtos are the best and are on the happy hour menu!
Found this place while my friends and I were waiting for some other friends to meet us for dinner. We checked it out, and they had a happy hour so we each got a glass of wine. They also informed us that it was their three year anniversary and they were having a party to celebrate; free wine! We had initially planned on going to a different wine bar out in Eagle Rock but we were enticed by free wine. So we went to dinner then headed to the party. You could choose one glass of wine for free and then from there they were $3. So we chose some and hung out outside for a while. It was getting chilly and since a few of us were in heels and there weren't that many seats, we headed into the store.
I have never been to a wine bar like this one, even though I have heard people talk about them. They give you a pre-loaded card ($25 on each) and hold your credit card til you check out. You use the card in the machines set up around the store and you can get 1 ounce pours to sample. Kind of cool. All the wines I tried I enjoyed; unfortunately I didn't write them down so I don't remember them. When you are ready, you give the card back and they charge you for what you used.
I really enjoyed this place and definitely plan on going back!
Fun new win experience (bar filled with automated 1oz wine pours, you get a pre-paid card, pour yourself whatever wines you want to try, then they push you to buy a bottle to take home).
Way too expensive. Â Most 1oz pours range from $2.50 - $3.50. Â And 1oz means 1oz. Â Ie. Â miniature pours. Â You try four wines and, viola - you've run a $12 bar tab and you haven't really even had a glass of wine yet!
I guess if you really wanted to try a bunch of wines and buy a case this would be perfect. Â If you just want a glass of wine and good conversation - this is not the place.
Friendly and excellent. Â Beautiful, slick, and metallic interior. Â Good place for wine lovers that like a bit of that clean, high-tech, Apple Store feel as opposed to that oaky, old school, traditional winery look.
I came here for a speed dating event.  It's a nice area, and the service is friendly.  There are various bottles attached to machines where you can use a certain card to get  different wines.  It's all pretty convenient and well-prepared.  If you're more of the interactive type, the vending machine style thing might be less of your thing.  There are various cheeses and snacks available.
Interior: Very slick and beautiful. Small-sized interior, but perfect for this kind of service. Â Nice and cool (as it should be).
Group: A group of 2 to 8 or more, if they're into wines, should feel fairly comfortable here, although there aren't many tables around. Â Most wine-tasters usually don't sit around, anyway. Â
Taste / Service: Very friendly and knowledgeable. Â I enjoyed the wines I've tried so far. There are tons of wines to try.
Overall: A cute, clean, slick place for wine lovers. Â Love the dark, classy, metallic decor. Â It's lit like a nice, upscale club.
My friend was so excited to bring our group of friends here after dinner. She described it as yogurt land for wine. I was very confused. Although that's not quite accurate, I guess it kinds of make sense.
The Wine Detective is located in the same alley way off Lake Ave where the Counter and Green Street Restaurant are. The store has great ambience and they have a big wine selection.
All the wines are in dispensing machines with prices labeled. You get a small portion of wine for $2-$4. There are chilled dispensing cases for whites and rieslings. You have to show your ID and leave a credit card to open a tab at the counter. You then get a scanning card with $25 credit that allows you to pick and drink your wine. You pay at the end.
The service was great. They were helpful in explaining how everything works and even brought out some crackers for us. My friend spilled a little bit of red wine on my white skirt and they brought out some solution to help me get the stain out.
It does get kind of pricey to try a lot of different wines but overall a great experience. I think it would be a great date place for people who enjoy wine.
Went here last year on my birthday because my sister in law decided to drag me out  and because its one of the few places actually opened on Christmas Eve. This place was not crowded being around the holidays. We were welcomed warmly when we walked in. I had been here before but never had done the tasting so we both decided to go for it and explore what the Wine Detective had to offer our pallets.
After you pay, they give you what I would call a "detective" card which contains your credit. You take that card around the machine holding all the bottles to discover what is in store for you. Depending on the wine you are tasting, it would take the amount of credit from your "detective" card and the nozzle will give you a small sample of wine to savor (rangers from like $2-8 per tasting). We were informed that if we liked anything in particular we are able to purchase a whole glass of the wine using our credit as well but we opted to keep trying and tasting the wines. The workers were also very helpful, informative and not pushy at all. They were very approachable and easy to talk to as well. We took our time and after a few hours there, we both left happy and satisfied.
The atmosphere is very classy yet comfortable. Great place to catch up with a friend since its not rowdy or loud. Good place to try at least once since its fun to use your "detective" card and have the funky looking machines pour wine out to you. Although I must say, I sure wish the samples they poured were a bit more to take in than just a sip or two.
Okay, this place is just awesome. Â Opens at 3pm and the folks who work there are quite knowledgeable about wine. Â
I came here upon the recommendation of Dixie, a store clerk at the cheese shop across the street. Â
In I walk and am greeted by Justin. Â Justin works in the "Wine Detective" but also is a cheese monger across the street. Â Â These stores are like kissing cousins. Â You go buy your own cheese then go across then street where they will cut your cheese for you, serve it to you and bring you pairings for the cheese. The place has its own menu as well, but it felt like I was seated at my own tasting party. Â The pairing samples I tasted were about $25 for five or six tastings . Not bad considering an entire glass was $12.
I will be back Wine Detective.
So you walk in, give them your credit card, and they hand you their own card with $25. You can then use that card to sample a bunch of wine that they have by inserting the card and holding your wine glass below the nozzle. The machine will give you a small amount to sample the wine you chose. Each sample costs about $2-3. After you sampled enough wine, you can then choose a full glass of wine of your choice. You don't have to spend all $25... They charge your card with how much you spent from the $25.
The whole process of sampling wine and whatnot was pretty fun since it's different, but I think the process was just too expensive. Most restaurants let you sample their wines free of charge.
The place is small, but I guess good for a quiet and classy night out with friends.
Happy hour every day 4-7pm is pretty good: $5 for a glass of house white or red, discounted cheese plate (3 cheeses for $8.8 or 5 for $12.8) and meat plate. The plates come with a really delicious fig jam, nuts, and unlimited bread. We asked for crackers and more fig jam, neither of which were extra on our bill, hooray! Their ~$2 pintxos (tiny open-faced sandwiches) aren't bad, but I'd just go with the cheese/meat platters at happy hour.
There are also wines you can sample by the ounce, which looked mostly to be ~$3-6 per ounce but some went into the double digits. There are also various flights of 3 wines for 3 ounces for $18-26. I know nothing about wine so I'd always go with the happy hour $5 glass.
There's only one port and usually no dessert :(
The setting: Unfortunately, the couches are uncomfortable. They project a slideshow on the wall with interesting travel photos.
I was looking for a wine bar to meet a friend at. It is located in the same plaza as Lemonade and Williams and Sonoma located in the back. There is a structure you can park in but you have to pay. If you want free parking you can park a block away in another lot for free.
It was a Tuesday night and we were the only ones there. We didn't really mind that we had the place to ourselves. The girl that worked there was very knowledgeble about all the wines and we had a lot of fun with tasting the different wines. The tasting portions are tiny I believe 1 oz.. for about $2 - $3. But I do like the fact that you don't have to spend $10+ on a wine you don't like. So having a taste at first is good. The girl that worked there told me that it gets busy on the weekends. It's definitely a cute date place or good after dinner place to hit. I will be back =)
What a pleasant wine bar. We popped in last minute on a Saturday night around 10 p.m. and the place was empty which suit us just fine because we had a party of about 15 people. The wine bar is fairly large with plenty of chairs and tables to lounge at.
The owner was incredibly nice and accommodating and recommended great accompaniments for the wines we chose. The coolest part, I thought, was the wine card. You get a prepaid card of $25 and you can pick and chose the wine you want, but you are only charged for the amount that you spend. Awesome idea! Next time I am in the area, I will definitely be hitting Wine Detective up again!
A quaint, relaxing place, nestled behind a few office buildings on Lake ave in Pasadena.
The owners are really helpful in picking out wines for us and cheeses as well, although I could not understand most of what he was saying. But hey, the authenticity of having a real french dude suggest wines for you outweighs comprehending  his vernacular.
Like always, I love my reds, so I got the earthly yet semi-sweet malbec. We got the cheese plate with 3 different cheeses. French, spain, and Italian. The triple entente of cheeseries and wineries. Loved the sheep's cheese from Spain!
All in all, it was a really enjoyable place. If you're going to come with 4 or more people I suggest you to make a reservation!
I told the proprietor that the last time I'd seen a wine bar of this format I was in Arezzo in Tuscany, Italy. Â You get a smart card and it records which 1 oz pours of wines you sample. Â You can buy bottles to enjoy in the cafe or to take home.
The pours our small and range from $2-$5 for 1oz pours. Â The upside you can try some expensive wines with impressive sounding 95 and 93 point ratings from Robert Parker and Wine Spectator for $5.
The aesthetic is supercool.  They have a 4-7 happy hour every day with $5 glasses of  house wine.  No Italian wine bar would be complete with an espresso machine.
The machines dole out domestic, new world, and old world red and white wines.
The name should be way cooler than "Wine Detective" for this place.
It's a cute little venue that just somehow BELONGS to the city.
The staff is super cool and helpful; they know their wine and are eager to help you out. When asked, they can pinpoint different characteristics of the wine, like the tanins, consistency, mixes, like wow! Definitely a detective experience, hehe.
We ordered the bruschetta to go with our HH wine. I ordered the house red and my companion ordered the house white. The bruschetta was a great plate, delicious and eloquently simple. I liked that they used one large toast versus the small individual bites. I'd love to come back and recommend it!
You know it's the end of the year and Groupons are starting to expire. Decided since I had never been here and we had a Groupon this would be a good place to stare the night.
The Place was smaller than I thought but it provides a relaxed atmosphere as far as a wine bar goes. It doesn't try to overwhelm you with a bunch of wine style decorations its main focus is the wine itself. The wine itself serves as decoration and is functional at the same time.
There were four flights to choose from. Two red Two white. Since the red wine option was grouped into domestic and old world we thought this was the way to go. It would let us sample 6 wines and then we could have a glass of our favorite.
The ordering went smoothly the order of flights itself seemed to take longer than usually to come out. By the time the wine got to us, I was definitely ready for something to drink. We get our flight and the wine glasses have a small piece of paper at the bottom indicating which # the wine is. This # corresponds with the flight menu #'s. I hadn't seen this before but I guess it does save them having to explain to each and every customer what each wine is and where it came from.
If you read my reviews I am trying to learn about wine, it's a slow process but flights seem to be a good way to go. I have my first sip and I'm not impressed. I am the type of person that like to drink each wine fully before I move to the next one. I disliked the wine so much I instantly tried the next glass and the next. As I was doing this my date was doing likewise. Â
We switch flights thinking maybe it was just the style of wine we didn't like. No such luck. We instantly eliminated 1 glass, it didn't even look right, the color, smell, and most importantly the taste. We start ranking wines not by which we like the best but by which we dislike the least.
We get through about half the wine poured when we decide that life if too short to have bad wine and decide there are lots of other options nearby that we can checkout. I guess it's lucky we had a Groupon and didn't have to pay full price.
There really are tons of wine bar in the Pasadena area, I don't think I'll be returning to the wine detective anytime soon.
A small location that packs a big punch. This place makes it well worth it when you step in the door. You will be amazed at the machines which pour exactly 1 ounce of wine to your glass.
When you walk in you ask the host to give you a card and the card has $25.00 in it. You don't have to spend all of that but it is very easy to do. Some wines are up to $5.00.
They have whites, reds from here and different countries. I get pretty tipsy off of wine/pretty much any alcohol so I really liked how it is 1 ounce. You get to try different wines and they also allow you to buy it in a glass if you find a favorite one.
Also they have cute comfortable seats that I thought were pretty trendy with a nice screen playing some slides in the background. All in all the environment is really pretty and I just liked it. I'll come back for sure. :)
Great with a few girls to bring and just have some fun with it. It is a little bit hidden of a spot but they did have signs pointing to the direction of this trendy place.
With a name like Wine Detective I imagined an intimate place with lots of oak, people wearing long button coats carrying magnifying glasses and Colonel Mustard behind the counter pouring glasses of unmarked bottles of wine. Â
What I got instead was a mellow and and modern small shoppe tucked away in the heart of Pasadena that offers a myriad of wine tastings. Â You get a "credit" card and build your bill like your great aunt at the Indian casino slot club and choose tasting samples from bottles that are hooked up to a machine each with a determined price. Â If you want a full glass you let Colonel Moutarde, our waiter had a thick, attractive French accent, and he'll insert his card and be more than happy to oblige.
They have a happy hour 7 days a week with discounts on their pintxo styled sandwich bites, cheese and $5 full pours of their house white and red in addition to other small bites to accompany their regular food menu of olives, charcuterie etc.
The staff is very knowledgeable, friendly and are very generous with free crackers and more bread, even if a member of your party happens to sneak in a bag of almonds and plays it off as part of the cheese and nut platter *ahem*Laura*ahem*.
This is a great place to bring a date or a few friends and just enjoy a relaxing evening and get to try a variety of different wines without having to commit to a full glass or bottle, definitely worth a try.
"This is obviously a Rioja, Mr. Watson."
The Wine Detective is an interesting concept in wine bars. Â You purchase a pre-loaded card, browse a selection of wines, insert card and purchase a taste (or a glass) of your selected wine, (and most likely) repeat the process. Â
This is a great way to taste a variety of wines and sample something new and unusual before committing to an entire glass. Â (Girls also apparently have fear of commitment.) Â Tastes do not come cheap, however. Â For some of the nicer red wines (Super Tuscans and Bordeaux), a 1 ounce taste can set you back as much as $4.
In a predictable fashion, I stuck with Spanish red wines for the duration of my tasting time. Â I sampled a young Rioja and a young Jumilla wine, and then ordered a glass of the house wine of the evening, which was another young Rioja. Â I was very happy with all three of my selections, as well as the variety of pintxos we ordered. Â The pintxo with the boquerones (white anchovy) was my favorite, with burrata and heirloom tomato placing in at a close second.
The atmosphere is not cozy, like the stereotypical wine bar, but it is very conducive to mingling and chatting over a few glasses of wine.
Wines are also available for purchase. Â If you do not plan on consuming your wine in-house, you receive $15 off the "sticker price" for the bottle. Â The guy working there, who I believe is one of the managers, is extremely enthusiastic and helpful - he is more than willing to answer any questions and help you find the right wine.
This place is the DOUBLE ZERO SEVEN of Wine Bars. Â I love it. Â
All the wine has a gadget to get to it and the place is spotless & tidy. Â Hardwood floors, stainless steel cases with digital reads for the pours.
There are little info cards above each wine so you can see what your getting into and you don't have to judge by the label, which honestly I like to do sometimes for fun. Â hehe
We sat on the comfy sofas in front of the window overlooking the street and looked at the photography projected on the wall ahead while catching up with friends. Â
They have an excellent wine selection here. Â The four of us chose different glasses and we all were amazed with our choices. Â I'm going back for ports next time!
Most wine bars are pricey and it does stink a little that the taste pours are digitally calculated so it surely takes away the chances for the friendly pour. Â But all in all this is a really snazzy place to have a flight, customize your own tasting with their tasting cards, or choose a nice glass to enjoy at your own pace and relax.
This place is so cool. Â I stopped by here after eating dinner in Pasadena and tried a few wines. Â Wasn't hopping at all (it WAS a Monday) and chatted a bit with the girl behind the counter. Â Family business and small. Â This is thier first.
For those of you who have been to the bar in Culver City, it has a similar vending system. Â You get a card and go to the various automatic servers and they dish out 1 oz pours. Â Only tried 3, but they were vinyards I hadn't tried before. Â Will have to figure out how to get there for wine and cheese.
Definitely worth a try. Â You may get hooked.
My first time with an enomatic system....Ah, the intersection between ancient traditions of winemaking and new technologies of wine preservation! It's a lovely crossroads, there at Wine Detective.
The centerpiece of the entry room are two circular systems, each lined with about twenty bottles of wine organized by region or varietal (and another wall's lined with chilled whites). The system is easy to use even after several tastes: you purchase a card and pay per ounce, with the prices ranging from $2 up to around $8. Insert your card, check your balance, push the button, and dispensed into your glass is the taste of choice. Recharge, and repeat. And enjoy the friendly, professional staff!
Although an ounce sounds small, it isn't, being generous enough to get a nice taste with even a sip or two for your companion(s) to try. You can also purchase favorite wine by the glass, which ends up meaning a five-ounce pour that costs equal to a four-ounce price. There are bottles for purchase to drink on the premises or to take away, along with a short but enticing (and sadly, for this drinker, untested) menu. Although the environment doesn't necessarily encourage a lot of lingering, there are a few rows of couches and a long table, and against the rear wall a continuous slide show of art ranging from old prints to Renaissance paintings in muted shades of gray and gold. Which reminded me of that crossroads again....
The outing was on the expensive side, but just as they say in the Mastercard commercials, listening to the man loudly read tasting procedures aloud while, to his surprise, finding new palate skills: priceless.
Wine Detective... cute name. Â Talking with the owner, indeed, the inspiration for the name was because he wants people to find out about all the great wines in the world; to expand their knowledge and develop a curiousity about wines that will last a lifetime.
Let me start by saying, while I enjoyed the place, as the ambiance is quaint and relaxing (the lights are dim and interesting pictures play on a wall), and the selection of wines is diverse, this is not the place to get drunk or party. Â At the most, due to the sampling nature of the place, you'll be lucky to drink more than a couple of glasses. Â The atmosphere is perfect for a relaxed setting among 2 to 3 friends, where you just want to talk, catch up, and not care about anything for the rest of the night. Â Best way to put it is, its not a wine bar.... I've been to Corkbar, and ordered bottles there, and ok, that can lend itself to a little more rambunctious time. Â Wine Detective is the shy brother of that place.
So overall, yeah I enjoyed my night for what it was, and if you have the right expectations for Wine Detective, you'll have a great time as well.
One of  the best Christmas gifts I got was a gift card to the Wine Detective.
I was so excited to check it out, I came in around 2 in the afternoon just for a quick peek. I intend to go back to further make use of my gift card.
I do have to say though maybe because I had a gift card and kind of seemed like I knew what I was doing, they left me alone until I asked for glasses and then didn't know why the card wasn't working.
First, you insert the card near the wine you want to try and leave the card in. I took it out, read that it had money and expected it to just freely give me wine. Nope! I guess because I'm also not a gambler in Vegas, I didn't know the cards need to remain in the machine so the it can deduct the right amount. Duh. All right, now let's really begin.
Insert the card, choose your wine, press button and watch the magical fluid shoot a graceful arc into your wine glass. You get exactly an ounce. I tried a syrah that was very nice at $3.75 a pour. My friend had a pinot that was $4 but not as good as my syrah.
They offered us crackers and it looks as though there's a small seating section inside the store. It is a small shop so I don't know how it'd be when it gets busier at night.
If you sign up for their email list, they said they would send around notes about special tastings. I can't wait! I got the rest of my card to use!
Long story short: I am DEFINITELY coming back!!!
Long story long:
I came in here with Kevin C. after we had dinner across the ''lane'' (Shoppers Lane) at The Counter. Â He and his woman recently came in here on a whim, having been lured by the owner's husband. Â They really liked it a lot and thought all the people there were really nice.
Now this place, if you are not aware of such a concept, is basically a pay-as-you-go wine tasting. Â You give them your credit card and they will load whatever amount you ask them to onto a charge card, and go around to the 40-50 wines available, insert your card into the little slot and get a small 1-2 ounce pour. Â The cost of each pour is anywhere from $2.50-4, with some of the finer wines being anywhere from $5-8 a pour. Â Yes, for a 1-2 oz pour, it seems kind of pricey, and you can argue that maybe something such as a 3 oz pour would be more worth it. Â Well, what they arguably lack in ''portion'', they make up in decor and ambience.
The space is quite sleek and chic. Â Unlike some wine rooms/stores I've been to, this place actually has plenty of places to sit down. Â In the front where all of the machines are, there is a counter along the side wall with stools, and then there is a back area with several tables and even couches. Â It was really cool and really chill.
As for the machines themselves, they utilize some sort of system where the wine is basically sucked up through a plastic tube but when in place, the pressurization that takes places prevents any oxidation. Â We saw one of them reloading a bottle of wine. Â They also have a small menu of cheeses, charcuterie, and other items that I did not have a chance to check out or see.
I was able to taste a Riesling that was very nice, an Australian Shiraz that was good, and a Sonoma County Pinot. Â I liked that one as well.
As Kevin said, the owners were really nice and they were all so helpful and they totally remembered Kevin because he and Debbie were a few of the first, if not the first two, to review this place. Â They just opened up a couple weeks ago and the place already was pretty full.
I am definitely making a return visit and maybe even bringing a date, well, at least part of a date. Â I probably will have dinner somewhere else then head over here for post dinner wine.
Wine Detective, how I love thee.
My fiancee and I stumbled in here on accident over the weekend. We had some time to kill before meeting friends and decided to take the long walk back to our car. I'm so glad we did! Â I thought Wine Detective was simply a wine store. However, I was quite surprised when we walked in and saw it was all wine tasting. Glee!
The atmosphere is perfect - couches, tables and chairs, a projector to show silent films. They have 2 dispensers in the middle of the room with approximately 16 different varieties of red wine (each). Along the wall they have more dispensers with approximately 16 bottles of white wine. They have wines from Italy, Spain, Australia, and right here in California! Â Whatever your taste buds enjoy, I'm sure you'll find it here.
The concept is simple! You get a Wine Detective Tasting Card, put on the amount you wish (we did $25), and go to town. They will only charge you for what you actually taste. If you don't taste $25 worth, they'll give you money back. How refreshing. Most places would take your money and say "sorry sucker." Not these gals.
The staff is incredible. We had the pleasure of speaking with the owner and immediately fell in love. They didn't push anything on us. They let us explore the wines, taste, savor, and enjoy. The staff gave wonderful recommendations, but didn't shove their favorites in our faces. They let us experiment on our own.
The wines are robust and full of flavor. Every sip tantalized a different area of my tongue.
They have a Happy Hour, so be sure to try it out.
If you're in the Pasadena area, this is a must! Stop by, say hello, taste, and relax!
I can't wait to go back!
This is definitely a quaint little place and the whole wine bar concept is VERY cool indeed. This place is a little hidden and difficult to find if you are not familiar with the area like I was not but once you find it there is definitely no mistake that there is a good time to be had here. They have a good variety of wines in these awesome wine dispensers in the middle of the room and quite a few tables / candles / mood lighting elsewhere for you to enjoy the wines.
You walk in and you are greeted warmly by the staff whom explain that you put down your credit card to open a tab and you get a wine glass. You also get a debit card to use and every time you have a taste of one of their many wines from the dispenser, you swipe the debit card and it 'charges' you of how much you drink. So technically you can drink for as much or little as you like!
In the end you only get charged what you drink and there's obviously no time limit. What a cool idea, too bad our party had to jet early to go back to our reservations, otherwise would have been here a LOT longer!
I won't make this as wordy as my lovely other half.....This place kicks major ass!!!!
The selection is great, the service is excellent and genuine!!!! What a unique idea with such technologically advanced machines that remind me of some kind of Dave and Buster machine but with wine. I like to be able to taste many wines at just a fraction of the cost of having to buy either a bottle or a rather expensive glass.
As one of the owners said, "it is so difficult to get even a decent glass of wine under $12 now in this city", I know I will be a regular patron here in the future and I hope other yelpers will join us.
This place is really a nice "Conversation Bar" as the owner put it, with low volume music, warm lounge feel, and a relaxed atmosphere. I think I could relax here for hours sipping wine one ounce at a time from one of the 48 samples available at a time for just $2-8 per ounce (most of them are $2-4). Â Will be back for sure soon.
Parking tip, just up the street is free parking or there is a structure across the way for minimal charge.
I just discovered a quaint wine bar and lounge in The Commons area in Pasadena on Lake. Â With the evening planned to go to The Counter for dinner, we ended up wandering toward this wine bar just to get a quick glimpse. Â As we looked in through the window, one of the owners came out and told us to go in and try some wine. Â They have these unique wine dispensary machines that will pour out an ounce of wine at a time so you can taste a variety of wines. Â You just buy a card from the register and swipe it through the machine then press the button for whichever wine looks good. Â All the tastings are between $2-3.50, but there are a few in the $5-8 range. Â
Me being such a wine novice, I really like the idea of being able to try a variety of wines from all price ranges and still not break the bank. Â My favorite was the Zind Humbrecht 2005 Pinot Gris. Â The bottle is $134.50 so I am really happy that I was given the opportunity to try this wine. Â They do serve food like cheese plates, meat charcuteries, small open-faced sandwiches, etc, but we didn't get to try this time. Â
The best thing about this place is the friendly staff. Â They were attentive and knowledgeable. Â The owners came over and talked to us numerous times and were able to give suggestions based on our preferences. Â They have only been open for two days so I hope this friendly service continues. Â I will be going back soon for some more tastings, food, and interesting conversations.
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