About five or six years ago, it was on the menu of every high-end restaurant in the city. The now defunct Chanterelle actually had a tasting menu that paired seven courses with seven different types. Sherry-Lehmann had an entire section devoted to them exclusively.

People who had always made fun of and ridiculed the stuff were suddenly fair-weather converts, praising its unique qualities and gulping it by the bottle. And now, it is once again difficult to find anyone anywhere who has a serious enthusiasm for it.

I am referring to the often misunderstood star of the southern Spanish wine world: sherry. Once one of the most drunk beverages in the world, this shy little quaffer is now exiled to the back of most liquor stores, often displaying a generous coating of dust. Then, when someone actually buys that ancient bottle of fino and tries it at home (probably at room temperature), they end up throwing it out, declaring, “I’ll never understand how anyone can drink this!”

To understand why someone might drink it, it’s best to understand how it is made. Unlike port, which many people place in the same category as sherry, this product is not all that sturdy. Port was designed for travel. High alcohol and high sugar make it a durable commodity. Many sherries are very delicate.

All sherry must come from one of three small towns in the southwestern area of Spain: Jeres de la Frontera, Sanlúcar de Barrameda or El Puerto de Santa María. Back in the day, wine was stored in barrels that were turned on their sides and stacked on top of each other, three or four rows high. Two-thirds of the wine was taken from the bottom barrel and bottled, then the remainder was filled from the row above. This was repeated until the top row of barrels was refilled with the new wine from that year. This was called the solera system and is still used to this day. Because of this, there are no vintages of sherry. It is all multi-vintage.

But the solera system is only half of what made sherry unique. Sherries themselves were radically different depending on what city they were from and even which part of those cities the wine was made in. This was all because of humidity and yeast. In the towns that were more humid and closer to the ocean (Sanlúcar de Barrameda, in particular), the yeasts would “bloom” and form a skin on top of the wine in the barrel. This would keep the wine from being exposed to oxygen and thus make a lighter, crisper, drier wine. It was also a much more fragile wine, because as soon as it was exposed to the elements, it would begin to deteriorate. These dry sherries were given the classification “fino,” and the driest of the finos was called manzanilla.

These, like the “La Guita” Manzanilla ($7.99 at 67 Wine, 179 Columbus Ave., at 68th St., 212-724-6767) with sea air and raw almond flavors, must be served cold and fresh. This isn’t a bottle you want to age.

With the sherries that did not benefit from the yeast’s bloom, the resulting product was richer, nuttier and more complex. Amontillado is the name given to the style of sherry that had oxidized only a little bit. Amontillados like the Valdespino Amontillado “Contrabandista” ($26.99 at PJ Wine, 4898 Broadway, betw. 204th & 207th Sts., 212-567-5500), with flavors of hazelnut, orange peel and butterscotch, still retain a bit of the crisp flavor profile that the finos have, but are definitely in a class by themselves.

There are other sherries, though, that are allowed to completely oxidize and are made from a sweeter, more robust grape. Pedro Ximénez sherries are dark as molasses and extremely sweet—so much so that a traditional dessert in Southern Spain was a scoop of vanilla ice cream with a drizzle of a PX like the Osborne Pedro Ximenez ($17.99, also at 67 Wine) on top.

Don’t be afraid of the bottles in the back of the store! Try a sherry the next time you want an inexpensive trip to the Spanish coast.

Follow Josh on Twitter: @joshperilo.

Clearly, Zengo saw this problem and figured they couldn’t help but do better. In one of those haunted spaces that has seen a hundred restaurants try and fail, a temple of happy hour and date night has emerged triumphant, like a mid-priced, dimly lit phoenix from the ashes.

There are Zengos in Denver, Washington, D.C., and Santa Monica, Calif. In each of those towns, it’s the sort of restaurant that is immediately recommended to visiting New Yorkers—interesting and multiethnic in a cosmopolitan way but shinier and larger than you know you’d ever find in the city.

That is, until you stumble into the New York Zengo and it feels just as mystifyingly glossy, 8-foot tables for two set 20 feet apart, carefully gnarled beams suspended from the three-storey ceilings. A mezzanine overlooks the main dining room, accessed by a spotlit, glass-floored walkway. The basement tequila bar is draped with velvet curtains and wrought iron choir gates on the windows add a gothic element.

The restaurant’s concept is Hispanic-Asian fusion, though you would be forgiven for not catching on to this from the decor.

Thankfully, the menu makes it very clear, with dishes like charred tuna wonton tacos and carnitas rice noodles with hot and sour sauce. Every item has at least one element that leaps out to hit you over the head with its cross-cultural audacity—chorizo in the gyoza! Nori in the ceviche!—when they’re not lost in a muddle of intentions, like the yellowfin tuna flatbread with gouda and sambal aioli. If your head hurts from trying to parse that one, welcome to the club.

Zengo’s chef, Richard Sandoval, is a well-regarded Mexican chef who established himself years ago with Maya on the Upper West Side, expanded his brand of highly executed traditional flavors across the country and then, presumably, got bored. Zengo began, like so many Broadway experiments, out of town, and after a successful run Sandoval decided to come back to the big town.

At 9:30 on a Tuesday evening, he seemed to have a hit. It’s pathologically impossible for that space to feel busy, but the majority of the tables were full: large, mixed groups drinking more than they were eating, smaller, Sex-and-the-City-esque groups drinking more than they were eating, pomaded and tanned couples trying to look like they weren’t drinking more than they were eating.

They all had the right idea. The cocktail menu is where this improbable fusion works well, togarashi subbing in for the spice in a margarita with no raised eyebrows, anejo tequila and hibiscus slipping almost seamlessly into a Manhattan. Some of the food is, in fact, quite good, and made to accompany a night of drinking, but it all suffers from the high expectations set by its own description.

If you didn’t know you were supposed to be tasting acai and Sichuan pepper in that spring roll dipping sauce, you’d think it was pleasantly sweet, rather than disappointingly spice-free and cloying. If you weren’t scanning the plate for the phantom jalapeno in your soup dumplings, you might notice they were pretty tasty bundles of mildly spiced pork.

A meal at Zengo can be a baffling experience, starting the moment you walk in the door and think you’ve ended up in Omaha’s up-and-coming arts district. But don’t dismiss it out of hand, dooming yourself to wander the canyons again. Just remember to do as the Romans do and, when in Zengo, drink more than you eat.

This is the case with last week’s Penniless Epicure column and the one the week before. I began by discussing the unfair reputation that screw cap wines have had to shake here in the United States and in many parts of Europe. That led me to talk about the very reason why screw caps are a great idea in the first place: the inefficiency of cork. The main reason for cork’s inefficiency is that it allows for the two most common kinds of wine spoilage, which are oxidization and corkage (or TCA, for all you chemistry students out there).

How exactly does cork lead to spoilage in the case of oxidization, you ask? Inconsistency in storage temperature. The cooler it gets, the more the cork contracts and vice versa. This leads to the cork’s airtight seal becoming compromised and oxygen being allowed to seep in, which basically puts the wine’s aging process in fast forward.

All of this led to my wife asking, as I poured her a glass of champagne on Valentine’s Day, “How come we drink white wine cold and red wine at room temperature?”

I opened my mouth to respond and realized I didn’t have a really great answer. I thought about it long and hard and realized that the reason I don’t have a great answer is because we, the American people, by and large do not drink our wines at appropriate temperatures. Our whites are too cold and our reds are often far too warm.

How did this happen? Let’s take a trip back in time to the middle of the 19th century.

The 19th century was an important time in the history of wine. French wines from Bordeaux and Burgundy were beginning to be recognized as truly world-class outside of the exclusivity of the very, very rich. The Bordeaux Classification of 1855 also happened, which basically declared that all wine was not created equal. This is the period we take many of our wine habits and rituals from, one of them being the temperature at which we serve our wines.

The cellars of castles were underground caverns hewn from rock. They were a perfect place for general storage and an even better place to store wine, because these catacombs were always the same temperature, year-round; they were dug so deep into the earth that the air in never got far above 60 degrees Fahrenheit. It just so happens that 55-60 degrees Fahrenheit is exactly the appropriate temperature for long-term wine storage.

Because there was no refrigeration, 55 degrees was as cold as the serving temperature ever got for wine. So when a white wine was served “cold,” it was actually served at cellar temperature, not at the arctic depths we serve our whites at today.

On the other hand, there was also no central heat in the massive castles and estates of the day. There may have been a fireplace or two, but dining halls tended to be colder and draftier than we are used to. When a red wine was served, it was brought up to room temperature, and because the rooms were cooler, room temperature was rarely above 70 degrees Fahrenheit.

Think about some of the hot and stuffy rooms you’ve served your merlot or cabernet sauvignon in—the temperature in those rooms probably topped out at above 80 degrees Fahrenheit. It’s no wonder that red wine is “too heavy” for some people.

My rule of thumb for all wine is: hug the middle. For whites, take them out of the fridge 20 minutes before serving. For reds, put them in the fridge for 10 minutes before serving. Try this at your next get-together and I guarantee you’ll have a more pleasurable wine drinking experience!

Follow Josh on Twitter: @joshperilo.

Openings:
Aroma Espresso Bar
100 Church St. (betw. Barclay St. & Park Pl.), www.aroma.us.
Coffee shops abound, but it’s hard to find a place that serves an outstanding cup o’ joe and fresh, made-to-order food. You won’t find pre-made sandwiches wilting in a cooler here. The coffee bar emulates the Middle Eastern concept of organizing the space around a u-shaped workstation where baristas make their caffeinated creations out in the open instead of behind a counter, said manager Gal Danay. “Customers feel like they’re part of the coffee-making experience,” he said.

The bar is large and airy and has plenty of seating for both groups and the individual who wants to settle in with a book and a hot chocolate. Speaking of the hot chocolate—try it. It comes with a large chunk of chocolate praline at the bottom and a spoon to stir it as it melts. Enjoy this treat because, eventually, you’ll have to go back to work.

Chipotle
281 Broadway (betw. Reade & Chambers Sts.), www.chipotle.com.
Chipotle is a place that does satisfying Mexican food fast the way you want it. They now have another location for us to enjoy in Lower Manhattan, which brings the count to four within a half-a mile of one another. The chicken is always juicy, the condiments are plentiful and if you’re looking for a a healthier version of the burrito, you can go for some tortilla soup or mix up a custom bowl. There’s something comforting in knowing you’ll always find a hot and fresh meal here and the portions are big enough to take the leftovers home for dinner.

Financial District Wines & Liquor
120 Nassau St. (betw. Nassau & William Sts.), 212-933-1092.
Don’t let the construction, cranes and drills on Nassau Street stop you from hitting this new wine and spirit shop. FiDi Wines & Liquor is spacious and bright, features a diverse selection and what they describe as the lowest prices in Lower Manhattan. Customers are already dubbing the shop a favorite. One recent patron declared on Yelp: “If you live or work in the Financial District, FiDi Wines & Liquor really is a neighborhood gem.”

They kicked off their grand opening with a party that included a DJ, free tastings and a stilt walker. Assistant manager Norman Bent says the stilt walker was the consummate professional and didn’t come close to knocking over any bottles. They know how to throw a party, so give them a call to see how they can help with your event.

J&R Jr.
23 Park Row, 2nd Fl. (at City Hall Park),
www.jr.com.
Above the computers and the laptop cases and the office supplies of J&R Electronics lies a sweeter venture more concerned with nurturing our youth than expanding a business. Children’s store J&R Jr. opened on the second floor above the electronics retailer and is busily entertaining Lower Manhattan’s kids. The store sells everything from car seats and strollers to the tiniest grand piano you’ve ever seen. They held their grand opening the day before Valentine’s Day and entertained a packed house. I stopped by the store a few days before it opened and felt a bit of an expectant lull or pregnant pause, if you will, kind of like a delivery room at the hospital. Stop by and welcome J&R’s newest addition.

Vintry Fine Wines
230 Murray St. (at North End Ave.),
www.vintryfinewines.com.
Vintry is so pretty it looks more like a work of art than a shop that sells wine. Their architect knew what he was doing. The space’s curvilinear lines are reminiscent of waves or straw-colored sand dunes softly stretching out to the water and beckoning you to stroll through the store’s vast selection. The shop has something for the wine connoisseur and the casual sampler who is just looking for a great bottle to go with dinner. Vintry is owned by Peter Poulakakos, whose father Harry is the restaurateur responsible for such establishments as Harry’s at Hanover Square, later reborn as Harry’s Café and Steak. Customers have come to expect a lot from this family and Vintry is sure to deliver.

Closings:
Waterstone Grill, 79 Pearl St.

And while we’re supposed to spend these months reveling in heavy stews and root vegetables, cheese-covered casseroles and fresh-baked everything in order to build up our natural insulation and soothe ourselves into a state of semi-hibernation, this year it just doesn’t seem right. After all, without that massive cable-knit sweater to hide under, it’s harder to ignore the fact that those comfort foods make regular clothing a lot less comfortable to fit into.

Luckily, though the root vegetable reigns supreme in anyone’s description of seasonal winter offerings, there are a number of ingredients only available in these dark months that are anything but heavy.

Sweet shrimp
Though the Maine fishing season closed about 12 seconds ago, a last-ditch pilgrimage to your favorite locally sourced sushi restaurant may still grace you with this delicate, lingering morsel, all tender flesh and honeyed salt flavor, often with the fried head to remind you that this is no poached pink prawn like your usual ebi, long divorced from this mortal coil. The fried sweet shrimp head tells you he was alive and kicking (really—have you seen all those little legs?) but moments ago—and it’s a crunchy treat, to boot. For a step above, try Niko (170 Mercer St., betw. Prince & Houston Sts., helloniko.com), where the little guys are flash-fried in their entirety and served with sriracha salt.

Citrus
In the Northeast, we’re so divorced from the climate that makes citrus groves possible that it seems impossible that the fruit is grown like any other. Oranges come bagged up and pre-stickered with that cute little Sunkist logo, don’t they? Well, no, and they have a season, too—we’re in the middle of it.

Grapefruits taste extra sweet right now; oranges have a complexity of flavor and come in varieties other than “navel” and “juice.” Order some for yourself direct from the source from farmers like Cindy and Pete Spyke of Citra, Fla. (floridaorangeshop.com), low-impact, sustainable family farmers who grow oranges you didn’t even know existed. Or try a Vietnamese classic, grapefruit (sometimes pomelo, a comically enormous, sweeter grapefruit-type fruit) and shrimp salad at Xe Lua (86 Mulberry St., betw. Bayard & Walker Sts., xeluanewyork.com).

Cauliflower
Yes, right now this crucifer often falls under the umbrella of cheese-coated comfort, but that’s mostly because people don’t know they can’t just treat broccoli’s albino cousin the way they would its more vibrant kin. Cauliflower, when maligned, ends up tasting as pale as it looks, but it has a sweetness and nuttiness that will come out if you treat it right.

Creative chefs are roasting or braising it to get that flavor; one mad genius, Amanda Cohen at Dirt Candy (430 E. 9th St., betw. 1st Ave. & Ave. A, dirtcandynyc.com) is deep-frying it and serving it with waffles in a nod to the soul-food classic chicken and waffles. Cut with winter-bright horseradish and dressed with maple, the dish is the epitome of the forced creativity of the lean indoor season.

So don’t despair. Though there are still dark days of winter ahead of us—and that cold weather could still be lurking—Mother Nature hasn’t completely abandoned us. There’s better food in season right now than heavily discounted Valentine’s Day candy and bread; take advantage and you’ll be ready for spring when the real thing comes along.

We got in just in time to snag a cozy table in the back and, despite the room’s size and volume of people in it, the exposed brick walls and intimacy of the setup helped give it an amorous aura. Now, if only they could dim the dazzling chandeliers a little and the space would be spot-on for romance—minus the occasional cry of a child.

The menu? Not so romantic, unless you happen to be a craft beer, Southern food and pickle connoisseur, which my companion and I are. First thing, we ordered a round of beers. He got Brooklyn Brewery’s Companion ($8), a special brew made for the release of the Oxford Companion to Beer, which was edited by their head brewer Garrett Oliver. While his was malty and amber in color, I went to the dark side and chose the sweet, rich Allagash Black ($9), a strong stout at 7.5 percent that Jacob’s mislabeled as 10 percent. OK, so maybe we know more about beer than most, but honestly, that was part of what drew us in—the beer and the pickles.

Owned by Jacob Hadjigeorgis, the restaurant’s focus shines through, though they do tend toward the expensive side given that one order of pickles runs $4 for a measly three or four small pieces. You are better off ordering the platter, which lets you sample all six flavors for $15: peppery asparagus spears; your basic, crunchy sour pickle; sweet sticks of carrot that have a chili kick; simple, sugary beet slices; slivers of cucumber touted as hot that were really more like a bread-and-butter pickle; and our favorite, the sour, firm green tomato wedges.

While the beers we had did the trick before the pickles, ones that go best to cut the lip-puckering, vinegar tinge of the preserved vegetables are brews like the refreshing Narrangansett lager ($7) or the hoppy Founder’s Centennial IPA ($8). They also offer Lagunitas Doppel ($8), which, though it’s a dark wheat, melds nicely with the sweetness presented by some of the pickles. Its roundness also cuts the bite of the more abrasive ones.

Jacob’s also offers an array of tasty cocktails, most which have a pickled component, including the spicy, meal-in-a-cup Bloody B.L.T. ($13) with peppercorn vodka, Niman Ranch bacon and a jalapeño pickled egg; the vodka and dill pickle brine-filled Dirty Aphrodite ($12) and a margarita ($12) with house-infused jalapeño tequila mixed with a spicy pickle brine. Of course, you can also get the ubiquitous pickle back, which includes a double shot of Dickle #12 whiskey and house pickle brine ($11), possibly the best deal on the menu.

Despite the pickled selection, Jacob’s has an extensive food list beyond its namesake dish. It has decent biscuits that, while a little dry, are brightened by the homemade strawberry and orange preserves ($8) or a salty-sweet chicken liver jam ($10). The leek country sausage adds a nice, fresh meatiness to the starch-heavy starters ($14)—the obligatory mac ‘n’ cheese ($14) turned out light on the palate yet pleasingly heavy on the mushroom flavor and their fried honey-chicken sandwich proved not too greasy, though not totally worth the $13 price tag.

Without vision, a people perish. Or, in my version of this proverb for the column: Without glasses from the right eyewear shop, one might not be able to find one’s way to the spa…or to the restaurant for ribs. In this week’s edition, pamper yourself with a facial, indulge in barbecue and get lost in art while you wait for your new custom frames. As usual, if you see any new retailers or spot changes to a longtime friend, please email me at tre@downtownny.com and I’ll check them out.

Openings
Maxwell Medical
99 Wall St., 10th Fl. (at Front St.),
212-952-9355.
Curated art shows meet fashion frames at this eyewear shop across from the Shake Shack in the Goldman Sachs building’s restaurant alley. The current exhibition, David L. Nicholas’ Night Vision II, features large-scale and panoramic color photographs on the walls. The artwork accentuates the shop’s selection of eyeglass frames and both work in tandem to create a unique shopping experience.

General manager Carlos Venegas said the exhibit space is currently booked up; it’s easy to see why artists would want to showcase their work here. Frames sit atop pedestals and under glass domes that receive just the right amount of light from the fixtures above. Come for the eyewear, stay for the artwork.

Affina Beauty & Spa
125 Church St. (betw. Murray & Warren Sts.), 212-233-8822.
It’s appropriate that Affina Beauty & Spa is located on Church Street, because a trip here could be a heavenly experience. The interior looks like your ultra-hip friend’s loft with warming influences from grandma. Manager Shine Guo said the spa’s employees designed the space themselves. It features a relaxing pale gray, blue and white color palette, dangling lights in whimsical shapes and floral artwork.

Think of the manicures and pedicures offered here as an introduction—an opportunity to get your feet wet. The spa offers Swedish, deep tissue and hot stone massage and several different facials, su    ch as the derma acne facial, which clears up skin and prevents future breakouts from occurring. Check back because the spa will soon be offering laser hair removal—because no one wants to pluck for the rest of her life. Receive 20 percent off services until April 1.

Blue Smoke
255 Vesey St. (at North End Ave.), 212-889-2005.
Danny Meyer’s eatery has been getting a lot of press, so diners will be pleased to hear that Blue Smoke is finally serving its full menu full-time. The restaurant features many barbecue favorites, such as Texas salt and pepper beef ribs, pulled pork and Kansas City spareribs, and some unexpected treats, including chicken gumbo and bourbon pecan pie.

Vegetarian and gluten-free menus round out the options for people with allergies or restricted diets. Just because Blue Smoke is a barbecue place doesn’t mean you have to indulge, but I would.

North End Grill
104 North End Ave. (at Vesey St.), 646-747-1600.
North End Grill, the other new offering in Battery Park City from Danny Meyer’s restaurant group, is also operating at full capacity. Chef Floyd Cardoz, formerly of Tabla and a competitor on Top Chef Masters, is bringing his spin on high-end American cuisine to a lovely space overlooking the Hudson. Appetizers include Louisiana shrimp with fennel and radish or a torchon of foie gras with quince paste and grilled brioche. Entrees include Nova Scotia halibut, diver sea scallops, a Berkshire pork chop or duck breast and leg with leeks and tangerines.

OBAO
38 Water St. (at Pearl St.), 212-361-6313
This second Obao outpost, on Water Street, calls itself the “casual extension” of the flagship location in Midtown, which earned Michelin Bib Gourmand recognition in 2011 and 2012. The Water Street location, like its predecessor, specializes in blending Thai and Vietnamese cuisine but at a pace fast enough for its Financial District patrons. Start with the caramelized pork belly, move on to the massamun chicken or pho, add a side of sautéed bean sprouts or Chinese broccoli and end with a green tea panna cotta.

Closings
Bolton’s, 95 Wall St.
Syms, 42 Trinity Pl.
Café Doppio, 55 Broad St.
Hidden Treasures, 32 Warren St.
Twin Café, 275 Greenwich St.

From readings in the buff to a cocoa-themed Shabbat dinner, we present the best in V-Day happenings for you and your loved one.

Top Pick
Wednesday, Feb. 15
FREE We’ve Got Mail
Housing Works Bookstore Café, 126 Crosby St. (betw. E. Houston & Prince Sts.); housingworks.org; 7 p.m., $5.
An evening like never before for fans of the romantic comedy, including door prizes from Upper West Side landmarks seen in the film, signed children’s books straight out of Kathleen Kelly’s Shop Around the Corner and, of course, an interactive screening of the movie, which will include Mail trivia, ’90s internet nostalgia and even a few dial-up modem screech-alongs. The $5 suggested donation includes a copy of Hanxzine and a raffle ticket.

The Pre-Game
Friday, Feb. 10
Chocolate Shabbat
92YTribeca, 200 Hudson St. (betw. Vestry & Desbrosses Sts.), 92Ytribeca.org; 7 p.m., $35 at door.
Celebrate the day of rest, whether you’re looking for a sweet for a sweetheart or you need some comfort for being single. Enjoy tastings, torrid tales and more with a special Shabbat meal created to enhance the unique flavor notes of chocolate and a not-to-be-missed chocolate dessert tasting of four different kinds of chocolate paired with four unique drinks.

The Big Day
Tuesday, Feb. 14
Eco-friendly Cruise (Saturday, Feb. 11 and Tuesday, Feb. 14)
Pier 40, 75 9th Ave. (at W. Houston St.), hornblower.com; boarding begins 6 p.m., $99.
Take your sweetheart on a three-hour dinner cruise around New York Harbor. Each cruise features a four-course seated dinner with gourmet cuisine, entertainment and dancing next to oversized windows with panoramic views. And just because your heart might get broken doesn’t mean you’ll break the environment—the cruise liner, The Hornblower Hybrid, is America’s most eco-friendly luxury vessel.

Relighting Old Flame with New Matches
92YTribeca, 200 Hudson St., 92Ytribeca.org, 7 p.m., $12 at door.
“Following his blog instead of him.” “Arranged marriage now sounding pretty good.” “I blame it all on Mad Men.” These succinct tales are a little taste of what is in store at this Six-Word Story show on love and heartbreak. Each performer, including Rachel Shukert and Deborah Copagan Kogan, will begin with six words and tell the true tale behind their mini-memoir. A happy hour that starts at 6 p.m. is sure to help the audience when it’s their turn to share.

Never Sleep Alone
Joe’s Pub, 425 Lafayette St. (at Astor Pl.), joespub.com; 9:30 p.m., $30 and up.
Sexual psychologist and music therapist Dr. Alex Schiller brings the hot, the single and the curious together for a night of delirious laughter, awesome music and sociosensual interaction. The provocative and irreverent doctor will dispense sex advice from her new book, Get Laid or Die Trying, sing reimagined pop songs and brilliant originals and lead her audience through a wildly entertaining evening. Willing singles are invited to join Schiller on stage for free champagne and an assisted speed dating session. The night continues with an afterparty, with the secret location being announced at curtain call.

A Love Supreme
Middle Collegiate Church, 50 E. 2nd St. (betw. 1st & 2nd Aves.), middlechurch.org; 8 p.m., $15 suggested donation.
Middle Collegiate Church presents John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme, long considered some of his greatest work and one of the greatest jazz albums of all time. The music is broadly based on a poem that was printed in the liner notes for the album and will be read at the performance by Jacqueline Lewis.

Love Hurts
Housing Works Bookstore Café, 126 Crosby St. (betw. E. Houston & Prince Sts.), housingworks.org; 7 p.m., $8.
Get your pens ready and keep sharpening your memories of heartbreak as the Moth StorySLAM, where true stories are told live, hosts an evening of storytelling about the sadder side of Valentine’s Day. With 10 stories, three teams of judges and one winner, this event always sells out, so arrive early.

Post-Celebration
Wednesday, Feb. 15
Valentine’s Hangover
Under St. Marks, 94 St. Marks Pl. (betw. 1st Ave. & Ave. A), horsetrade.info; $20.
Nurse that saccharine hangover with Naked Girls Reading NYC and some of New York’s best storytellers, featuring in-the-buff readings of tales of love and lust without the hearts and flowers. It’s the perfect treat for the Valentine who’s still there once the chocolates and champagne are all gone.

Such moves would be infuriating. But wine consumers face such restrictions daily.

A whopping 36 states prohibit consumers from ordering wine from out-of-state retailers. Eleven states forbid residents from ordering wine from out-of-state producers. Seventeen ban the sale of wine at grocery stores. Many prohibit Sunday wine sales.

Like virtually all of America’s liquor laws, these prohibitions trace their origins to the temperance movement. Today, these laws harm consumers and serve no purpose beyond enriching special interests. Fortunately, the tide appears to be turning in the fight for wine consumers’ rights.

When Prohibition was repealed in 1933, states were given the authority to regulate the “transportation or importation” of liquor within their borders. At the insistence of a motley crew of interest groups, states proceeded to impose all sorts of rules. A top priority was weakening producers.

Before Prohibition, many bars were owned by brewers or distillers. Temperance advocates blamed these bars for many ills associated with drunkenness and believed that keeping producers away from direct sales would help keep people sober. Law enforcement, too, pushed to weaken producers, as during Prohibition, organized crime controlled much of America’s liquor supply.

Lawmakers answered these calls in one of two ways; they either assumed complete control over the sale and/or distribution of alcohol or they created a wholesale tier—essentially, an artificial middleman—to sit between producers and retailers.

Studies indicate that state wine monopolies—especially at the retail level—result in fewer choices and higher prices. Such monopolies should disappear soon. In November, Washington citizens voted to privatize liquor sales. And in Pennsylvania, calls to privatize the state monopoly are getting louder.

Requiring alcohol to pass through wholesalers also results in fewer choices and higher prices. The wholesaling industry, naturally, profits from this system; to protect its profits, it’s friendly to politicians—from 2006 to 2010, wholesalers spent more than $82 million on state and federal campaign contributions and lobbying. This makes sense. Without a regulatory structure that literally forces producers to utilize wholesalers, many producers would cut out the middleman.

Fortunately, consumer support for this system has been waning since the 1990s, when Americans started developing a taste for boutique wines and became able to find them online. In January, New Jersey became one of the last states to legalize direct-to-consumer wine sales.

Most states continue to prohibit shipments from out-of-state retailers, but this could soon change. In late 2010, the Specialty Wine Retailers Association asked the Supreme Court to chime in on a Texas law blocking out-of-state retailers from shipping into the state. The Court refused to hear the case—thus cementing the Texas prohibition—but the effort generated enormous interest and support.

Efforts to legalize supermarket wine sales also are gaining steam. These laws are kept in place thanks to lobbying from existing wine retailers, who like being shielded from competition. In New York, Tennessee, Colorado and elsewhere, consumers are banding together to fight for the right to pick up wine with dinner.

Bans on Sunday sales are yet another relic of the temperance movement—they were promoted to keep the Sabbath holy and protect churchgoing business owners from competition. But they don’t make sense. Consumers should be able to purchase wine and beer every day of the week.

The United States is the world’s largest wine-consuming nation, but many of our liquor laws are antiquated and only supported by the special interests that profit from their continuation. Consumers deserve a free market in wine.

David White, a wine writer, is the founder and editor of www.terroirist.com. His columns are housed at www.wines.com, the fastest growing wine portal on the Internet.

How have you created a full time profession from bar tending?
It’s mainly through the contacts that I’ve met at the bar and the contacts from the liquor companies. Seeing what everyone else in the industry is doing and making it my own. Adding my capabilities and applying it to better my life and my work.

What’s the professional climb been like?
I started at the very bottom when I was younger: dishwashing. When I came to New York, I was working for corporate places. Not really the sexiest place to be in NYC. That climb took years, because I was the bar tender at some cheesy restaurant somewhere. Once I got to a more well respected place, it’s an even tougher climb because you want to break away from being a really great bartender or consultant, and make something different for yourself. How do you separate yourself from the rest? That’s what’s been difficult the last year and a half, finding something that no one else in the industry is doing, or doing several different things at once.

How’d you find the one thing no one else in the industry is doing?
To me it was to take everything in front of me and just start… doing. I started meeting with everybody. Liquor reps. Technology people. Marketing and advertising people. Anyone I thought was smarter than me. Everyone that came into my bar wanted to take me out for drinks, dinner, lunch, coffee and I just said yes to everything. I asked question and I listened. “I have an idea, what do I do?” And people would give me the answers or point me in the direction of people who had them. Before I knew it I was in front of people who needed bar products or wanted technology in the bar world. I realized there were people looking for someone in the industry with the capabilities to all those things, and from there it was just forming the right partnerships.

So what are you looking to do with your integration of bar work and social media?
I’m launching a new company, Beverage Director. Within this company everything I have my hands in will be connected. I’ve taken on the campaign for Golden Ginger, ginger beer. We just launched Scotch Club NYC last week, which will be integrated into it as well. I’ve worked with several liquor companies over the years with cocktail design and events, that’ll be in there as well. Working with 9MMedia for the past year. We’re working on concepts to improve the liquor industry. How their events are run and seen by the public. It’s a management system for brand representatives to run their events and on the consumer side see the private events. I think you’ll see more bar related social media.

How will the site appeal to the online public? Who will the gain access to on the site?
In the beginning it’s going to be business oriented. Companies will come to us for their staffing or cocktail design or help run their events. Eventually we want to get it more consumer based. People can find out where Scotch Club will be, what Golden Ginger events will be out there with liquor companies. People are going to find out where they are, how to find them.

How do you have time to tend bar with everything that’s going on?
I don’t! [Laughs] I was doing five nights a week last year. I got it down to four. Now all I do is try to keep a set couple of days. I just quit Bunker and now I’m down to a couple of days a week at the Bowery Hotel. I need to keep my finger on the pulse in the liquor industry, and free myself up for work. It’s been rough. It’s been a nightmare but it’s seriously exciting. I just had a kid as well, so sleep in 2011 was not really an option.

What’s the biggest misconception about bartenders?
It used to be that people looked at you like, “Oh you’re a bartender, what else do you do?” Nowadays, people just say, “Oh you’re a bartender, oooh,” like that’s cool. When I started in ‘97 it was like, what else are you trying to do? But now it’s more of a respected profession thanks to cocktail design and mixologists. Bartenders are more than just bartenders now, they’re creators.