Taking wine to a higher plane

“COME for the wines, stay for the food” is the motto at the new Vertical Wine Bistro in Pasadena. Vertical, in reference to tastings of several vintages of the same wine, and vertical, I suppose, because the posh wine bistro is upstairs, across from Yujean Kang’s on Raymond Avenue.

Vertical Wine Bistro is a joint project of film producer Gale Anne Hurd and Mike Farwell, a graphic designer with a passion for wine who ran the popular Wine Bar and Bistro 112 at Restaurant Halie. And do they have wines: about 400 selections, 83 of them by the taste or glass at the moment. More unusual, though, are their wines by the flight. Flights have been around for a while, certainly, and most wine bars worth their Beaujolais offer one or two. But 22 flights of three?

Some are pitched at novices, but most are for the hard-core wine enthusiast who’s incapable of tasting just one wine at a sitting. This way, whether you come with friends or come alone, you can have a fine old time. Flights range from New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc ($14) to Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir ($29) to a tasting of three Pinots from famed Sonoma producer Williams Selyem ($35) or three great California Cabernets ($79).

The place is very inviting. Up front is a spacious bar and lounge, followed by a rather grand dining room with coffered ceilings, comfy booths and tables, and at the far end a fireplace. A wall of wine divides the two rooms, which provides purposeful browsing for the restless or the tongue-tied.

Though the menu urges you to pick your wines and then get some advice on dishes that go with your selection, our group, I’m afraid, is unruly. On a first visit, we went straight to the tapas-style dishes created by Sara Levine, late of Opus Bar & Grill, “for wine with seasonal ingredients to enhance the wine experience.”

In her view, that means charcuterie, cheeses, house-made terrines, fritters and fries to begin with. She’s got some top-notch salame, serrano jam and lomo, or cured pork loin. More unusual are her terrines, such as the rabbit rillettes served in a French canning jar with Armagnac-soaked prunes or her foie gras confit served with mustard and fruit jam.

As for the perfect pairing with her glorious shoestring fries with chipotle mayonnaise and house-made ketchup? Only Farwell, who acts as roving sommelier, could tell you. I forgot to ask, because I was so busy scarfing up the fries. A trio of fritters -- minted sweet potato, chickpea and parmesan, mushroom risotto and mozzarella -- was less successful. And mini grilled-cheese sandwiches turned out to be sweet. But I guess I should have asked.

Delving further in the menu, you’ll find a warm seafood salad with mussels, shrimp and calamari, or grilled lamb merguez sausage with harissa, dates and cilantro. More substantial fare includes pulled pork with grilled polenta tartine and prunes, beef brisket braised in barolo and a nice skirt steak with horseradish, mustard, cornichons and yellow wax potatoes. For that Zinfandel or Syrah, consider the sirloin burger with bacon, cheese, brioche bun and fries. But that’s only my opinion. You’ll form yours by tasting and trying.

And Vertical Wine Bistro is just the place to study up on your Pinot Noir and Sangiovese, your Verdelho and Arneis, your Garnacha and Malbec.

virbila@latimes.com

*

Vertical Wine Bistro

Where: 70 N. Raymond Ave., Pasadena

When: 5 to 11 p.m. Sundays through

Thursdays, 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Small plate dinner menu served 6 to 10 p.m. daily, and a variation called the bar menu 4 to 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. to midnight Fridays and Saturdays, 5 to 6 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays. Full bar. Valet parking.

Price: Charcuterie and cheese plates, $10 to $15; fritters and fries, $6 to $13; salads, $9 to $12.50; seafood, $13.50 to $17; meats and poultry, $13 to $18; desserts, $8.

Info: (626) 795-3999; www.verticalwinebistro.com