WINE + MARKET.
Jesse and I have been a bit under the weather this week, but we couldn't resist the pull of the sunshine today! Seriously...60 degrees...in January. Kind of terrifying, but also really lovely! Hoping the warmth would heal our sickly selves, we made our way to Lexington to try out a place called Wine + Market.Simply put, we were not disappointed. This small corner of W. Second and Jefferson is hard to describe...it's not really a restaurant, but they have gourmet sandwiches like the duck confit with gorgonzola and apples. It's not a bakery...but there are baskets of fresh bread, nutella brownies, and macaroons. It's not a cafe, but an shiny red espresso machine hides in the corner. There is a beautiful case overflowing with amazing cheese and meats, rows of dried herbs and fresh vegetables, shelves full of Kentucky Proud products, and a bowl of fruit on each table. Wine + Market is essentially what it claims to be: a market, full of locally-made products. That means they sell sandwiches made from local cheeses, fruit, and meats on bread from Sunrise Bakery a few blocks away, and they also sell bags of Weisenberger Mill flour and cold bottles of Ale-8. It was very charming.PLUS: the back room is a wine shop! Many of Jesse's favorite natural wines were available, and he was able to have some nerdy wine conversations with the owner, something I can't often indulge him in. Here is the bottle we ended up buying:
I was rooting for the one with donkeys on it! Along with the wine, we had a delicious lunch and a really lovely afternoon. I would absolutely recommend this place - whether you need a cup of coffee and a pastry, a pound of salami, goat cheese, a loaf of fresh bread, a red velvet cupcake, a warm duck panini sandwich, or a good bottle of beer or wine. They also sell gift baskets full of local products (a GREAT idea!) and they have wine tastings and events.
Jesse and I left Wine + Market with bellies full of tasty soup and sandwiches. That, along with the sunshine, has us feeling much better! It was the perfect sick-day adventure, and we hope to do it again soon (minus the sick part!)
- Hannah.