New York’s Wanda Mann on wine buddies, the trust factor and the Manhattan bubble

By Rachel Fellows

Published 26-December-2024

Interview / New York City

Our New York Ambassador, wine writer Wanda Mann, is adding 12 Red and 10 White Stars to our city guides. Newly inducted into the Ordre des Compagnons du Beaujolais, we asked her for an update on the wine scene in the ‘City That Never Sleeps.’

Wanda Mann joined the Star Wine List team in July 2024, reporting from her hometown of New York. After kicking off her duties in the summer with 14 Red Stars, she’s just added a dozen more, with 10 White Star venues alongside. Wine lovers in New York are now positively spoiled for choice, given the selections already made by Theo Lieberman and Arvid Rosengren. Take a look at the full guides, here.

“Even though I'm a native New Yorker, I hate winter,” Wanda tells us, laughing, from her home in Harlem. “I mean the holidays are beautiful, I love the lights, everyone is in a slightly better mood. But I always tell my friends: ‘it has to be really good if you want me to leave the house. Don't invite me to mediocre stuff when it's cold out – I'd rather stay home!’”

And so what can tempt the wine writer, presenter and judge of twenty years’ experience out this winter?

“For me, it’s about authenticity. I'm looking for things that satisfy different needs: when you want the quiet night out with a friend; when you want the bling and the flashiness; when you want the Michelin-star Jean-Georges experience, or Daniel. I think in New York there's a lot of different things that I'm looking for, and that's how most of us live. It can be your neighbourhood dive to your fine dining experience, and everything in between, so I try to cover that spectrum.”

Congratulations are in order since her last dispatch, as Wanda has recently been inducted into the Ordre des Compagnons du Beaujolais. After being nominated by an existing member of the order, it reflects her continued work in sharing and celebrating the wines of the French region. “I am a big Beaujolais fan,” says Wanda. “It's such an approachable and delicious wine but there's a great diversity of styles. I think many consumers are only familiar with Beaujolais Nouveau, which is intentionally simplistic, fruity, and fresh. But Beaujolais Nouveau can be a great gateway to the real action – the 10 Beaujolais crus. Although the reds are all made from Gamay, the crus have distinctive styles.”

For the best Beaujolais in the city, Wanda recommends Café Carmellini, Nice Matin and Balthazar.

It’s clearly an exciting time for wine – of all styles – in New York, with plenty of new establishments opening up and existing ones persistently busy. Amongst Wanda’s new Red Stars are the second out-posts from La Compagnie, focussing on small producers, and the “sultry” Parcelle in Greenwich Village, featuring a strong ‘old and rare’ section on the wine list.

Then there’s Kaia, a South African restaurant and wine bar on the Upper East Side that's been open for well over a decade (“tiny, chaotic, but a great neighbourhood spot and fully committed to South African wines, so it just feels very right.”). And close to Broadway, you have one of early 2024's hottest openings, Coqodaq: “very trendy, with 400 Champagnes on the list. It’s all these young, beautiful people and such a fun, almost nightclub vibe. You're eating chicken nuggets with caviar on top but you have this incredible wine list, specifically the Champagne, put together by Victoria James. Now Victoria's someone I've known for years – I’ve followed her journey – so I know that, yes, it's a little bit trendy, not a place I’m going to go on the regular, but if someone's coming to New York and they want an experience, and they want the wine to be good, I know that it meets that criteria.”

What’s the latest on the New York wine scene? Has there been much change in the past six months?

“New places keep opening up. You know, it's interesting – we say sales are down, but every wine bar I go to is packed. So I always describe Manhattan as ‘that island off the coast of Europe.’ Manhattan is its own little bubble. And 99% of the trade and media events still happen in Manhattan. I confess to being Manhattan-centric but I’ve added some White Stars in Brooklyn too.

“I think that Manhattan, and Brooklyn, continue to evolve with these very high-quality neighbourhood wine bars, often opened by somms, so I think our wine culture is strong. We talk about young people not drinking wine but I see a lot of young people in wine bars in New York – they’re there.”

What are wine lovers looking for? Is there one big trend or wine style dominating?

“I think it's more about authenticity. For example if you go to Pascaline's place (Editor’s Note: Pascaline Lepeltier, Chambers), it’s because you trust her vision – it's like you put yourself in Pascaline's hands. So I think people very much identify these wine bars with the people behind them, and I think that encourages people to step out of their comfort zone – having a real personality, a credible person attached. So I think it's very much driven by who's building that list.

“And social media is a big part of that. That's why it's so important for these wine bars to use social media smartly to promote themselves, the list – who’s choosing it? We have a lot of choices in New York, but people want to choose wisely. And if you feel like you know that person, I think it makes a big difference.”

Is that what sways you into visiting places?

“If I’m going to a place on my own time, I’m like, ‘Oh I know Aviram – he’s great.’ Or ‘Yannick – he’s great.’ Right? So there’s just this trust factor that they’re going to take me on a journey, guide me to something I would probably not have ordered on my own. I think that's what people are looking for – a real guide or companion, like a wine buddy! This is my wine buddy, you know they're going to steer me in the right way.”