Ivy Bar & Bistro

It's an exciting time to be a wine-drinker in India. New Indian wine labels seem to be popping up almost weekly, and existing wines are still improving. But drinking in India is not that common to start with, and those who drink tend to stick with whisky or beer. To help the spendier-by-every-day middle class see how they could put a little wine in their life, the winery Chateau Indage plans on opening as many as a thousand wine bars to showcase imported wines as well as their own. One of the first, Ivy Bar & Bistro (82 Dr. Annie Besant Road, 22/6654--7939), is set in a construction- and mall-filled south part of Mumbai -- a city that already accounts for some 40% of all wine drunk in India.

Possibly as a way to avoid pretension, Ivy resembles Starbucks and other "third places" rather than a super-sleek and smoky lounge. It's got wood floors, bright lighting, and a menu that leans heavily on sandwiches and pasta rather than anything too involved. But the reason to come is that the wines start out around 40 rupees ($1) a glass, so you can afford to play the field a bit and see what's good. (Restaurants in India are carrying more and more wines, but it's still rare to be able to get much of anything by the glass.) What's worth a slurp? I'd suggest giving both the Chantilli Cabernet Sauvignon and the Marquis de Pompadour sparkler a try.

Ivy Wine Bar [Eating Out in Bombay]

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