wine glasses at 2 amy's

hey, is it true that 2 amy's doesn't serve wine in normal wine glasses but drinking glasses? This is a major pet peeve of mine. Any reason? It's almost enough to deter me from going and trying "the best pizza in dc". Thanks!

[hanglin]

Don't sweat it. The glasses are not just regular tumblers but quite high end stemless wine glasses. They show off the rustic italian wines perfectly. Try the Terra Dora Aglianico - an absolute steal at $26 a bottle for one of the most delicious wines anywhere at any price -- if you doubt me!

If you buy a bottle, they have regular stems.

Okay, so it's cool to drink good wine out of a tumbler. They do it all over Italy...I do it at home when I'm out of the wine geek mode. Beyond that: A wine like Gragnano (something 2 Amys sells a good deal of because it's from the larger Naples region) is an unkempt delicious regional wine that's perfect with the type of pizza that they sell. Beer works fine, but a Margherita and a tumbler of Gragnano wil transport you...presuming your mind is open to the concept. Loosen up. R.

gotcha. I know, I know, they do it at paradiso as well. I guess the first time I ever had that happen was years ago my friend worked at flat top grill, and they served their wine in tumblers b/c the owner insisted on being true to asian custom. But it drove me nuts b/c flatop's food is the farthest thing from "authentic asian" as it could possibly be! I just didn't get it, and ever since then it has really irked me. Plus, I don't feel like it tastes the same out of a tumbler. dunno, just me.

anyhow, I'll let it slide at 2 amy's since it is close to a traditional trattoria.

[dinwiddie]

In Italy they drink cheap wine out of tumblers, but fine wine like a Barolo gets a real stem.

[Peyton]

Dinwiddie is right. In Italy, the fine stuff is served in a wine glass.

[hanglin]

Exactly. There's no Barolo here, but the cheap wines are excellent and are well-served by the stemless bowls.

[MakingSense]

How about older people in Europe adding water to their wine? Especially with the homemade wines or the stuff bought by the jug from the local store? Not the fine wines obviously...

In the trattorias in Italy wine is tradionally served in drinking glasses. I think it's pretty cool.

>>In the trattorias in Italy wine is tradionally served in drinking glasses<<

And in some of them, you only get one glass to use for both wine and water....

The fact is that you don't want to go there for the wine (which is modest in quality and overpriced) but for the pizza (which is high quality and overpriced). Beer is the best option at 2 Amy's.

>Beer is the best option at 2 Amy's.

Indeed. They had La Chouffe (!) and Tupper's Hop Pocket both on tap the last time I was there. Someone there has good taste in beer.

La Chouffe on tap? Wow. I would have expected to see that at RFD (or a Belgian restaurant) before I saw it at 2 Amys. Was it priced the same as the other offerings (i.e. ~$5)? Served in the proper glass?

And I thought the excellent pizza was reason enough to go.

I arrived late to dinner and my friends had already bought a bottle of wine. It wasn't until I got up after dinner was over that I saw the La Chouffe tap. My eyes widened and I stood completely still. "What? What is it? What's wrong?" my friends asked. "La... la... la... La Chouffe! ON TAP!". Oh the humanity! I haven't been able to get back since, either. Don't know if they still even have it.

Oh, they still have it all right. Served in the nice, bowed glasses that modestly boast: "Magic Chouffe." Two is just enough to ensure the rest of your Saturday passes wreathed in a gentle honey glow...

[trebiccherri]

The wines at 2Amys are often misunderstood. I hear people talking about this all of the time. @Amys is, actually, a great place to buy wine. I have gotten some bottles there that other restaurants sell for a very price for a song. The Li Veli Pezzo Morgana comes to mind. The wine list here is southern Italian and the style is often different than in other parts of Italy and certainly from California and Australia. I hear the table next to me one night complain because the wine they got was too strong. I have heard others complain that the bottle of Fallanghina they got was too light. The difference between stylistically true wine from Italy or France and many of the wines that young or inexperienced drinkers are used to can have a lot to o with alcohol and extraction and wood. Many wines today are very oaky or very extraced and both are often high in alcohol. I suggest trying to learn to identify and appreciate more wines and realizing that you would not want to drink Layer Cake Shiraz with fresh pizza, slices meats and cheeses, or suppli.

[hanglin]

Please disregard this post. The poster clearly knows little about wine, or has no familiarity with the 2 Amys list. 2 Amys may have the best wine list in the city for the price. This isn't just my opinion, but one shared by several of my friends who are among the best sommeliers in the city. Almost no bottles are over $40 and most of the best are under $30. The Terra Dora Aglianico ($26) sells for $50 on the Notti Bianchi list and may be the single best glass of wine under $10 in the city (I think it's something like $7.50). At a time where good glasses of wine under $12 are rare, and quality wines under $10 are almost unheard of, 2 Amys is a treasure trove of traditional (and a few restrained new world style) Italian wines. The beers are also incredible!