So I managed sufficient escape velocity to make it down to Du Vin for a few glasses of fine grapes this past weekend. I do like the restaurant a lot, if for no other reason than its ambience is wonderful. Indigo owner Dave Stewart has done a fine job recreating a bit of France in Chinatown, Honolulu. The front room leads to a back outdoor patio which then leads to a more intimate back room with exposed wooden beams, soft lighting, and a sense of quiet reserve. The menu at Du Vin seems to change a lot -- we had good food but am not sure if they will be on the menu when I go back. The wines were exceptional but with a (big) caveat. The glass list is quite priced fairly. Du Vin has an arrangemet, however, where if you want a glass from a bottle that's not on the list, you pay 30% of the bottle price for your glass. That way, the restaurant makes back its money in a single glass. Then, the bottle goes into "the bucket".

This is a chilled metal bin on the front counter. Wines in the the bucket are put on offer by the glass. They can be of varying degrees of freshness. Some bottles in the bucket, our server thankfully warned us, were four days old. Also, glass price from the bucket can be extremely stiff (as in, I paid WHAT?). I am uncertain if Du Vin charges the full 30% per bottle charge for each subsequent glass. This would seem to be unfair, since the second and third glass is not getting a fresh bottle and didn't make the decision to pull the cork. Bucket wine prices are not listed anywhere that I could see so MAKE SURE TO ASK YOUR SERVER BEFORE THE POUR. One last note. The combination of great cheeses, a very casual yet elegant setting, and a great wine selection is rare in Honolulu. I highly reccomend Du Vin on those properties alone. Just watch your wallet.

Image via Ryan Senaga / Flickr

—Alex, 12/18/06