Oscar's Vine Society

Award-winning wine bar on Sheikh Zayed Road 1 Reviews

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Dubai is blessed with all manner of drinking holes. From dark and dingy dive bars to opulent clubs that have VIP cages hanging from the domed-ceiling, Dubai has it covered.

But wine-lovers are often left high and dry in the city – firstly by the exorbitant prices and secondly by the lack of wine bars (Cin Cin, The Agency and Vintage aside).

It’s with grape expectations (sorry) that we saw the Crowne Plaza had done away with their utterly tepid piano bar and opened their own wine bar, Oscar’s.

Located on the fourth floor next to Asian restaurant Sakura, Oscar’s is modelled on a French wine-tasting cellar – all dimmed lights, wooden barrels and chalkboards etched with hearty food and wine menus. We asked for some advice first up – a dark, rich, plummy red wine and a sharp, crisp white wine. And we weren’t disappointed as the sumptuous Baron Philippe de Rothschild Cabernet Shiraz from France and Gabbiano’s Italian Pinot Grigio were whisked to our wooden barrel table.

If you’re looking to soak up the tannins as well, then head for the veal blanquette, a hearty veal stew suffused with button mushrooms, chunky vegetables and all soaked up by the three types of bread we were proffered.

The next round of drinks were equally impressive – the Sunrise Merlot was full of herbaceous notes while the Windy Peak white had a complex aroma of figs and melons. And don’t worry, we’re not turning into wine snobs – each glass comes with its own tag detailing where the wine is from and what it tastes like, just in case you can’t tell or want to impress your mates with your finesse.

No evening of wine is complete without a visit to the cheeseboard, however, so we decided to indulge. 30 minutes later and with a calcium belly slowly growing under the table, we pushed the plate previously containing four hunks of assorted smelly cheese away from us and breathed a sigh of relief –- Dubai finally has another worthy wine bar.

By Andrew Buchan