Sitting down to flip through pages of hard-to-pronounce labels at a wine bar can be a notoriously intimidating situation. But that’s what Zoe Wilkins and Joe Barron, a married couple who recently opened Well Nice on Main Street in Rosendale, wanted to avoid when designing their new wine bar. After spending many years working in bars and restaurants in New York City, Wilkins and Barron wanted to open a place that felt welcoming and inviting, and that tore down some of the pretension associated with a traditional wine bar.
As long as patrons agree to drink a minimum of two glasses, Wilkins will happily crack open any bottle on the menu (which has about 40 selections at any given time ranging in price from $40 to $140, glasses run around $13-15). The rest of the bottle can then be added to the bar’s rotating by-the-glass menu for the evening, a democratic process that ends up reflecting the mood and character of each day’s customers. “I love that the wine list is about the community in that way, too, where it really speaks to who has been here before you,” Wilkins says.
It all adds to the cozy, family-style vibe of Well Nice. The interior has been styled to bring to mind the midwestern rumpus rooms and cozy London homes of the owners’ respective childhoods—Barron grew up in Michigan while Wilkins was raised in the UK—and their expansive wine list is designed to offer something for everyone, ranging from quaffable Lambruscos to Hungarian chardonnays to funky, skin-contact rebulas.
In particular, the pair didn’t want anyone to feel as though they need to be a wine expert to come inside. They’re happy to interpret vague, vibe-based orders and offer multiple tastings to help match customers with their perfect pour.
“Lots of people don’t come into wine bars being like, ‘Hey, I like these four microclimates. I like this grape,’ because that would be weird,” Wilkins says. “Tell me the feeling you want, and I will pour you a great glass of wine. I’ll pour you six, until we find the one that you like.’”
Their unfussy food menu, designed to pay homage to Eastern European roots on both sides as well as English comfort foods, also breaks with the expectations of a stuffy wine bar. They offer daily pierogies stuffed with playful flavors such as chopped cheese or chicken parmesan, a savory paprikash pot pie, and a “chip butty”—a French fry sandwich that is every bit as British as it sounds. Barron, who mans the kitchen while Wilkins holds court at the bar, draws inspiration from the Hudson Valley’s vast local offerings of fresh produce, meat, and cheese, and endeavors to make tasty, simple offerings to complement the wine list. Barron frequently purchases from Solid Ground Farm in Kingston, Juniper Hill Farm in Wesport, and Sugar Hill Farm in Pine Plains. The carrot fritters are a particularly proud creation made to avoid food waste when purchasing large produce orders.
“The best way to support farms is to not force the farm to parcel everything out,” Barron explained. “Just be committed to buying a lot of vegetables from this farm, and then it’s on you to use your talents to find a way to utilize it.”
Well Nice opened their doors in mid-December after months of DIY renovations to upgrade the space, which for the past few decades had been home to The Alternative Baker, which closed in August. But locals who have lived in the area long enough may remember the location was also formerly The Well, a vibrant watering hole that Rosendalians frequented in the ’70s. The wooden bar that serves as the space’s centerpiece is over 100 years old and was what sealed the deal for Barron and Wilkins when searching for a place to lease.
Despite living in Kingston, the duo wanted to find a location in a smaller town where they could interact with the community more directly, and the main drag in Rosendale—directly across the street from the Rosendale Theater—fit the bill. “Honestly, I thought it would be really challenging, because this is a small town, and I think there’s something about the phrase ‘wine bar’ that can be very ominous to a small community,” Wilkins said. “But I have been repeatedly surprised and deeply touched by how this community has come out for us, how much people love coming here, how supportive people are, how receptive they are to even our weirdest ideas.” They’ve already attracted a healthy mix of regulars, including one local whose favorite bottle has been redubbed “Ron’s wine.”
This month, Well Nice will launch a bimonthly trivia night every other Thursday, designed and hosted by Barron and Wilkins (“If it happens in this building, Joe and I are making it,” Wilkins quipped), and will soon be offering rotating “chef’s whim” dishes of one-off, zero-waste seasonal creations from the kitchen. In the coming months, Wilkins also plans to start hosting wine classes so that those who are curious to expand their oenological knowledge have an accessible outlet. It’s yet another attempt to tear down the pomp and pretense that tends to envelop the wine industry.
“Wine education can be cost-prohibitive and gatekeep-y,” Wilkins says. “It’s really nice to just be like, ‘Hey, I’m just your local bartender with pink hair who wants to teach you a bunch of cool stuff about wine.”
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