One of the newest wine bars to open at the Boat Quay F&B enclave is Panorama: Riverside Lounge. If you find its location familiar it’s actually part of veteran Italian eatery Pasta Fresca da Salvatore, whose owners have converted its third floor into an Italian wine haven.
The space offers over 70 different wines and liquor, with most – if not all – of the wines from Italy of both the premium and affordable variety. In fact many of Italy’s key wine producing regions are represented here, ranging from the famous Brunello appellation from Tuscany, to Barbaresco and Barolo of Piedmont, or the Valpolicella and Amarone of Veneto. If you’re feeling luxurious you could even opt for the Sassicaia from Tenuta San Guido, considered the seminal Super Tuscan that created the category.
Aside from appellation specific wines, Panorama also stocks wines made from rarer indigenous Italian grape varietals, so you’ll find wines made from grapes such as Nero D’Avola mostly found on the island of Sicily, Aglianico from Basilicata and Campania, or the Negroamaro of Puglia. One of the best finds has to be the Petrussa Schioppetino, made in Friuli-Venezia Giulia region in northeastern Italy using the Ribolla Nera grape, once thought to be extinct until Italian winemakers discovered the grape in nearby Slovenia and replanted it back in Friuli.
As for eats, it is all of the Italian variety that can be ordered from Pasta Fresca Da Salvatore downstairs.
But the best time to visit has to be during its Free Flow Friday promotion; for just $39++ per person you get free flow of selected white, red and sparkling wines – one each – for three hours from 6pm to 9pm every Friday, which comes along with a simple antipasto buffet.
Panorama: Riverside Lounge can be found at 30 Boat Quay.
