Come on Get Happy! | Dr. Ink
Though warmly appointed with white sheer curtains and an interior brick wall, you might think upon entering Splash Wine Lounge that you’ve walked into some high-tech manufacturing plant.
In the middle of the room are three circular islands of shiny Enomatic machines, an Italian-made system devised for preserving and dispensing wine. Head toward the elongated communal table in the back, and you’ll see another row of them showing off their illuminated digital display windows.
Splash was the first wine bar in metro San Diego to install the technology when it opened four years ago. The only other place I know that has since introduced it is Toast Enoteca & Cucina in the East Village.
The equipment allows you to purchase one-ounce pours from nearly 70 different wines with prepaid cards that you slide in as though you’re playing modern-day slots. The difference is that you always end up with a liquid win. Depending on which wine you choose, the pours range from 89 cents to $10 apiece.
There are two different price deals offered at Splash. On Tuesdays (all day), you get two machine pours for the price of one. Another set of discounts applies to daily happy hour (11:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.), when select wines from bottles are available at $5 a glass, such as the lush, plum-tasting Che Gaucho Malbec from Argentina. House-made Sangria using a Cote de Rhone rose fetches the same price. The bottle pours from human hands are obviously less regulated, totaling at least three ounces we surmised after ordering them.
Daily happy hour also includes $3 bottled beer, with about four in the offing that includes Dixie Jazz, Moretti and Newcastle Ale. In addition, various noshes such as spinach-artichoke dip, half flatbreads and veggie plates are kept at $6 and under.
A friend and I were enticed by the “splackers,” the most popular-selling munchie in the house, we were told. The plate sells for $4 and features a bunch of commercial crackers, Saltines perhaps, that are jazzed up with herbs and chili oil. They’re served with chipotle-raspberry cream cheese. “Whoever came up with this is a genius,” my companion said as we washed down the salt, spice and sweetness with our wines.
The toasty caprese flatbread was also flavor-packed, fueling our carb overload with even more bread that accompanied our warm spinach-artichoke dip. But given Splash’s comfortable seating and a suspended movie screen projecting black-and-white movies and television shows, it’s easy to lose track of your intake.
RATINGS:
Drinks: 4
The wines dispensed from Splash’s Enomatic machinery span the globe, as does the eight-bottle selection available by the glass during daily happy hour. House-made Sangria shows off an authentic Spanish flair, as it isn’t too fruity. The beer list, however, is somewhat pedestrian, but then again, this is first and foremost a wine bar.
Food: 5
Sophisticated flatbreads join up with flavorful spinach-artichoke dip and the must-try “splackers,” which feature spiced crackers served with chipotle-raspberry cream cheese.
Value: 4
The daily happy hour allows to you save about 15 to 20 percent on wine, beer and food. Or visit on “two-splash Tuesdays” and you’ll receive double pours from the Enomatic wine dispensers.
Service: 5
Drink and food orders are taken without delay or complication at a counter near the small rear bar. The staff is friendly and welcoming.
Duration: 5
You can splash into the discounts from late-morning to early evening seven days a week. On Tuesdays, the deals extend until closing.
Splash Wine Lounge
3043 University Ave. (North Park)
619-296-0714
Happy Hour: 11:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., daily; and all day Tuesday for “two-splash” deals.
