Wine Lab

Excellent customer service from start to end! I arranged my wife’s birthday here and was met with excellent responses in the reservation/​menu planning process matched by our experience on site. We have been here on several occasions and each has been everything we could ask for. Thanks Wine Lab!

Wine Lab is a great spot to grab a flight or a glass of wine. There are limited food options. I had the hummus and it was ok. Defiantly ask for prices before ordering glasses of wine. Some of the pours are $ 25 and up. This came as a surprise when we received our bill.
The décor is nothing to ride home about. The service is ok. I enjoyed that they have a variety of unique wines to try.

Nice, clean, airy and inviting place. Just had drinks however noticed their selection of cheese plate and munchies were quite impressive. Wish they had more selection for Sauvignon Blanc though. Nice and a little different beer selection. Will definetly stop by again if we are in the area.

This is the go to place for my wife and I for date nights. She enjoys their flight of reds. As for me, in a wine bar, of course I get their beer flights. They serve local craft beers and my favorites have been their stouts. They have fantastic cheese and honey pairings as well. The service there is fantastic and they are very knowledgeable. We are definitely repeat customers and we always recommend this place to all our friends.

I’ve been in here a few times and I’ve never been to impressed. The concept is cool, but the wine I’ve had here really hasn’t been that great. The reason I’m giving this place 4 stars instead of 3 is because is for the service and the happy hour prices. Though the wine isn’t fantastic, at least a happy hour flight is only 8 bucks.

This was my first time and would I go back? Yes. I would definitely go back for a glass of wine and/​or for the cheese platter.
I enjoyed the environment mostly because it was small and quieter than most places nowadays. I went on a Friday night and it was pretty busy (seating is limited inside), so I would try to get there somewhat early if you want to sit at a table.

I went here last year 3 times. My memory from this place wasn’t all that great. Service is not genuine. They weren’t helpful at all. I asked the male server what are the wine included in the flight set for white and red, he read them so fast. I had him repeat them, a few times… they’re supposed to have a print out of the wine, which we came in 3 times and they didn’t have them. He also left right after he was done saying them so we had to wait for him to come back to repeat them a couple times once. When we were ready to order, he never turned to check on us. I had to go up to the bar and told him we’re ready to order. He didn’t take my order right there either and said he’ll be right over. There was only one other table here when we arrived the first time and then the next two times, there were only 2 tables each.
We ordered four set of flights of wine: two white and two red, cheese platter, and mozzarella dish. Cheeses were dried. Terrible quality of mozzarella… costco mozzarella 3 for $ 13, is 20 times better than the one that was served to us for dish they charge you.

Great place and location. Staff is friendly while being attentive and knowledgeable. It’s casual, but upscale.
Enjoy the Savory & Sweet Charcuterie Plate and wine flight during Happy Hour!!!
Wine flight had Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Malbec. My favorite was the Cab!

Excellent wine and service at this wine bar. Our server Edwin went above and beyond and was just awesome!

Disclosure: came here for a date, so my experience might be a bit biased!
My date suggested this wine tasting place, and I was game since I needed to stop by South Coast Plaza that evening anyways. Needless to say, I had an amazing first date here! Not only was my date charming, but the ambiance here was just lively. (Un)fortunately, it was not worth it for either of us to continue pursuing for a relationship as I officially live in NorCal and he was moving to Connecticut.
I am not really a wine drinker… So I cannot tell you if they are high-​quality or not. But I definitely did give this place an extra star for creativity! The daily «flights», which served wine in test tubes made wine tasting a bit more sophisticated and fun. The appetizers complemented pretty well, too.
Regardless, a very lovely place. Would only come for alone me time or with a bunch of girl friends, though (The romantic in me wants to keep that particular date, sacred and special).

Very nice place for a date. Very quiet atmosphere.
I will definitely attend at least every 60 days

Came here for the second time with a couple gal friends for happy hour on a Tuesday.
With the happy hour, you can get flights (3 test tubes) & appetizers for a cheaper price!
We ordered a flight of whites, flight of reds, & the honey/​cheese platter.
My friends & I honestly didn’t like the red wine flight at all. The white wines flight was decent & the cheese board was just average. Despite the cute concept & decent service here, I would rather go somewhere else and enjoy a nice cocktail/​drink.

Interesting spot. Got the sampler and they give you the wine in test tubes. I really enjoyed the Davis Bynum Jane’s Vineyard Pinot Noir 2013.
The charcuterie was alrite, didn’t like the cheeses very much and wished they gave us a little more jam and other stuff.
I would recommend that they dim the lights a little and play better music, such as jazz, to set the mood. Was here on a Saturday night and it was way too bright inside the store and they were playing pop music.

Came here during happy hour which is from open-​6pm. Got two wine flight to share, both red & white. It was a fun experience to try out the different type of reds and whites to see what we like and don’t like. My boyfriend and I really liked the Rose’ wine so we bought two bottles of that for $ 15 each and it was our first time trying out Rose’ wine. The wine flights comes with three test tubes for tasting which are $ 8 each and that’s pretty reasonable priced. Since we got that when it was around 1pm and they don’t serve food until 4pm but you are allowed to bring outside food from the other restaurants to bring in to eat. Overall, it was a fun experience!

I love love love that they have a happy hour on a Saturday. Not a lot of places do that these days. I was here just for drinks so this was perfect timing that dropped in during happy hour. For the first round, I started with an orange wheat beer just to whet the palate. Then for round 2, opted for a red. I asked for recommendations and they suggested the Dancing Coyote Petite Sirah 2012 Clarksburg. It was a pretty light red, not dry, and had fruity notes. For round 3, I finished the night off with the Raymond Cabernet Sommelier Cuvee 2012 North Coast — also another recommendation. I was thoroughly impressed with the servers and their knowledge of wine. I told them what I liked and they delivered. It’s either they are good at what they do or maybe I like it all now.
Next time I’d like to do a tasting of wine so that I can be served the cool test tubes of wine.

Came here for Valentine’s Day. I want to preface by saying it’s a super cute place and I really did enjoy the cheese plate we ordered (we built our own). The wine was really good as well. My problem was the service and the fact that I got jipped of the experience of the wine in the test tubes, their wine «flights». Our server told us that they weren’t doing anymore of the test tubes due to something about the «bubbles» and running out of test tubes. Then 10 minutes later brings out a rack of test tubes for the table next to us. First of all, you guys are known for the novelty of the wine test tube rack, and it wasn’t even crowded when I was there so I’m not sure what was going on. Second of all, service was awkward. We were sitting there for a good 10 minutes with no utensils while the server passed us multiple times looked at our table and just didn’t do anything or asked if we needed anything. It was almost like she was aware but decided not to do anything about it. It’s such a shame because I loved the food and wine and really wanted to come back and recommend to friends.

LOVE this place, love the environment, love the ambiance, love the food, love the wine, and love the service!
I have always passed by this place at CAMP and always wanted to go in. When I finally came here it was after my last final from UCI, and I fell i love with this place. My friend and I came really hungry and we thought we would not get full from what we thought was just «finger food.» We were so wrong. We had ordered the honey and cheese platter (which included various amazing cheeses and honey-​my favorite), Soleil Flatbread, and chocolate bon bons. The food came out so fast, the service was incredible, and the servers were extremely funny, friendly, and outgoing that were willing to take pictures of us haha.
I love trying new wines, so this was the best place for me. We got a variety of wines from sweet red wines to savory white wines to in between, and we ordered them in chemistry test tubes, flasks and cylinders. The presentation of the food and drinks are outstanding and I couldn’t stop taking pictures!
I really enjoyed this place, and would love to come back here and experience it all over again!

Wanted to see how this place held up since its a «lab». I thought it was ok, but this place is expensive for a flight that cost $ 17 bucks and serves you three 2oz cups of wine. Rather get a full cup from somewhere else for half the cost.

Very good wines but cheese plates are very small… 25 $ for not even 5 half size of cheese.

#7 review for Unilocal 100 Challenge
Totally love this place. What a great find! It’s modern and unique ambiance makes for a casual setting whether you are on date or with a small group.
Our pairing was chef’s choice. I do recall slices of apples and fig, grapes, crackers — regular and graham, charcuterie which included prosciutto & salami, goat cheese, brie, and other yummies like macadamia nuts & cashews, etc…
We ordered two of their wine flight which was a good deal. It included four test tubes of whites and reds together. Our server gave them a few choices, otherwise I think it’s house selected. Chel is a cab dranker so I went with what she recommended after asking me what I liked. The Cultivar Cabernet Sauvignon was suggested and poured. The scent of oak and taste of dark plum made this my favorite almost instantly. I recall tasting this at Rutherford during my Napa trip in 2014. Absolutely a great pick.
I know I am not an expert on wines by any means and having gone on several wine tasting tours doesn’t make me an expert either but I know what I like and don’t like. And this one I likey!
I can’t wait to return and experience it all over again!
Cheers!

Totally love this place. What a great find! It’s modern and unique ambiance makes for a casual setting whether you are on date or with a small group.
Our pairing was chef’s choice. I do recall slices of apples and fig, grapes, crackers — regular and graham, charcuterie which included prosciutto & salami, goat cheese, brie, and other yummies like macadamia nuts & cashews, etc…
We ordered two of their wine flight which was a good deal. It included four test tubes of whites and reds together. Our server gave them a few choices, otherwise I think it’s house selected. Chel is a cab dranker so I went with what she recommended after asking me what I liked. The Cultivar Cabernet Sauvignon was suggested and poured. The scent of oak and taste of dark plum made this my favorite almost instantly. I recall tasting this at Rutherford during my Napa trip in 2014. Absolutely a great pick.
I know I am not an expert on wines by any means and having gone on several wine tasting tours doesn’t make me an expert either but I know what I like and don’t like. And this one I likey!
I can’t wait to return and experience it all over again!
Cheers!

Very disappointed and would never return here! I went to buy a bottle of wine, as I do in all wine bars, and then order food to go with it. Well the quirky unfriendly little Asian guy that runs the place with no personality, said we charge $ 15 as a corkage fee. I told him I didn’t bring the bottle in from the outside I’m buying it from you. They still tack on $ 15 and call it a corkage fee and top of the cost of the bottel. I had never experienced anything like that before!
The prices are somewhat high for the exact pour he gives you too, he was certainly not generous and there was no music playing. The cheese platter did not look that plentiful, and I was sorry we made this a spot on a Saturday night. Don’t waste your time!

This place is a nice cozy little wine store. It has a pretty nice selection of wines they sell and a little bar-​like area where you can taste some wine. If you want to try a variety but do not want to commit to a whole bottle, they have this thing where you can sample 3 wines for $ 8. It comes in little test tubes and the wine glass has measurement lines. It really adds to the whole lab feel.
The lady working there was super sweet and it seems like she really knows her wine stuff. I bought a bottle of Riesling wine last time I went and I think the next bottle I’ll buy is this one sparkling wine… a name I can’t recall. But it’s light pink (watermelon-​base??) and the label design is absolutely gorgeous, omg.

Fabulous selection of wines in a really cool atmosphere. Do the flight and get your wine served in test tubes. Get a glass and a snack! Go crazy! The happy hour is wonderful, with a huge selection of wines and flights, in addition to snacks, that could make anyone’s day. I’m partial to the bubbles (as per usual), but I’ve never had a bad glass of wine here. The service is excellent and attentive without being hovering, like some wine bars are wont to do. When you find your self in hipster paradise at The Camp, come here for a slightly less hipstery respite.

— The list of red wines is very impressive.
— The staff really know wines and will ensure that you get what you are looking for.
— The happy hour wine flights are a great way to get introduced to a variety of new wines.
— The cheeseboard is a nice appetizer and is perfect for sharing

LOCATION: Wine Lab is located in The Camp in Costa Mesa.
CONCEPT: I liken it to Twisted Vine in Fullerton, with a chemistry twist.
AMBIANCE: Subtly romantic and understated hipster. I liked the outdoor seating area when weather permits as it’s more private but you still get to people watch.
DRINKS: Wine flights are fun as they come in five test tubes. Seems more expensive than Twisted Vine in Fullerton, as it’s more about the novelty here.
7−8÷10 Would come first for the experience, and back for the ambiance.

This place is fun and intimate. The wine is served in flights of test tubes or the bottles as beakers. The bartender tonight, Molly, was very helpful and knowledgeable about the wine and the cheeses they offered. We ordered a build your own cheese and tapas with her help.
I had a flight of 4 wines which was great because I only like to drink a little. I was with my dad, who is a huge Cab drinker and I’m a Pino Noir kinda girl. The flights helped us decide on what was right for the each of us. Also, if you don’t order any on tap bottles, you can have them recork it and take it home with you.

Come before 6 and you can try their happy hour menus. $ 8 flights.
Immediately when you walk in, you’ll notice that this «lab» is a very casual, and not a high-​end wine bar. This place not only serves as a wine bar, but also a store. On one side of the place, there are tables for parties of 2 – 4 to sit while there is center bar for patrons to sit and taste wine. Near the back, they have shelves and boxes of wine bottles should you desire to take home the wine that they serve. Servers are dressed casually, but service was excellent.
This place does give you a lab feel (hence the name), especially when they serve their flights in tubes commonly used in research experiments. Having worked in a lab myself, I greatly enjoyed drinking wine out of these tubes. but for those that wish to drink from wine glasses, you have that option as well.

Cute little shop in the camp with select wines and beer. I recommend coming here for happy hour: 4 – 6 on Mondays, 12 – 6 Tuesday’s-Friday’s, and 12 – 4 on Saturday/​Sundays. During happy hour, the flight includes three test tubes (for 8 $) of all white or all red wines. For myself, I ordered two flights of each type of wine. When you order the flight the bartender chooses the wine. Beers are 2 $ from what I recall and I forgot what else it included. I got the sweet and savory plate to share with my girlfriend and enjoyed it over drinks. Water comes in small glasses and are only served upon request (from my experience and what I observed). They also have outdoor seating for those who’d prefer it!

Every Wednesday, I try to go somewhere new, or at least try something new, for a Wine Wednesday tradition with co-​workers. Our rotations have been Bacchus Bar & Bistro in Irvine or We Olive at The OC Mix in Costa Mesa, but as we frequented the establishment, we began to fall back on favorites instead of trying new things. So, to give us a refresh and new perspectives, we decided to head to The Camp and visit the Wine Lab.
Since I was unfamiliar with their collections, we browsed their wine and beer list. They have a very nice spread across reds and whites, not to mention a decent list for draft and bottled beers! I decided to be a little adventurous and start with a Sauvignon Blanc flight. A glass of chilled white wine just sounded like the perfect solution to my stressful week.
The flight for the day was a tasting of 2013 Sauvignon by Scarpetta, 2013 Sauvignon Blanc by Davis Bynum and 2012 Proprietary White by Bridesmaid. Out of the three tastings, my favorite was the Davis Bynum since it was the most balanced. Light and fruity with some acidity on the nose, but finishes smooth and fresh. It’s a great summer white!
We also shared a custom cheeseboard with Triple Cream, Humboldt Fog and English Cheddar with fig preserve (added charge) and a toasted baguette. I enjoyed the addition of the fresh figs, but I wished their boards had a little more to offer (like grapes, nuts, honey) without the extra charge.
On our second visit though, we decided to go with a Goat Cheese Plate with curated pairings. I can’t remember the first selection, but here are the pairings: Cheese 1 with peach sriracha jam with fresh peaches on the side, Humboldt Fog with raspberry honey, Leonara with blueberry bourbon preserves and Midnight Moon with cajeta (Mexican confection made of sweetened carmelized milk).
We also ordered the Brie flatbread, which comes with your choice of Speck or Jamon Serrano. Both options are great, but we got the Speck and it was delicious! For our wine pairing, Lynette got a glass of the Davis Bynum and I went with a glass of the 2014 Pratsch Grüner Veltliner per our server’s recommendation. The Grüner Veltliner had hints of peaches, apricots and melons, but finished with light peppery notes. It was very enjoyable!
It’s been years since I’ve been back at the Wine Lab, but I return with a greater appreciation for wine as opposed to 4 – 5 years ago. Also, parking is a pain at any time of the day on any weekday/​weekend, so it’s probably another factor as to why it’s been awhile since I’ve returned.
However, the interior space is really relaxing with a small store toward the back, while the bar takes center stage. With a U-​shaped bar, seats are plenty with areas around the bar, high tables along the perimeter and outdoor seating if you’d rather enjoy the outdoors as you sip on your wine. It’s a pretty neat space! With back to back visits, I think Wine Lab will now be incorporated in our monthly rotation.

One word: PRICEY! But hey, what can you expect, everything at The Camp is kind of overpriced! Other than the price point, Wine Lab is a great inviting place to try some new wine while having great conversations with friends. My boyfriend and I love wine bars so this was a great find! It’s located next to Purre clothing boutique and Old Vine Café.
They have many choices of wine to choose from and if you order their tasting flights they come in test tubes! Clever, eh? We ordered a 3 cheese board and although their cheese were great, it was so pricey! $ 18!!! Even more expensive than the wine bar at the John Wayne Airport!
Happy Hour prices are a lot cheaper! Select wine starting at $ 5, $ 2 off all beer, $ 8 Sommelier Choice Wine Flight and discounted food on Fri, Sat&Sun! HH is Monday from 4−6pm, Tuesday — Friday from 12−6pm and Saturday&Sunday from 12−4pm.
As for the ambiance, I love their modern décor and there is a great circular bar located at the center of the space with outdoor seating as well. However, for the price point, I don’t think I’d visit again (expect Happy Hour maybe!)

Wine Tasting anyone? I came across this place by accident on Unilocal and decided to try this place out with a friend this past Friday.
Upon entering, I was greeted and told to sit wherever I wanted. Definitely enjoyed the laidback vibe of the place. A typical place to take a date or just to catch up with friends.
There were three different flights to choose from: two reds and one white. I opted for the Rose B*tches flight which was the white wine flight. Being a wine tasting noob, I really did not know what to expect. However, the girl that served us definitely made it an interesting experience as she actually took the time to explain how each wine tasted and etc.
Presentation:
Being the science geek that I am, the wine test tube presentation was what brought me to this place. Other places just present the wine to you in a regular wine glass which is whatevers.
Pricing:
$ 15 for mine, but each flight varies!
Tip:
The wine flights change every month from what I remember correctly!
Final Verdict:
This was a very enjoyable first experience and I don’t think it will be my last!

This place is adorable, and in the cutest little area. I think my friend and I just came at a very off time…
Saturday at 2PM and the place was completely empty. And by completely empty, I really mean it. There was one couple sitting at the bar, and one employee for the whole place. He did a great job though and took good care of us. He let us know that the chef was out for the day so if we wanted food we were welcome to bring some in from a neighboring restaurant (which we did!). We were pretty disappointed that we couldn’t order anything, but still wanted to grab some wine.
We each had a flight of whites, which were bartenders pick. He told us what order to drink them and what they all were. I wish I could’ve remembered all the names, because they were all excellent!
There’s a cute shop area in the front of the restaurant with wine for purchase, but I just can’t imagine anyone buying anything.
Not sure when/​if I would come back here… If a saturday doesn’t seem to be their prime-​time, I don’t know what is!

I came here for happy hour with two my girlfriends and we were very pleased with the time we spent here. The moment we walked through the door we were greeted & seated within minutes! The staff was hospitable and understood that we weren’t wine connoisseurs & attended to our questions/​concerns accordingly!
We opted for the red and white wine flights because we wanted a taste for what the Wine Lab had to offer! This is an especially good choice when it’s happy hour because it’s $ 8 for three test tubes!
The overall vibe of the wine lab is super hip & trendy. After all, it’s located in The Camp! And YES! If you do come here and get the wine flights with some bruschetta & bread or a cheese platter, it’s totally instaworthy. Your IG followers will thank you and be jealous of the wine tasting magic you’re experiencing!
If you’re hungry, it’s not the best idea to come here. They only serve finger foods like cheese and crackers, some meats, bread, etc. BUT I heard from a little birdy that because of this you can bring food from other places into the establishment and you’re in The Camp so you’re surrounded by all kinds of noms! Definitely noted for next time if this is true!
Overall, if you do get a lot here it’s going to add up but honestly that’s with any place you’re going to for wine or really just alcohol in general! If you know what you’re coming for that will probably buy you some time and money, but I personally almost always opt for a flight whether it be for wine or beer! It’s just nice to try some wine from different wineries all over! I do wonder however, if you could customize your wine flight since the happy hour option is for the bartender’s choice!
Nonetheless, it’s a good place to stop by and have a bit of wine with some friends! If I get the chance, I could see myself coming back to The Wine Lab!
NOTE: Since it is located in The Camp, parking can be a dooooozy. So either take to valet (if you have the money or don’t want to circle the parking lot over and over again) or… you can try and find street parking somewhere nearby! :)

This is a neat spot, I came in here for one glass of wine last week as I was going to Mesa for dinner, there was a private event going on so we couldn’t go there until 7 so we came in here as the hostess recommended it to us.
It was quite busy for a Thursday night, they had a wine maker there, a brother and a sister who were being featured this evening, we spoke to the guy for a little bit and my friend tried their Chardonnay which he enjoyed, I just ordered a glass of Pinot Noir off of their regular menu which was decent. I’m used to Pinot Noir’s being a little bit sweeter, being someone what new to red wine this was a little bit on the dry side for me but it still tasted nice.
The flights here are like being in a «lab.» The tasters come out in test tubes which I thought was pretty neat. The featured flight this night was $ 20 and it looked as if you receive 1.5−2 glasses of wine between the flight so not a bad deal.
It’s a smaller spot tucked in the back of a shopping center. I didn’t take a look at the menu but they seemed to have a few small options, possibly some cheese and appetizer type of things.
This is a great spot for a date night or catching up with a friend while enjoying an intimate spot on a quiet evening.

Happy hour is from 4−6pm on Mondays and my friend and I came in at 4:30pm. There was one person working the bar, only around 5 wine drinkers present, and so we sat down at a table.
The friendly bartender came over to us with the happy hour menu which had wine and appetizer deals. We ordered one red and white wine flight ($ 8 per flight). We then proceeded to order the cheese plate and charcuterie plate but she interrupted us and told us we can’t order food until the chef comes back in and he won’t be in for another 15 minutes. Uhhh, the website said that that food can be ordered after 4 and we came at 4:30pm, no excuses. She brought out the wine flights real quick and gave us the lowdown on what each was. For the white flight we had the albarino, chardonnay, and riesling. The red came with pinot noir, cabernet sauvignon, and malbec. They were all just okay wines but the portions were really good.
At 5pm (30 minutes after she said we couldn’t order food until the chef came in) our bartender came back to get out food orders and we ordered a cheese plate ($ 12) and charcuterie plate ($ 12). It took more than 20 minutes to get our orders, which were pretty small for what the price was. The cheese were good and the FIG JAM was to die for. The charcuterie plate was blah.
Overall, I wouldn’t come back because the wines weren’t great and appetizer plates were too underwhelming for the price. Not worth the parking trouble either.