Tastings A Wine Experience

After my friends wedding, the hotel had not turned down the bride and groom’s room. Johnny the bar manager was gracious enough to keep the bar open an extra 45 minutes just for us while the room was fixed. Johnny saved the night! Great guy, great place. I will most certainly be back.

Went here for a dinner with friends and liked it, but didn’t love it.
Being from Northern California, I’m a bit wine obsessed and was impressed with the selection!
In terms of food, we were underwhelmed. Tastings serves tapas, which we were expecting, but the flatbread pizzas were just ok. We sat at the bar so had a front row view to the pizzas being taken out of the oven, ready to serve, but then placed back in the oven when the server noticed it was undercooked.
Not highly appealing.

I love tastings! Such a fab wine list! I learned so much to take back to teach to all my coworkers back in SC… thanks Keagan for all your amazing help!!! :)

Such a great place to go for low key casual conversation and great food.
We did the a la carte wine option, and ordered the crab dip and the tuna, both amazing.
Everything about this place is great the environment, wine and food.
The only bad thing about the place is the card readers and wine decanters are set up a bit high for someone barely over 5 foot.
A great place for friends food and conversation.
Definitely coming back.

I went here on a Saturday evening with a small group for a girls’ night out. There’s a great atmosphere! There’s a huge wine list. I wish there was more outdoor seating.
We ate dinner here. The food was really good, but the portions were small (and I was really hungry). I would definitely come here again, but I’d probably come before or after dinner somewhere else.

Sit at the bar to get great service and recommendations on the wines they have. The wines are not spectacular but very adequate. Same with the food. The atmosphere and personal service brings it up to a four star.

Loved this place. Not the kind of place I would typically go to but it was in our hotel and was open later and we gave it a shot. Kelly made us feel super welcome and her drinks rocked. Johnny also was very friendly and we will definitely make this a must stop every time in Indy.

I’m only rating my man Jay… the bartender. By far the best and most knowledgable barman around. Jay is all that a bartender should be. Not fake and trendy… just loves his craft and even knows the history of every drink he pours. All in our group were raving about him. Can’t wait til I’m back at the Conrad Hotel to stop by for a cocktail and a history lesson from Jay.

I’m visiting Indianapolis for work this week and after a long day of travel to get here, I couldn’t find the energy to go too far outside of my hotel for a very late meal and drink. I found Tastings and, while it seemed to be a little contrived, gave it a shot since what could be bad about a wine bar? In my mind, nada.
I found a seat at the bar and perused both the wine and food menus. I settled for Sauvignon blanc (big surprise) and the margherita flatbread pizza that was recommended by the bartender.
My first sip of the Marlborough sauv was okay. Decent at best. I thought maybe it was the crap wine I had drank on my flight in (Delta needs to step up their game in that department) that had hurt my taste buds but after finishing the glass I realized it was just not good wine. At a wine bar. That claims it’s a «wine experience.»
My flatbread arrived and it looked like a freaking Ellio’s pizza someone had put in a toaster oven (because really that’s the only way to make Ellio’s, duh) and sprinkled some basil on it. Luckily it was better than Ellio’s but not by much. I was also starving so take that for what it is.
Honestly, I wouldn’t go back unless I was staying at the Conrad which is the hotel Tastings is attached to. Otherwise I would try my hardest to find a new spot even if it meant walking the extra mile (see what I did there? Clever).

I can’t seem to embrace the concept of digital wine pours (2 oz). As I sat there looking at this card I loaded up, I was curious to see which of the wines would be the most expensive, and which ones I’d have to keep pressing the button 4x to get a fulfilling glass of red. Lo and behold, it was Silver Oak at $ 23.85 for a measly 2 oz pour. Second most expensive was my favorite Château Montelena. C’mon, I knew California wines would be expensive out here, but the prices are outrageous! Have you seen that commercial with the eye-​popping lady after she saw a steep price tag? That was me! It made me want to drive up to Silver Oak the moment I got back to CA just to buy a bottle. During my short stay in Indianapolis and all the restaurants I dined at, I noticed Silver Oak bottles started at $ 160.
We are truly lucky and spoiled to be in CA, as Napa is in our backyard, especially NorCal. I still prefer a live person at a winery telling me all the deets about their unique wines, more personable. The best part is when the winemakers explain the entire process and sip vino with you. I can say I’ve been here and checked it out, not something I would come back for. Random thought, what happens if these machines breakdown or malfunction? An extra star for the decadent chocolate truffles made locally!

If you are looking to have a glass of wine or better yet explore by tasting a few pours, this is your place! They have everything from very high end wine (Jordan, Conn Creek, Stags Leap) to mid and lower range wines. Get a card and have 2oz pours to your heart’s content or go all in with a glass or a bottle. Customer service here is excellent. Audrey our server was awesome – fun, knowledgable, and attentive (sit in her section if you can!). John the sommelier (?) was also very helpful and attentive. While we were tasting we encountered a corked bottle (it happens to the best of them!) and it was immediately changed out and we were comped a glass. There is also a full bar and a few big TVs if you want to watch a game. All around a good find in Indy!

Very cool experience especially if you’re into trying many different types of wines. Their menu is pretty much tapas style but the portions of very big and filling. The service was very very good I would highly recommend and also return.

My wife and I visited with friends on a Sunday night and had an enjoyable experience. The place was cozy and welcoming and my wife found a wine that she really liked and bought a bottle. However, I’m not a fan of wine so I was excited to see they also have a full bar. I ordered my usual cocktail of a flavored vodka and sprite. My wife ordered a cheese plate and I had the crab cakes. Both were excellent. So far, I’m very impressed. I had two more cocktails as the evening went on.
Then came the bill. $ 33 for my drinks, $ 11 a piece. Now, it’s not that we cant afford it, it’s more the principle of the thing. I get that it’s in the lobby of the Conrad hotel, but when you pay that much for food or drinks, they better be unique, or the place has something else to offer. My drink was nothing special, and Tastings is nice, but it’s not like we were in Vegas. It was the exact same drink I would have received in a crappy sports bar for $ 4, but Tastings doesn’t have enough to offer to make up the extra $ 7 in price. Anyway, I just thought that was a little steep for what I received.
Also, our waitress did one of my other pet peeves. After we paid, she completely ignored us. It was very slow that night with plenty of empty tables so we hung around and talked for a while. She was waiting on a few other tables, but never stopped back to check on us. All of our water glasses were empty for quite a while. If I’m at a Steak & Shake, I expect that. But not at a more high end place like Tastings.
Other than a few minor annoyances, we enjoyed our visit and we will go back. My crab cakes were yummy and it was a very nice place overall.

We went on a Tuesday and took advantage of their special (half off on house wines), and had the two vegetarian flatbread pizzas. The Napa Valley pizza was great and the house reds we had were very solid for the price (4.50 per glass I think). On top of that, our waitress was fantastic! It wasn’t so busy at it was a weeknight, but we liked the more intimate feel of the place.

THIS PLACE IS FABULOUS! Especially our server Tim. He recommended some wonderful wines. And the food pairings! Wine, cheese, salami, prosciutto de Parma, roasted olives and roasted tomatoes! Oh my! You can order wine by the bottle, the glass, or gets card and sample 2 oz. pours. So much wine. So little time. Wish we had this at home. Thanks, Tim. You deserve a raise.

Good place to go before heading to a movie, concert, or sporting event if you like wine. They also have beer and spirits. Cozy and convenient location in the heart of downtown Indianapolis.
I have been on Tuesdays a couple of times before we go to movies. Tuesday’s are their half off glasses of house wine. That comes out to $ 4/​glass, and their Pinot noir is tasty. So if you go
On Tuesdays it is a great deal. The most recent time I went we tried the spinach artichoke dip and it was good, not great. A little on the smaller side, but flavorful for a wine bar. I have not had other food there, but there was a private party going on at the bar and the food they had sitting out looked good.
Give it a try on the way to whatever brings you downtown. Quick service and a good people watching spot.

Good service with really friendly staff. Everyone was really nice and welcoming. Overall, this is a really cool place! The concept is really cool with the taste testing wine idea. We went for Sunday brunch, but coming on an evening would be better.
The brunch menu is small, but we got the vegetarian huevos rancheros and the Greek goddess eggs breakfast as well as the crab dip. Bottles of wine were half off, too!

We had the baked crab dip, shrimp Ceviche, & BBQ chicken pizza. All were excellent. Our server Jessica offered fabulous advice on menu items, wine suggestions, and cocktail drinks. Loved the art displayed throughout the room. Overall, a very lovely experience.

We had a late lunch so wasn’t super hungry. We didn’t feel like walking too far so decided to grab a bite just inside our hotel. Filet minion flatbread pizza and sesame encrusted tuna with wasabi were very good. Unfortunately, we did not do the wine tasting since it required us to purchase a pre-​loaded card and all wine pricing is not flat. So, it’s hard to predict how much to put on the card. Otherwise, this place has great quick bites…

The first time I visited this establishment was with a wedding party so there were about 10 of us. Even though it was a Friday night, we were immediately seated inside. We all decided that buying a few bottles of our favorite wines was the best option for us. After a short time we asked the waitress if we could be moved to the patio and she was very accommodating. She put some tables together and moved all or drinks outside without hesitation. The patio was perfect for our somewhat rowdy group and the waitress made sure to check up on us frequently.
The second time I came here was on a date night. Again, we were immediately greeted and told to sit wherever we wanted. The waitress told us that loading our drink card up with about $ 25 was a good start so we agreed on $ 35. We each got about 3 2oz glasses of wine with that $ 35 which isn’t much but we weren’t there to get drunk. We also ordered a cheese plate sampler and crab dip which were both delicious. The ambiance was very relaxing and parfect for a date. I can’t wait to come back here again!

I treated my husband to Indy for a 24 hour trip & decided to spend some time here. When we walked we were immediately greeted and encouraged to sit wherever we wanted. Once our waitress came to our table we told her she we’d never been and she did a great job explaining the concept.
After going through the menu we decided to just buy a bottle of wine instead of doing tastings. We had a bottle of moscato which was great and my husband’s favorite.
We ordered the margarita pizza and cheese plate. Both were great! I especially loved the cheese plate because you get to choose which 2, 4, 8 cheeses/​etc you want. We chose Asiago and salami. It came with a triangle block of Asiago, salami, a small bowl of grapes & bread pieces that were toasted, warm and so good! Yum!
The décor in the restaurant was inviting and trendy. If we’re ever in Indy again we would go back!

Service was really good! They did accidentally give us the wrong cheese but they corrected it right away (in the end we got 2 St. André cheeses, NOT complaining haha).Their cheese selection was on point though. :) Selection of wine was nice, you can either order by the bottle/​glass OR… you can load a card up with money and do 2 oz. tasters of whatever is in the room. I fell in love with the Ochetti from Renato Ratti so I kept ordering that. My favorite dish was the jumbo lump crab cakes and then the fillet mignon skewers. DELICIOUS! If you are in the area, this is a MUST TRY!

Cozy and convenient wine tasting bar, located downtown. I went here during a conference in March 2014 and was very pleased with the food and wine specials.

Tastings is a great idea for someone like me who needs to actually try a wine before committing to it. You place money on a card and taste to your little hearts content!
I would not, however pass on their food. They have cheese plate, flatbreads, etc… to complement your tastings.
Find a wine that you like, you can purchase a goes or a bottle very easily. The best part is on Sundays, you can get your bottle for half price!
Great little gem hidden inside the Conrad. They even have outdoor seating. I would highly recommend you try a taste of Tastings!

Great fun way to experience different wines! This is perfect for almost any occasion or night of the week. The staff is extremely friendly and the sommeliers are very knowledgeable. It caters to different tastes and different price points. Not a fan of wine? They have a bar!
I do suggest to do dinner elsewhere, even though they serve heavy app options they aren’t the highlight of the experience.
Fun time, great place to relax, and try a couple of new things without feeling committed to buy/​drink an entire bottle.

This place had a really neat concept and cool ambiance for wine tasting. They have different stations where you can browse a variety of wines and use a prepaid card to try 2 oz samples of the ones you want to. I like the idea, however, it was a bit pricey! The set up is neat, and probably pretty costly for them to maintain as a restaurant.
Service was not great. We went in at a weird time around 3:45pm and there weren’t many people in there, but there were about 5 staff working and they all were just talking to each other and seemed to be gossiping with one person at the bar. We waited a while for them to serve us and ended up having to go up to the bar to order. Also, we ordered a cheese plate and ran out of bread, asked for more and were a little disappointed they charged us for a whole 2^nd plate of bread.
Overall, this is a neat concept for a wine bar, but with a few small changes in service and price it would be even better in my book!

Can you say Holy Cheese?! (See attached picture) I went to this place after a yoga event and the wine was wonderful, the cheese plate was out of this world, and the service was amazing!

My experience at Tastings was top of the line service from beginning to end.
Our server and bartender Johnny and Karen provided us with excellent service as we conducted our wine tasting during the evening hours. They provided great knowledge in regards to questions about the wine and dinner menu.
The manager Lindsay was very hands on with the staff and the customers during our entire stay. She was friendly and helpful in assisting us with questions as well.
The flat bread pizzas and spinach dip are excellent! I enjoyed the wine tasting experience as there is a vast selection to choose from.
Half price bottles of wine and live music on Sundays starting at 6:00 — 6:30pm!

It had been awhile since my last Tastings visit, but this past Friday night a friend and I decided to grab a glass of wine and some light appetizers after seeing a show at the IRT.
Given that it was pretty late in the evening, I wasn’t up for the whole tasting card scene (you load up a card with a certain number of dollars and taste to your heart’s desire at dozens of computerized wine stations). In fact, I wasn’t really craving a drink but I felt slightly obligated (hence my decision to go with the cheapest red on the menu $ 7.50 — it tasted slightly cheap but you get what you pay for, right?).
As for the apps, we had the prosciutto wrapped figs with cheese and bruschetta. I enjoyed my figs but wished they were a little larger to match the price. I would order them again. *Typically I go for the cheese board ;) You rarely lose with a cheese board.
Why four stars and not five? We found ourself with a dud waitress — she was slightly aggressive and seemed miffed when we weren’t ready to order. We appreciated the friendly and proactive gentleman working behind the horseshoe-​shaped bar.

I love the concept of Tastings. You get to preload a card with money and then choose the wines that you want to sample. Each of the wines in the machines come with a description of its flavors. I think the cheapest sample was about $ 2.50 but I don’t remember what the most expensive was.
Their website states that there are more than 100 wines to taste but I didn’t personally count them myself. Some wines aren’t available by the glass and some aren’t available to sample in the machines. I think the wines were organized by Pinot Noir, Italy, Spain, France, Eclectic Reds, Aromatic Whites, Enticing Whites, and Cabernet Sauvignon.
When we first arrived, we were told that it was open seating. So we chose a seat and weren’t really sure what to do. We had to ask the chef (?) for a menu before our server came over to help us. But after that, service was pretty good and attentive.
The food came out really quickly. We didn’t try any of the cheese plates but the Crab Dip and the BBQ Chicken Flatbread Pizza were both very good. I would consider them ‘light meals’. The Crab Dip was very creamy and slightly spicy. The BBQ Chicken Pizza was pretty sweet from the BBQ sauce and the chicken chunks were pretty big.
Overall, this would be a great place to relax with friends and enjoy some wine.

This place really is THE wine experience!
It reminds me of being at a more sophisticated Dave & Busters, as you load your card with whatever amount you choose and then you put it in the machine and play! There is such a wide variety of wines that are distributed 2oz at a time, each costs something different. The price range is around $ 4-​$ 20 or maybe higher. It also tells you the price of a bottle.
There are several machines, the manager said they came from Italy. I recall her saying they cost in the neighborhood of $ 30−40K. I want one in my house someday! This is a very unique destination in Indianapolis and I am so glad we stopped in!

Wow– did we ever hit the jackpot going to Tastings on our trip to Indianapolis this past weekend. Amazing atmosphere, service, food and of course wine selection.
My husband and I had tickets to Monday Night football at Lucas Oil Stadium, so we decided to go stay a couple of nights in downtown Indy. Tastings– A Wine Experience was just a couple of blocks from our hotel and I had read great reviews from other Unilocalers. The location was very inviting on this sunny Sunday afternoon. Music playing, doors open, cute patio in the front and side. We took a seat outside and the server graciously told us it was half price bottles of wine all day and night. Yay! Since this included chamapagne and sparkling wine, we selected a nice French Sparkling (only $ 12) The server explained to us how the wine tasting worked too just in case we decided to go that route later. They have a huge wine selection and you load whatever dollar amount you would like on a card– then go around to the difference wine dispensers and taste.
The menu had a good selection of cheese, salads, flatbreads, etc. I ordered the fig, goat cheese, proscuitto flatbread drizzled with balsamic onions and toasted walnuts. Absolutely amazing flavors. The hubby ordered a chicken pesto flatbread that was also great– but not as delicious as mine.
Our server was friendly and attentive. After we finished our food, we wanted to move inside to the bar area to watch football and she continue to be our server. We order a bottle of red wine for $ 13. Outstanding. We will be back for sure!