Taste Champion Wines and Distillates in Mexico City

In this particular wine bar in Colonia Juárez, you can taste the wines and distillates that won medals at the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles.

Have you ever tasted a champion Chinese wine? Well, this is the place to try or perhaps do it again. Wine enthusiasts, drop everything because you need to get to know the new Wine Bar by Concours Mondial de Bruxelles. This place, coordinated by Carlos Borboa, director of the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles for Mexico, serves all the medal-winning wines and spirits and, best of all, it does so without pretension.

The Wine Bar by Concours Mondial de Bruxelles has several rooms; each one offers a different experience. In the first room, 10 wines by the glass options change weekly so you can try more labels. They serve glasses ranging from 50 to 150 ml; a regular cup consists of 100 ml. You can order a drink and be free to walk around the rest of the wine bar.

The next room is the wine library, filled with all of the Mexican wines and distillates medaled by the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles. There, the wines have a code, so you can read them, as in traditional libraries, and get all of the information about the fermentation, including varieties, production regions and the exact medal or medals they won in competition.

From there, head up to the second floor, where there are wines and spirits from all over the world; approximately 250 labels. The intention is that, for a year, between 3,000 and 3,500 labels will have been uncorked in this bar-you would have to drink 10 different glasses every day to taste all of the year's wines.

The next room is the Oak Room, decorated like a European cafe, where you can sit and read with a glass of wine. And for the most devoted, there is a final space, arguably the nerdiest speakeasy in the world in the classrooms of the Escuela Mexicana de Té (Mexican Tea School) and the Escuela Mexicana de Sommeliers (Sommeliers Mexican School), which are behind a hidden door.

The wine bar's culinary proposal is blunt. There is no cutlery. The intention is to remove the protocol from wine, so all the tapas are eaten with your hands. We recommend the super sexy mole puff pastry stuffed with roasted turkey. Of course, the mission is for the brave as it requires you to lick your fingers while you drink your glass of wine. There are also cheeses and the selection is overseen by Lee Salas, an expert in finding European-style cheeses made by Mexican producers. Something sweet? Go for the chocolate truffles.

The offer of distillates, all measured, is also surprising. Of course, this wine bar does not make cocktails, including tonic or mineral waters. Whatever distillate you order, you will drink it straight, but it is not snobbery. It is simply so that we learn to value the products themselves.

At the Wine Bar by Concours Mondial de Bruxelles, the wine-loving staff walk around in tennis shoes and jeans and do not hide their tattoos. The service is similar to that of an Apple Store as anyone you ask is more than capable of giving you information and establishing the dialogue you want around wines, spirits and tapas. Pure comfort, knowledge and the pleasure of drinking and sharing the best wines and spirits in the world at a very affordable price.

People who visit this spot enjoy the evening eating and drinking on their way through the menu. Manuel Negrete, the sommelier, was great and did an excellent job matching the wines by the glass with something from the tapas menu, wrote one Tripadvisor user.

While the rooms with the cellar walls are not for public seating the standard seating areas are oddly bright and modern, suitable for taking photos of the food.

"We had seven wines (50 ml) each and seven tapas (shared). The total was around $200 USD, including the tip. It is expensive for Mexico City, but If you want to try some new wines and excellent dishes, I recommend it," a visitor shared.

Someone else wrote, "we love a good wine bar, and this is easily one of the best we have been to anywhere in the world. The place was gorgeous, the staff was deeply knowledgeable and friendly, and the wine selection was excellent. We had a delicious Mexican Viognier, which the bar staff was keen to explain. They also showed us their very impressive wine cellar. I recommend it if you are in the area. A lot nicer than the slightly wilder places on the main road."