Oak Vino Wine Bar is the seven year passion project for owner and Middletown resident Rinny Shah. From the first sip of wine, I realized we were in no ordinary wine bar. We were in Rinny's happy place, and our palates were reaping the rewards from her dreams of opening a wine bar, and the consistent research she does on each bottle of wine offered in her bar.

When I stepped up to the bar to ponder the wine list before perching on the seat, I saw a familiar friend on the wine list that I don't normally order - Chianti. The first time I drank Chianti was in Tuscany, and it was a common table wine, but so good. It's when I finally understood the meaning of this line: "Going were the water tastes like wine." That's exactly what Chianti was like for me in Italy during a summer abroad taking literature classes. It was also the first time I actually liked red wine, having been plagued with headaches after consuming it at family holiday dinners. I came to realize ... not all wine is the same.

Upon returning from my trip to Italy, I'd order the table wine at Italian restaurants, which is often Chianti. It was not the same. I haven't ordered Chianti since.

Chianti Riserva Villa di Campobello at Oak Vino Wine Bar

Hence my nostalgic sigh, "Oh, Chianti...," when I saw it on Oak Vino's wine list. The woman behind the bar, who I came to learn was the owner Rinny Shah, heard my whisper, and answered "The Chianti is delicious." Shocked that she heard me, I had to order. Two glasses later, I learned her entire start-up story.

Rinny discovered the spot for the wine bar after a breakfast at The Beacon Bagel. Oak Vino Wine Bar is one of several business in "Market Square", the formerly empty row of storefronts that were available on Main Street for years, yet now hold several new businesses including More Good Syrups and Roosevelt Vet on the Hudson. When the Town Crier signed on, several other businesses fell into place as well. Rinny and her husband Griven Patal, a small business owner of phone stores in Fishkill, love Beacon. Rinny had been meticulously planning for a wine bar in her head while saving up at her corporate job. Due to a personal experience, she quit her job and finally pulled the trigger on the wine bar.

Griven points out that every detail in the wine bar is Rinny's design. From the reclaimed wood beams, to the wood lining of shelves in the wine refrigerator. She works 80 hours a week, planning the wines, and cooks the sauces and tapas she serves at the bar to compliment the wine. Griven remembers his first days as a small business owner, and is still amazed at Rinny's endurance to create a space so paired with her vision. In fact, Rinny's husband works with her and the rest of the staff on weekends to help close the bar and polish the crystal glasses.

Drinking wine out of crystal glass at Oak Vino Wine Bar

Yes, crystal glasses. Because in Rinny's research, she discovered that wine tastes better in crystal. The glasses need polished every night, and who better to do it than a husband ;)

I can concur that red wine does taste better in crystal. Quite clean and poignant. I will have to try a white wine next! I've been in a few wine bars in my life, and I can promise you that this one is special.

Enjoy!