Wine bar & small plates
Wine worth
talking about.
A wine bar and small plates restaurant in Richmond's Fan District.
Thirty wines by the glass. Seasonal small plates. No jargon.
Our approach
We don't do
tasting notes.
Every wine on our list has a one-sentence personality, not a paragraph of jargon. Our sommelier Dani writes descriptions that tell you how a wine feels, not what a textbook says it should taste like.
Our 120-bottle list is built around small-production wineries, with a focus on female and BIPOC-owned producers. Every glass has a story worth hearing.
“The wine equivalent of a cashmere sweater.”
Domaine Weinbach Riesling
Alsace, France
“What you’d drink reading on a rainy porch.”
Paserene Chardonnay
Swartland, South Africa
“A mystery novel you can’t put down.”
Château Musar Red
Bekaa Valley, Lebanon
Happening here
What's happening
Wine Dinners
Always sells outEvery other Wednesday
Five courses. Perfectly paired wines. An evening built around the table.
$95 per person
Join the next dinnerBlind Tasting Challenge
Monthly
Think you know your wine? Prove it. Our regulars compete to identify wines by nose, palate, and instinct alone.
Slow Pour Sunday
Every Sunday, 3 – 9pm
Half-price flights. The best way to spend a Sunday afternoon: three pours, no rush, nowhere to be.
Flights from $11
Reserve for SundayPrivate dining
Private dining in the Fan District
Twenty seats. One marble table. Your occasion. Whether it's a birthday dinner, a bachelorette evening, or a corporate gathering, the private room at Velvet & Vine is yours to shape.
Our team works with you on a custom wine and food pairing, set the room with candles and flowers, and handles every detail so you can focus on the evening.
20
Seated guests
$2K – $5K
Per event
6 weeks
Booked in advance
Prefer to call? (804) 555-0392
Inquire about your event
Birthdays, bachelorettes, corporate dinners: tell us what you have in mind.
Our story
How this started
Priya Kapoor got tired of wine bars that make people feel stupid for not knowing what a Grüner Veltliner is. She wanted a space where a first date and a group of girlfriends could sit side by side and both have the best night of their week.
She found that space in a converted art gallery on Main Street in the Fan District, built a custom 22-seat marble bar, and called Dani Reeves. Together they created a wine list that reads like poetry, not a textbook: 120 bottles, heavily weighted toward small-production, female and BIPOC-owned wineries.
Dani, a WSET Level 3 certified sommelier studying for the Court of Master Sommeliers, writes every wine description on the list. Reviewers say her words are half the reason people walk through the door. Chef Tomas Herrera runs the kitchen, designing seasonal small plates made entirely in-house, built to pair with whatever Dani is pouring.
The team
Priya Kapoor
Owner & General Manager
Dani Reeves
Sommelier & Bar Manager
WSET Level 3 · Studying CMS Level 2
Tomas Herrera
Chef
“I got tired of wine bars that make people feel stupid. We built a place where the wine talks to you, not at you.”
Priya Kapoor, Founder
On Google
What they're saying
95 reviews
“The atmosphere is incredible. You walk in and immediately feel like you're somewhere special.”
Google Review
“Dani's wine descriptions changed how I think about wine. I finally understand what I actually like.”
Google Review
“Perfect date spot. We've been back four times since our first visit.”
Google Review
“I didn't know I liked natural wine until I came here. The flights are the best deal in Richmond.”
Google Review