Bakai debut feeds Monterey County's wine lounge boom.

Bakai Wine + Tapas (233-2286) joins Monterey’s increasingly vibrant downtown behind Golden State Theater, at 420 Tyler St., soft opening as this goes to press.

Creator, sommelier and wine director Pablo Antinao hails from Chile, and has assembled a dynamic selection of vinos that reflect a penchant for boutique wineries from California and around the world. A visit this week revealed European sparklings, whites from Germany, New Zealand, Chile and more, so-titled “sexy” rosés, a cast of international reds, with around 40 tastes by the glass all told ($8-$15 a glass and $29-$81 a bottle), plus some ciders and beers. (Visit the blog,www.mcweekly.com/edible, for more info and photos.)

The tapas include abalone ceviche ($35), baked razor clams ($30), duck sandwiches ($15.50) and fontina empanadas ($14). The market-driven food fare also catches eyes and appetites with the quinoa causas (a type of Peruvian tapa, $14) and lamb tacos on purple corn tortillas ($15.50). Four cheese and/or charcuterie plates also await ($21.50-$32).

The space invites a little lingering, with designs by Antinao and carpenter Noe Garrido, big windows, designer lighting fixtures, bar stools from Indonesia and art from California (Guido Stauffer), Chile (Cristian Fuica and Felipe Castro Rubio) and Hong Kong (Wilkie Kwok) supplying cosmopolitan feel.

It’s magnetic, albeit very spendy. Antinao says the vibe he’s going for fits the times.

“Accessibility is a generational thing,” he says. “Wine used to be more fine dining and baby boomers, now it’s everywhere, and younger people want an interesting place without white tablecloths.

“But we’re not a sports bar either,” he adds. “It’s a place to try things and have conversations with friends.”

It represents the latest in a boom of recent wine lounge arrivals, that, combined with progressive winery/tasting room operations (check the blog for prime examples), make Monterey County wine more social than ever. Here appear the strongest and most recent examples of those lounge-style spots:

Road House Wine Bar

Road House (372-1909), a 2015 edition, brings on a space with as much possibility as its tasting menu of numerous Puma Road, Pedregal, Lilia and Pessagno wines, including a range of nice Pinots and a smoky Predator five-varietal red blend. The former Ventana spot at 2999 Highway 68 includes the same sun-splashed patio and cozy tasting bar, simplified and cleaned up a little, plus the addition of a private party room and a second, bigger tasting bar and window-heavy parlor overlooking the duck pond. On the wine menu, nearly 30 different wines are available to try. The vibe is as much hang-out as wine-selling, though the tasting fee gets waived with purchase.

Stave Wine Cellar

Spanish Bay’s Stave Wine Cellar (644-7997) uncorked at 2700 17-Mile Drive this summer. Named for the lengths of wood bound to form a wine barrel, it’s half wine lounge, half wine shop, and all swanky style, hatched by sommelier and Pebble’s director of wine & spirits Wendy Heilmann. The central multi-sided fireplace, dark wood, soft lighting, and a variety of bar stools, tables and fireside lounge chairs combine with 250 wines by the bottle, 30-40 wines available in 2-ounce tastes or by the glass, plus curated beers. The idea is “try before you buy,” from oft-rotating options, with single tastings of high-end bottles rarely available in smaller quantities – and lots of smart events like winery flight nights (March 8’s installment is with Eric Solomon Imports) and “cellar walk-arounds” with snacks and sips.

Sovino Wine Bar & Merchant

This spot represents another fall 2015 addition, launching as a remake of Wines from the Heart. It (641-9463) sits at 21 Alvarado St. in the brick breezeway to Custom House Plaza, next to Portola Hotel in downtown Monterey. The approach is flights and bottles (from a collection of 75), plus craft beer like Prankster Golden, targeted largely at tourists. They offer limited small bites like charcuterie and a fig-brie number, a few different areas to hang out, and promotions like “paint and sip” classes and happy hour 4-6pm Sunday-Thursday. Sovino also enjoys a free corkage program with a number of nearby restaurants.

The Wine Experience

Owner-operator Brent Virgin introduced a clever formula to the Monterey-based 2014 Startup Challenge in 2014 and realized it at 281 Cannery Row this fall. That idea: wall-mounted kegs of local wine for tastes, blending and pairing with above-average snacks from Chef Joshua Clever, who leans holistic and authored Pesto: Simples et Bons. Weekly contributor Daniel DeCamp sniffs it out on p. 38.

Taste of Monterey

One of the area’s original wine lounges, tucked in the back of the Sly’s complex at 700 Cannery Row, TOM (646-5446) remains one of its best (and most hidden). The main reasons for its might are manifold: floor-to-ceiling windows on top of the bay, nice table and booth options, 90-some different local labels available in rotating tasting bundles, an extensive wine shop that boasts the deepest selection of Monterey County wines anywhere. Bonus: grub like fennel sausage flatbreads, bacon-wrapped meatloaf sliders and garlic shrimp-and-grits from the Aqua Terra Culinary team. Yum.

~ QUICKBITES ~

Portobello, from the team behind cult phenomenon Dametra Cafe in Carmel, is now open on Ocean in Carmel.

Matthew Farmer, a longtime local industry pro who once served as chef-owner of The Running Iron, is the exec chef, its fifth in a couple years at Beach House at Lovers Point (375-2345).

Tuesdays are three-course paella dinner nights at Esteban (375-0176), with which couples can do two appetizers, paella and two desserts ($52/couple). Through March 28, wine bottles are half off Mondays.

Nice to see Justin Cogley of Aubergine and Cindy Pawlcyn of Cindy’s Waterfront at the Aquarium back on the James Beard semifinalist list, for Best Chef-West and Outstanding Restaurateur, respectively.

Last week California’s Dungeness Crab Task Force unanimously recommended keeping commercial crab fishing season closed until all testing returns reveal safe levels of neurotoxin domoic acid. The commercial crab season was scheduled to open Nov. 15. At least the recreational fishing season, slotted to start Nov. 7, has opened.

The first Mabuhay pop-up of the year hits 5pm Tuesday, March 1, at Carmel Belle (624-1600) with ramen, pho, bistek Tagalog, vegetarian mapo tofu rice bowls, lumpia, Filipino steamed buns and… takoyaki (octopus batter balls). Bowls are $14, small items go $6 and up, cash only, 5pm shotgun start, no reservations.

Wednesday, March 9, Zeph’s One Stop (757-3947) holds a 5:30-6:30pm tasting of four Twisted Roots wines to go with Mundaka Chef Brandon Miller’s paella demo. At $10, that’s a bargain.

Stone Creek Kitchen (393-1042) classes have been filling up so it’s adding dates for things like “Entertaining with Family & Friends – Duck Duck Goose” 6:30-9pm Wednesday, March 9 ($75, starring smoked duck breast, confit and more) and Shabu Shabu (Asian hot pot) class 6:30-8:30pm Tuesday, April 5 ($65). Great gift or date idea.

John Ruskin: “A little thought and a little kindness are often worth more than a great deal of money.”