Vida

You open the wine list at Vida expecting the usual suspects — a California Cab, a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, maybe a token Malbec — and instead you get Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, and Mexico doing the heavy lifting. It's a genuine surprise inside the Holston Building's sleek dining room, and a welcome one. The list is short but it has a point of view, which is more than most restaurants on Gay Street can claim.

Vida's list runs about 25–35 bottles and keeps its focus almost entirely on Latin America, with a few Iberian and Italian ringers filling the house pour slots. Argentina dominates, anchored by Achával Ferrer and Clos de los Siete on the red side and La Yunta Torrontés and Trivento's White Malbec on the white. The real intrigue is in the Mexican producers — Casa Jipi's Nebbiolo and Casa Magoni's Sangiovese Cabernet are not wines you stumble across in Tennessee, ever. Uruguay shows up with Garzón's Albariño Reserva, a legitimately serious bottle for a list this size. The gaps are real — no Burgundy, no Rhône, minimal European depth — but that's clearly intentional, and the intentionality is what earns respect.

The by-the-glass program is one of the stronger aspects here, with somewhere in the neighborhood of 14–18 options covering bubbles, whites, rosé, and reds — a generous spread for a restaurant this size. You can get El Bajío Sparkling Brut from Mexico by the glass, which is a conversation starter if nothing else, and the Apaltagua Carmenère keeps things accessible for guests who just want something red and smooth. The range means you can actually drink through different regions over the course of a meal without committing to a bottle.