The Name Game: Part Deux

We played the Name Game a few weeks ago to help my friend Alex come up with names for his unborn, unknown-sexed child. Of course, this "help" was unsolicited. Now, I haven't heard from him, but I'm pretty sure he is not going with any of the selections. Actually, he called me and said Abby was in the mix. So, I was one out of fifty. And that is fine. When you're brainstorming, if you toss out 100 ideas and one is good, then it was worth it. If you toss out a 1000 ideas and only one is viable, that's fine too. All it takes is one idea. One idea can change the world. One idea can change the course of history. One idea can do it all.

I need one. One name for my friend's [Also, my barber] soon-to-be-opening, Sunnyside wine bar. The wine bar, which should be opening in November, will be on my block's corner, literally four doors from my apartment. It will be the one and only place of its kind in my neighborhood. I even got a glimpse inside today when I saw him walk by while I was doing laundry. The place is large for a wine bar and will have a raised back section with a fireplace and leather couches. Classy. The current corner walls are getting demolished to make way for full length, folding windows that will open out to sidewalk seating on both side streets (46th Street and Skillman Ave.). The bar plans to feature about 60 wines and 10 beers (3 on tap, 7 in bottles). The place will also serve a tapas-style menu, including a variety of cheeses. Needless to say, I plan on going a lot and bringing my friends and family as well. Hell, if worst comes to worst, I might even start working there.

With less than two months to go, however, it still lacks a name. Names like Vintage and Grand Cru are now blase and used in large amounts throughout the city. Names like Unwined are too tongue in cheek and would make a mockery of the minimal, upscale decor. My friend mentioned that he was considering the name, Bleu, highlighting the Bleu cheese and the French roots of the various wines to be served. It's simple, but is it too bland? It's time to brainstorm. It's time to help my friend. It's time to Name Game!

List of possible names for my friend's Sunnyside, Queens wine bar:

1. Red, White, and Bleu - It's patriotic and includes the "bleu" he was leaning towards, but doesn't lend itself to easy reiteration.
2. Dionysus - The Greed god of wine and the son of Zeus, not bad pedigree.
3. Bacchus - Dionysus' Roman appellation.
4. Bacchanalia - Sticking with this whole Greek subplot. My friend, on the other hand, is Irish.
5. Sunshine Wine - It rhymes.
6. Skin - As in, a Grape's skin. Sounds sexy.
7. Sangre - As in the root of Sangria, a Spanish wine with fruits, which translates as "blood." Cool, in an "I think vampires are cool" way.
8. Wine Bar - For those who don't get subtlety.
9. Varietal - Wines that are specifically born of one grape.
10. Glass in Hand - The name tells you what to do.
11. Come In, Buy a Glass of Wine, and Drink It - So does this.
12. Glass and Bottle - By the glass or by the bottle.
13. Flight - Is this a wine bar or an airport bar?
14. Tasting - I don't like it. Maybe you will.
15. The Cellar Door - Wine cellar. Door to the wine cellar. Donnie Darko reference. Exactly.

16. The Purple Foot - Stomping grapes is fun for the whole family.
17. Stems - Grape stems, glass stems. Stems.
18. The Steel Stem - The bar will have a lot of steel accents, and probably a steel bar top. Plus, you can't discount the cache of alliteration.
19. Ferment - These one word names are du jour.
20. Cork - See.
21. Corkscrew - See again.
22. Vine Gardens - We're in Sunnyside Gardens. Or so my Realtor told me.
22. Appellation - As in how wines are labeled.
23. The Hot Chick - Makes me want to go.
24. Crimson - One word names are en vogue.
25. The Crimson - Sounds more regal, no?
26. The Corkscrew - "The" strikes again.
27. A Turn of the Screw - A bit lewd, no?
28. The Bloody Cloud - There has got to be a better name that incorporates "red" and "white."
29. The Bloody Casper - That's not it.
30. The Bloody Virgin - Er, nope.
31. Betty or Daphne or Claudia or Vanessa or Audrey or Eve or Martha or ? - Sometimes a name just works. Eve was in the Garden of Eden. Martha has her vineyards. Audrey Hepburn was an icon. Archie had Betty. Daphne, Claudia, and Vanessa just sound like women who drink wine.

Let me know which ones you like best. The next time I see my friend, I'll make my pitch and, who knows, we might just name a wine bar, and every time you go there you can tell your friends, "I named this place," and you'll drink your wine or your beer and you'll eat some cheese or some flat bread and no one will care.

Jared