San Diego, California News Station - KFMB Channel 8 - cbs8.comA Glass Half Full

A Glass Half Full

As North Park continues to be the "now" neighborhood, a new concept in wine tasting is making a splash on University Avenue.

"You purchase a card. You put any dollar amount on the card that you like. It's basically a personal little debit card, you put it in the slot. It tells you how much money you've got left on the card there. Select the wine that you want after you've read the tasting notes, put your glass under there, press the button and voila, an ounce splash right there," Tracy Smith said.

Splash offers 72 different wines from all around the world and splashes that range in price from 95 cents to $20.

"It's very nice to try something and if you don't like it, you're not out $50 or $100 for a bottle at the restaurant," Tracy said.

The first round of wine at Splash is for the budget-minded.

"Anywhere from 95 cents to $1.60," Tracy said. "It gets more expensive as you go back, so this round is everything from $1.65 to $3.25 a splash, and your next round is $3 and up."

Splash also has a bar for traditional wine drinkers to be served, and they offer a light food menu as well. But it's best just to grab a glass and go for it.

"You have an opportunity to be adventurous when you might not be able to, especially in this economy. It's nice," a customer said.

At Splash, you can even buy bottles to go. How many times have you tasted a wine and you can't remember the next day what the name of the wine was? At Splash they have score cards so you can write them down so you can remember the morning after the night before.

"We also have a happy hour every night and all day Sunday," Tracy said.

This cutting edge wine bar is making a small splash in a neighborhood that is riding a big wave of resurgence.