In Vino Veritas at The Little Wine Counter

By Mary Orlin / Photography By Chris Chowaniec | January 15, 2015

Little Wine Counter may be small, but it’s big on flavor. Head here for spot-on pairings from chef Robert Dasalia, who matches eclectic wines chosen by sommelier Corey Reis.

The wine list, which changes on a regular basis, has both familiar bottles and harder-to-find, limited-edition wines. You might find a Terre Nere Etna Rosato Rosé from Sicily or Agriano Rosso di Montalcino from Tuscany, which Reis calls an alternative to Chianti. He’s also serving local wines like Jason Stephens Merlot and Bonny Doon Riesling.

Little Wine Counter opened in July 2014 and is the first foray into Campbell by the folks at Little Chef Counter in San Jose’s San Pedro Square. Co-owner Dante Perruci says they can be more experimental with ingredients and menu items at the wine bar.

“It’s what we call contemporary American with French influences,” he says.

While Little Chef is known for creative takes on the Canadian classic poutine, Little Wine is becoming known for house-made duck liver pate and steak tartare.

“We don’t have a freezer here,” Perruci says. “Everything is fresh and made from scratch.” That includes salads and sandwiches at lunch, including grilled cheese oozing with Ewenique cheese from Paso Robles and fig jam or a duck rillette sandwich. For dinner, nosh on plates of salmon crudo, sardine escabeche, charcuterie and cheese. Desserts are made in house.

All of this from the tiniest kitchen.

Little Wine Counter is in the space formerly occupied by Tessora’s Barra di Vino, which relocated to downtown Campbell. The interior design is modern, sleek and cool with custom industrial light fixtures. It’s a hip atmosphere, with music from classic crooners like Frank Sinatra playing in the background.