Downtown Burlingame gets new wine bar

Velvet 48, which is opening this Friday, May 3, appears to be downtown Burlingame’s first dedicated wine bar.

Jason Cooper, who has worked in the industry for two decades as a wine buyer, sommelier and sales manager at wine companies is behind Velvet 48 at at 310 Lorton Ave.

“I saw a real need to bring a wine bar to the Peninsula and the community of Burlingame,” he said in an announcement. “After a 20-year career in the wine industry, Im creating the place I’ve always wanted to go and enjoy wine with friends.”

Inside Velvet 48, opening in Burlingame on May 3. Photo courtesy Nat & Cody Photography.

Velvet 48 offers an extensive, international wine list, including more than 50 different wines by the glass, drawing from more than 3,000 bottles housed in a custom wine room on view next to the bar. Sparkling wine is a focus, including Velvet 48’s own private label created with Rack & Riddle in Healdsburg, which specializes in sparkling wine. Any time customers arrive at the wine bar, they’ll be served a free glass of the Velvet 48 brut rosé, which is also available by the glass for $11 and bottle for $30.

Cooper aims to price both by-the-glass wines and bottles “lower than industry standard.” Wines by the glass start at $11 (and go up to $55). Customers will be able to imbibe at the 49-seat wine bar and purchase bottles to take home.

Photo courtesy Nat & Cody Photography.

The drinks menu also offers 11 beers, including local brews and a non-alcoholic Japanese rice lager.

Velvet 48 is “a wine bar, not a restaurant,” Cooper said, but there will small bites such as local cheese and charcuterie, gougères, olives, bread from As Kneaded Bakery with Vermont Creamery butter and sweets to pair with dessert wines.

Cooper plans to host wine tastings with local producers; the space will also be available for private events.

The wine bar’s name alludes to velvety wines that “are easy to drink and dont necessarily need food to be enjoyed,” the announcement states, and the “48” is in honor of Cooper’s late mother, who was born in 1948.

Velvet 48 will be open Tuesday-Thursday, 3-10 p.m.; Friday-Saturday, noon to 11 p.m.; and Sunday, noon to 10 p.m.