Water Into Wine (Restaurant - Knoxville, TN)

My husband was recently promoted, so we'll be relocating to Knoxville, TN in about a month's time. In August, I traveled there with him to check out the area for the first time. We already visited a few wonderful, local restaurants during our time there, and I am so excited to really dive into the dining scene once we're settled.

His office is in Farragut, so one of his new bosses tasked us with visiting Water Into Wine in that area for dinner to see if it would be a good fit for future business meals for the company he works for.

Water Into Wine

Ambience: We arrived around 6:45 pm on a Thursday evening without having a reservation and were seated immediately. Low top tables, high top tables, bar seating, and patio seating are available. The decor is rustic with several nods to a deep love for all things wine. There is a section filled with wine bottles with twinkle lights shaped into a heart that I found to be so cute. If you look closely, you will find wine rows of wine corks lining parts of the wall, and there are tops of high quality wine crates hung up along one wall.

The restaurant describes itself as a casual dining bistro & lounge with a vast wine selection - over 400 options!, craft cocktails, a decent (and well-priced) bourbon selection, and tapas.

The lighting is dim and was dimmed even further around 7 pm when live music began. You can find live music every Wednesday and third Thursday, & there’s a live smooth jazz duo every Saturday night! The night we were there, Chipster was playing “an eclectic mix of classic rock, pop and singer/songwriter favorites from the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s and 90’s.” We really enjoyed his vibe!

Chipster Music

Service: Our server was extremely attentive, and management came by our table to ensure we were enjoying our dining experience. Waters were brought to our table without us having to ask for them.

Food & Drink: The menu isn’t too large, but there are options for shareables, soups and salads, flatbreads & tapas, entrees, or dessert. Happy hour is on Tuesday - Thursday from 3 pm - 6 pm. We each started out with a cocktail. Alex got a classic whiskey sour that he really enjoyed, and I tried “the plum diary” — pear plum vodka, lemon, agave, ginger beer, and rosemary — so refreshing for a warm Summer Day!

We wanted to eat a lighter meal than we’d been eating over the past several days. We split 3 different food items — the Dippity Do, Blackened Ahi Tuna, and Italian Flat.

The Dippity Do features 3 of W2W's signature dips — Beer cheese served with warm mini pretzels, smoked Boursin cheese dip served with carrot and celery sticks, and spinach & artichoke dip served with pita chips. You can add hummus for $4. We only left behind crumbs from this plate - yum!

The Italian Flat includes W2W’s house marinara, Genoa salami, and Italian cheese blend and is topped with fresh basil. We really liked this dish and thought the house marina was especially great!

The Blackened Ahi Tuna was served on a bed of fresh greens with ginger and wasabi. The tuna was encrusted with white and black sesame seeds which gave it an interesting and unique flavor - very fresh tasting and delish!

While at a place like this, ordering at least one glass of wine is a must! They have over 400 options with around 80 of the options available by the glass. I had a glass of the Vicinus Vinho Verde which was great with a very bright & crisp flavor, and Alex had a glass of the Shortbread Chardonnay.