V Wine Room is West Hollywood’s Wine Library

Concealed off Westbourne Drive, V Wine Room is a tucked-away wine bar and shop that features boutique California and European producers. But what you may not know is that this charming, Spanish-style building was once a library back in the 1930s. And before that, it was Charlie Chaplin’s rehearsal studio in the 1920s.

Today, V Wine Room carries close to 100 wines by the glass and 200 bottles at any given time. Its unique, V-shaped marble bar is surrounded by dark woods, pendant lighting and bookcases that display their wines similarly to books in a library. 

“We like to be known as a wine library speakeasy,” says owner Mikey Consbruck. “We love that we are hidden a little bit. We want our customers to be organic, word of mouth, and a special find that they want to come back and bring their friend.”

Wine Education

Special events at V Wine Room are ever-evolving. Throughout the year, Consbruck and his team host several special wine education and tasting events.

“We’d like to think of ourselves as one of the authoritative wine places in LA,” Consbruck says. “We want you to come in and learn about a new varietal that you’ve never tasted or even heard of, a new term or new technique in winemaking.” 

“We are just trying to keep people really engaged,” he adds. “You go to a library to learn and read, and at the wine room, you fill out a library card which is stamped with the date so you can keep track of what you tasted.” 

This also comes in handy for a friend who wants to buy you a gift. For the holidays, Consbruck assembled a range of host gifts with great bottles and wine openers. They also sell custom library gift cards.

Wine Pairings and Tastings

Blending labs where you can make your own bottle are also popular, but food and wine pairing soirees can include a chocolatier who uses chocolate ganache in wine infusions or an entomologist who is attempting to shift the perception on insects and wine pairing. 

“We want this to be a unique and educational class for people to learn and expand their knowledge without going into a stuffy environment,” Consbruck says. “If bugs and Chenin blanc is not your idea of culinary nirvana, you can choose from a Rhone varietal such as Piquepoul Blanc aged in concrete – an old-world French style that you don’t see very often in the U.S., a Bordeaux style rosé from S.R. Tonella in Napa; or an Australian Sparkling Syrah from Solminer SB county to name a few gems. The grapes can be paired with cheese and charcuterie from around the world including cave-aged sheep’s milk, Humboldt Fog, Truffle Tremor from Cypress Grove and cabernet-dipped salami, mortadella, turkey salami or even EOS Chocolates.”