Brunello. Sangiovese. Bruschetta. Sepulveda.

It all sounds kinda Italian. Close enough for your next date, anyway.

Swirl your glass in a counterclockwise direction at Sara the Wine Bar, a place that’s named after a person who just wants to pour you something good—and maybe get you some lasagna, too—now open on Sepulveda in Culver City.

Imagine you have an Italian friend who really knows her wine, loves to cook and often throws mellow little get-togethers at her streamlined, casual place. Well, her name is Sara, and she’s no longer imaginary. She has her own wine bar. It’s called Sara, too. Nice to meet... them both.

This is the kind of neighborhood spot to take a second date or beyond, not a wild card—you’ll just need a couple stools at the long blond-wood bar if you both feel like a freewheeling night chatting with Sara, her husband and any new nearby friends while you work on a couple glasses of malbec.

But if you need a little more privacy—and things are going well enough to introduce some meatballs—secure a couple silver chairs at a candlelit table. You’ll have more room for a bottle of brunello and the meatballs and lasagna Sara just made you.

It’s like she can see into your soul.