What do you do when you have a nine hour layover in the Newark Airport with a sixteen hour flight ahead? Go to a wine bar of course and that is exactly what we did when lunch time rolled around. The place is called Vino Volo and offers travelers a real treat. Our lunch there made the layover part of the fun and the beginning of our vacation and we look forward to coming to the Newark Airport for a layover as long as Vino Volo is there.
What’s so great about the place you might ask. First the ambience. Cozy seating is arranged to create an atmosphere of intimacy with a variety of music style to help whisk you away from the humdrum life going on in the corridors of the airport terminal. The menu is limited but the Tuscan chicken salad with red pepper aioli ($9) was delicious and went well with the very nice wine we bought to accompany it, Régis Bouvier Marsannay Clos du Roy from Burgundy, France. 
The wine list is extensive, featuring over 80 wines with prices ranging from $19 to $599. Be forewarned however, there is a $12 corking charge on all bottles of wine consumed on-site. This is not as horrible as it may seem because the prices are very reasonable and reflect New Jersey liquor store pricing rather than restaurant pricing. Our biggest criticism of Vino Volo is that they serve all wines, red or white, any price, in narrow all-purpose glasses and that is an injustice to the good red wines they serve.
Our lunch with wine experience at Vino Volo was OUTSTANDING, and certainly the best airport experience we have ever had. In fact, a very enjoyable experience on any scale. Next time you have time to kill in the United Airlines section of the International Terminal at the Newark Airport give it a try. You will be surprised to learn how pleasant an airport can be, in fact, your vacation could start with lunch at Vino Volo.
After lunch we lingered and eventually bought their Artisan Cheese tray ($8) and a bottle of Joseph Phelps Insignia. Life simply doesn’t get much better than drinking such memorable wine while waiting for your airplane!!!
To put our experience at the Vino Volo Wine Bar in context, for dinner we thought we would find a good restaurant but stumbled on another wine bar in a different section of the terminal. We had so-so pizza and an equally so-so Sangiovese wine in an environment that was noisy, crowded and had the atmosphere of a grubby lunch counter. It really made the Vin Volo Wine Bar seem like a wonderful oasis in the airport. We give Vino Volo in the Newark Airport a VERY noteworthy rating.
The Vino Volo Wine Bar is located in the Liberty (Newark, New Jersey) Airport at Terminal C, Concourse C1 – Gate 72 (United Airlines).