While anybody can open a wine bar, few can do so in a way that leaves you remembering the way the candlelight flickered and how the music seemed to sway right through you after that third glass the way La Carafe can. Why? Well, it's all about the atmosphere. Of course, La Carafe knows how to offer up fine glasses of vino, but when you step into the bar, the former site of a Wells Fargo Pony Express and one of the oldest commercial buildings in Houston, everything about the place — from the guttering candles that light the room to the sounds of Billie Holiday and Edith Piaf emanating from the jukebox to the cheery ding of the gleaming ancient cash register — coaxes you to sit down, settle in and enjoy the glass of wine in your hand. You might find a broader selection at other establishments and you could find yourself spitting and swishing and sniffing with the best of them at some wine bars, but for a glass of red that you will never forget, La Carafe has you covered. (Also, rumor has it the place even has its very own ghost.)