Wine Bar Review

The Untimely and Unnecessary Death of a Great Wine Bar

 No Responses »
Mar 262014
 

“…Good company, good wine, good welcome, can make good people.” William Shakespeare, Henry VIII – 1613

“All good things must come to an end.” Geoffrey Chaucer – 1374

My emotions are today ranging from melancholy to near sadness. The Buddhist in me is reminded that attachment only causes pain. But for all my human failings, I find myself attached to what was and feeling some modicum of pain.

Tonight we will be attending a celebration of sorts, or maybe more like a wake. For tonight marks the closing of the place we thought of as our second living room, our other home and extended family, CRU Wine Bar in Park Meadows. Our Cheers Bar, if you will. Before you roll your eyes and judge, I encourage you to read on about this wonderful little wine bar that lost its lease because the mall property owner preferred to move in a high volume chain steak house. What once was interesting is now becoming another cookie-cutter experience. CRU is not the first victim as leases have come up for renewal. No doubt the little wine bar could never generate the rental revenue of the newer high volume tenants…but not all food and wine options need to cater to manic disengaged crowds when there is space for the large and intimate alike. Continue reading »

Ceja Vineyards and Titus Vineyards – Two New Favorites

 4 Responses »
Mar 112011
 

Napa Valley in early spring does not always offer the most hospitable weather. Though the valley can be flooded with spring rains, it is not flooded with tourists. On weekdays you feel like you have the whole place to yourself.  The restaurants are full but not overflowing, the tasting room staff has plenty of time to educate, no need to elbow people out of the way to get to another pour and even winemakers have time to chat. Early spring in Napa does have its benefits, so join us at the Ceja Vineyards Tasting Room and Titus Vineyards Winery, two of our new favorite stops. Continue reading »

A Visit to the John Anthony Wines Tasting Lounge

 1 Response »
Mar 042011
 

The unusually warm and sunny San Francisco February weather retreated in favor of a cold windy downpour as we arrived for our first 2011 wine country visit. We had much on our blogging plate for the ten days. Winemaker interviews, winery visits, wine tastings, the Vintners Hall of Fame Dinner, Symposium for Professional Wine Writers and the Premiere Napa Barrel Tasting and Wine Auction were more than enough to make the average liver cry uncle. As you can see being a wine blogger is just “damn hard work.”

After the 90 minute rain soaked drive to Napa, our first pit stop was not a winery, but Target to buy a new massive suitcase to replace the one whose wheels had suffered irreparable damage in the gentle care of too many baggage handlers. After dragging the heavy broken-wheeled bag through SFO, on to the tram, then through the rental car building only to drive in a downpour, we were ready for some wine to revive the soul.

Our first stop was the John Anthony Wines Tasting Lounge  in downtown Napa next door to the Avia Hotel. The hip décor includes a tasting bar as well as comfortable seating to just sit back and drink some wine. At night the Tasting Lounge turns into more of cool wine bar scene. We liked the wines and atmosphere so much we met friends there for a pre-dinner glass of wine, later in the week. Continue reading »

What Makes a Great Neighborhood Wine Bar?

 3 Responses »
Aug 302010
 

I love neighborhood wine bars!  Of course, the other half of B & B would say that I just love wine anywhere.  That being said,, a wine bar becomes a neighborhood wine bar and one of my favorites because the staff treats you like family each time you visit.  Of course, they need to have good food, wine and atmosphere.  Since I split my time between the south suburbs of Denver, Colorado and Austin Texas, I have favorites in both cities.

Continue reading »

Why High Restaurant Wine Prices?

 18 Responses »
Jul 112010
 

Recently I was reading an article on our slow to rebound economy. The writer interviewed an upscale restaurateur who claimed his sales were still off by 60% from a couple of years ago. I have no idea where the restaurant is but that doesn’t seem to be the case in my two cities, Denver, CO and my beloved Austin, TX.

Donna and I spent a little time discussing the restaurateurs claim and agreed that we don’t eat out as much as we did. So we asked why? We came to the conclusion that there are a number of restaurants we like very much but refuse to pay their exorbitant wine mark ups. In my early days of wine collecting (that was a long time ago) in Austin I’ll admit I was spoiled (Henry and Jay, you know who you are). Back then wholesale laws and enforcement were much more lax and I’d buy cases of great wine wholesale, compliments of my restaurant buddies. So very early on I learned the real cost of wine.

Here’s my rant. What the hell am I getting when I pay a restaurant 200% or more than I can buy the exact same wine retail. Continue reading »

Page 1 of 212