Vindulge

Great ideas for local wine shops collaborating with local restaurants during tough times

I love it when local businesses can work together and collaborate on ways to promote each others success.  I think its especially important now, during these crazy economic times, for businesses and consumers alike to work together to support each other in whatever ways they can.
To me, It's not about "stop the world and hide in your house", “save everything”, “stop spending your money”... I believe you should just be smart in how you are spending.  Continue to support the businesses you like and look for value where you can find it.

Recently one of my go-to local wine shops, cork- a bottle shop, has collaborated with some great local restaurants to offer free corkage on Wednesdays & Thursdays throughout the month of March.  Not just any restaurants either. Check out the lineup:  Alberta Street Oyster Bar, Daily Café in the Pearl, Lolo, Giorgio’s, Serratto, Ten 01, and Tabla.
This way you can support your local wine shop and get to experience a great restaurant without damaging your pocketbook too much.  You can read more about this great opportunity on the cork website

So we decided to give it a shot ("we" as in "he who I drag along to as many wine tastings as possible"- i.e. my husband).  Besides, cork was hosting a wine tasting this past Thursday that I was excited to attend featuring wines from RIDGE, yum!   So we  stopped in, did the RIDGE flight, bought a bottle and headed out to Ten 01 to complete our night.  Before you get to hear about our delicious dinner at Ten 01 I have to tell you how impressed I was with the RIDGE flight!

First… The lineup:
2007 RIDGE Three Valleys
2006 RIDGE Paso Robles
2006 RIDGE Lytton Springs
2002 RIDGE Lytton Springs

We started with the 2007 RIDGE Three Valleys
76% Zinfandel, 8% Petite Sirah, 7% Syrah, 6% Grenache and 3% Carignane
Rustic with tobacco and lush fruit.  Made me think of taking it on a camping trip and making a big fire in the middle of the woods whilst cooking up some "tin foil surprise" (you know what I'm talking about, when you put potatoes, meat, veggies, the works, all wrapped up in tin foil and throw it in the fire and let the the fire do the work). It must be all that smoke, tobacco, and dark fruit.  Still young but certainly drinkable.
-$22.50

Then there was my favorite of the lineup… the 
2006 RIDGE Paso Robles
100% Zinfandel.  This wine was fruit forward with ripe berries and dried cherry, and rich with spice and soft tannins. It had a nice jamminess to it without it being overpowered by alcohol. At 14.6% I thought that made for a nice approachable Zin that didn’t make me want to home and take a nap to recover from its weight.  
-$30

2006 RIDGE Lytton Springs … A close second.
A blend of 80% Zinfandel, 16% Petite Syrah and 4% Carignane
Rich fruit without being overpowered by alcohol (I like the refrain that they are demonstrating with these 14%-ish alcohol level Zins).  Dark cherry with a touch of licorice with balanced tannin. 
-$38.25

2002 RIDGE Lytton Springs (a special treat)
Well balanced with plum, spice, and chocolate. More complex then the first 3 and softer on the palate, it was rich, complex with everything in balance.  A great opportunity to try the same wine, 4 vintages apart.  You really get to sense how the wine will soften and become more balanced throughout the years… that is if you have the patience to let it wait.
-Not for sale because Darryl is "the man" and contributed the wine from his personal cellar for comparison with the '06

Then the wine we purchased to accompany us to Ten 01. 
Chateau Vernous, Cru Bourgeois, Medoc (2005)
$24.75  (c'mon, you can’t get value like this on most restaurant wine lists!)

As we left cork, we ventured off to Ten 01 a few blocks away in The Pearl.
A restaurant I’ve been to before but always enjoy.  Good food, good service, and great wine list!  But of course, Darryl from cork picked out our wine for tonight.

To start I ordered a glass of white Burgundy (aka Chardonnay)
2007 Jean-Claude Thevenet Macon Pierreclos
Deeeeelicious.  What I noticed first off was the temperature.  I guess I get so used to restaurants serving white wine (especially Chardonnays) too cold, that I was impressed at the correct temperature this was served at.  This was at the perfect temperature for drinking a Chard, a slight chill but certainly not considered cold.  Fruity, dry, with just a touch of butter with good minerality… the perfect starter wine for me. 

After we ordered we were presented with our amuse-buoche, a small cup (shot size glass if you will) of the Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Duck Confit, Poached Apples, and Toasted Pistachio Oil.  Hellllllo!  It made me sad I didn’t order a whole bowl of the soup. It was rich, warm, soothing, and the perfect accompaniment to a cold rainy Portland day.

Appetizer:
Sashimi of Hamachi, preserved Orange-yuzu kosho vinaigrette, American caviar, and thai basil oil.  Perfect portions. Nice presentation.  Went great with  my Chardonnay!

GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE STILL EXISTS!

Last night a girlfriend of mine and I stopped into Blue Hour (at 250 NW 13th at Everett Street in Portland) for a glass of wine and a snack.  We sat at the bar since we were just getting a couple of appetizers.  Upon ordering the ever so delicious Tuna Tartare & the Pizza Margherita our server let us know it may take up to 20 minutes for the pizza. No problem we thought.  We were just there to hang out and chat. 

20 minutes goes by... then 40... then close to an hour... still no food.   We didn't notice until our server came to our table to apologize profusely that our food was still not here and explained that the order went in after a very large party.  "No worries" we replied.  We were really just there to chat and catch up.  A minute later she returned with 2 complimentary glasses of sparkling wine and some bread (this girl must know the true way to my heart is through bubbles)... she’s totally forgiven in my book!

As if that wasn’t enough, once our food arrived the chef came out to inform us that he was comping all the food for us having to wait.  Now I must mention that we did not, at any time, seem annoyed by the wait, nor did we complain.  They just took it upon themselves to go that extra step.  All we ordered were 2 appetizers, and they went through all of that to let us know they appreciated our business.
That level of customer service seemd to be lacking as of late... but this experience made me realize that good customer service still exists!

And because of their added efforts to ensure our happiness I will gladly go back and dine at Blue Hour again... next time in the actual dining area.

And p.s. the Tuna Tartare and Pizza were excellent!