Main Street Wine Bar...coming soon!

Over a month ago, I was hired as a freelance marketing consultant and social media manager at a little wine shop in Tiburon [Marin County, Ca]. They also needed someone to work in the shop two days a week, so you can find me there, mulling over the many Italian wines and posting images of their labels to Facebook, on Sundays and Mondays.

The previous owner had traveled all over Italy and trained as a sommelier at A16 in San Francisco; she called the shop, Prima Palate, and sold only Italian wines.

When Nancy Larson purchased the shop earlier this year (including all of the wine inventory), she decided to diversify and re-brand. The name of the shop is changing to Main Street Wine Bar and Bottle Shop; the new signs should be up next week! We're still hammering out the design of the new website, but in the mean time, please follow on Facebook and Twitter.

Other improvements include adding more seating, outdoor heat lamps, an espresso machine, and new wines. The selection is still predominantly Italian, but we’re making room for more California and French producers. And in the mean time, it has provided me with the opportunity to taste many new wines.

The Magnificat Pinot Nero ($18/bottle) is a terrific Spumante Brut from the Lombardia region. It’s light and lean with a whisper of pear and orange creamsicle on the palate as well as faint yeasty notes. Finishes clean with lingering flavors of tropical fruit.

I am also a big fan of the Ca’Vittoria Brut Rosé ($17/bottle). It’s made with Prosecco grapes and a small amount of Raboso, a native red Veneto varietal that contributes both color and aroma. Bone-dry but very full in the mouth, this sparkler shows good, lively acidity and a broad sweep of strawberry and citrus fruit.

We carry the 2011 Enkidu Chardonnay, Tin Cross Vineyard, which I blogged about after attending the Family Winemakers of Californiaevent. It’s $30/bottle with good acidity, pleasant fruit components, and no malolactic fermentation [my style of Chardonnay!]. As is the 2011 Foxen Chardonnay, Bien Nacido Vineyard from Santa Barbara ($34/bottle). As the owner/winemaker of Foxen told me, this wine is “Burgundian in style with California sunshine blended in.” Delicious!

The 2010 Winzerkeller Andau Blaufrankisch is an Austrian red that is quite tasty ($17/bottle). This elegant, juicy wine offers impressions of lavender, tobacco, pepper, plum, red cherry, cedar, toffee, and cassis. It’s similar to Sonoma Pinot Noir in weight.

I’ve also enjoyed a few of the Italian reds. The 2011 Alois Lageder Kalterersee Shiava from Alto Adige ($23/bottle) has the weight of a Chardonnay and similar food-pairing flexibility (pastas, risotto, chicken). It’s matured in large Slovenion oak casks but not for more than a few months. Transparent in the glass, it is light-bodied and fresh. Aromas of red currant, cherry, and violets are complemented by attractive nuances of red fruit and a slightly spicy finish.

The 2009 Pietradolce Archineri from Etna Rosso (Sicily; $26/bottle) is available by the glass right now. It’s complex but balanced; the perfume of this wine smells like sweet blackberry, plum, tar and spice. The palate delivers a wonderful harmony of bright raspberry and Bing cherry flavors, dried herbs, violet, and acidity.

I am also excited about the wines we carry from Fisher Vineyards (Napa) and the wines delivered this week—including Saintsbury Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and the Chappellet 2010 Cervantes Mountain Cuvee (red blend). 

The shop is open every day with special Happy Hour pricing on Fridays and Saturdays from 4-7 pm and on Sunday from 3-5 pm. Come say hello and stay for a glass of vino!

Benissimo: the best Italian food in Marin?!

Who knew that the little Italian restaurant on Tamalpais Drive in Corte Madera could be so good? I've driven and walked by Benissimo hundreds of times—it’s been there since 1987—but it only occurred to me to check it out for the first time this past Saturday.

 

It was nearing 8 pm by the time we approached the restaurant. It was so nice to be seated right away on a Saturday night—especially without a reservation. The host (probably one of the owners) was kind enough to offer us a bigger table near the back or a small table up front. I wanted the table near the front by the window.

The restaurant was bigger and more spacious than it looks from the street. About half the tables were occupied, so it wasn't very noisy (which was a relief).

We brought a bottle of 2006 Pine Ridge Stags Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon to enjoy with dinner and put it on the table as we sat down. A server arrived a few short moments later with wine glasses—and not with attitude because we brought our own wine. He proceeded to open the bottle while he told us the specials.

The specials sounded amazing, but so did so many dishes on the menu (the four different kinds of risotto, the short ribs, the lamb, the pastas).

After tasting the Cab, I knew I had to order red meat. The wine was lush and jammy and full-bodied with silky tannins. It had sweet blackberry, black cherry, earth, and vanilla flavors and a long, rich finish.

The wine paired perfectly with the short ribs, polenta and sautéed veggies.

My boyfriend ordered the seafood risotto and it, too, was absolutely delicious.

The service was great without being intrusive—the server actually checked in a few minutes after we received our entrees (sadly, this has not been the norm recently) and cleared our plates shortly after we had finished. We were too full to consider dessert, but I bet they have a tasty tiramisu.

My only complaint was the portions are quite large; I overate because it was so good. But overall, it was a terrific experience and quite possibly the best Italian food in Marin!

P.S. Corkage was only $15 but it's waived on Tuesday nights. Cheers!

When in Rome...order Italian wine

I have a confession to make. I know very, very little about Italian wine.

As much as I would like to learn more--and drink more--Italian varietals, quality examples are hard to come by. There are many Italian restaurants in the Bay Area, but Californian wines seem to dominate wine lists everywhere. There's very little risk in ordering a bottle of wine that I've already had and liked, but I also realize I won't discover new wines by playing it safe.

Last night, I went to dinner at Sociale, a hidden gem of a restaurant in the Presidio Heights neighborhood of San Francisco. Sociale is a study in northern Italian fare--and a great place to expand one's knowledge of Italian wines. (www.sfsociale.com)

The wine list was expansive without being overwhelming. But it didn't speak my language. Although I spotted a few wines from Sonoma and Napa, I ignored them. As my eyes scanned the list, I recognized a few varietals (I've had a few mediocre Sangioveses in my life and I've read in the Wine Spectator that Brunello di Montalcinos are amazing but quite pricey), but I had no idea what to order.

Our server addressed our table within minutes of our arrival and told us about the specials. At our request, the sommelier appeared a moment later. I told him that we would prefer something red, fruit-forward, and in the $50-$60 price range. Without being pretentious or condescending, he recommended two wines that he promised were both fruit-forward and would pair well with most of the menu.

He suggested a Montepulciano ($60/bottle) that was complex but not too heavy and a Sangiovese (only $36/bottle) that was very fruity.

We opted for the 2008 Le Berne Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, and although it was a little cold when first poured, it opened up nicely. It had luscious red cherry and currant flavors, good acidity, and a medium-plus body.

For our first course, we shared an order of the fried olives--absolutely delicious!--and the mushroom pot pie. The server also brought us a beet salad--on the house--which was light and tasty, too. I probably wouldn't order the pot pie again, if only because there were many other tempting options (like the duck meatballs).

And we enjoyed our wine so much that it was gone before our entrees arrived!

Sociale is a small, cozy space, so it didn't take me long to flag down the sommelier to order a second bottle. We decided to try his other recommendation; he poured the wine as our main course arrived.

The Sangiovese was very easy to drink; with bright red fruit and more acidity than the first wine. It complimented my arctic char surprisingly well. My dining companions ordered the quail and the spinach linguine with prawns; they didn't have any complaints either.

As our empty plates were cleared, we were surprised it was already 9 pm. Every table in the place was occupied; despite the low ceilings, we could still hear each other just fine and the service never suffered. The food was delicious, the sommelier was very helpful, and the waitstaff was there when needed.

Taking a risk on a couple bottles of Italian wine was a very good and pleasurable venture indeed!