OK, that may not sound appetizing, but I don't mean clowns and elephant droppings. No, this Petite Sirah/Petit Verdot blend explodes with layers of smokey fruit, exuding great depth and rich character. Ultimately, it is a wine we cannot keep in stock, because everyone who tries it discovers a new favorite wine.

For those of you who attended the wine tasting featuring North Carolina’s own Childress Vineyards, you know that there are some pretty good wines produced right here in the Old North State. But as they say on TV, “Wait! There’s more!”

We drove up to Lexington, NC last week to visit Childress, and sampled a wide range of their wines…including quite a few that we did not sample in our shop. But, first things first; they say if you are going to drink all day, you have to start in the morning. We did not make it until our usual 10 a.m. wine slot before we opened the Seghesio Zinfandel. It was delicious, and we followed it with BenMarco Expresivo. There was some discussion regarding Mr. Marco’s ability to make some in the car lose their clothes, but we will leave that for another time.

After the second, we decided it would be in our best interest – and Childress’s – if we waited to drink any more wine until we actually got to the winery.

The fine folks at Childress were kind enough to treat us to lunch, during which we drank their Reserve Cab, and a bottle of the 2005 Meritage. Both could have easily been mistaken for northern Cali wines, with good fruit and excellent tannic structure. I was impressed that these were wines made right here in NC, with all North Carolina fruit.

Following lunch, we got a tour of the winery, that included another glass of the Meritage, then it was on to the tasting room, where we tasted a number of their higher end wines, including two Chards, two Merlots, the Cab and Meritage. Not a stinker in the bunch. We also tasted a late harvest Viognier that was delicious…and I’ve never been a big dessert wine fan.

We bought a few items to take home, then headed over to the hotel (also comped), where we broke into the Sebastiani Cab that Joel had brought along. He actually brought quite a few bottles, along with, believe it or not, a box of wine. I will just say this, we tried the box wine. Briefly. Right back to the Sebastiani. Decided the box wine was good for that late night, absolutely need to have one more glass of wine before passing out, moment…so you don’t have to open a decent bottle just to satisfy that compunction (and some of you out here know what I am talking about!).

Anyway, we had dinner at one of the worst restaurants I have ever been to, and the only saving grace was the fact that we brought our own wine. The corkage fee was like a buck-fifty, so it hardly made sense to drink off their minimal list. Not to mention, if the wine was anything like the food…

I think our cab driver was a mute, as the only thing he said was “ungh,” and that covered both the trip there and back. From a salad that included shredded iceberg lettuce and pickle relish, to a crabcake made with imitation crabmeat, it was not quite the way we had wanted to end an otherwise enjoyable day. But, back to hotel, and more Sebastiani…

The continental breakfast at the hotel was better than dinner, but we found true salvation in downtown Salisbury, where we found this great little restaurant called Sweet Meadow Café. The owner was cooking, the food was fantastic, and the wine was Old Vine Zinfandel. Reminded me a lot of The Treehouse Bistro…

After leaving Salisbury, we began to wind our way back east. But not before stopping at Old Stone Winery, where we tasted ten more local wines. Or was it 11? My notes are a little unclear. Could have been 12. Either way, we invited the proprietor to the beach, to taste our customers on his wine. He seemed interested, but that may have been to humor us, and, more importantly, get us out of his shop!

Either way, we finally made it back to the beach at about 9 or 10, ready for Thursday morning and our weekly tasting. We featured three Chilean wines called Mars & Venus, and all went well. The Cab and Merlot sold out by the end of the tasting, and we had about three bottles of the Chard left as I wrote this.

Jeremy returned Friday to serenade our dinner crowd, Live Bait played again Saturday, and one of the band members did our Sunday brunch as well. It was a nice brunch, and I am compelled to be nice to Lou, because he called Direct TV and harangued them until my signal was restored (as I was agitated I was going to miss Sunday afternoon football!). This coming Sunday, the long-awaited debut of Juan Garcia and Rhonda Sparks should liven up our Jazz Brunch. If you haven’t checked it out, this would be a good time.

I have no idea what this week holds, but sometimes I think it is better that way. Although, I do know we will have a costume contest Saturday night (Halloween, for those of you keeping track), and some wine and beer specials. So, come on down to The Treehouse Bistro, and let 2 Wine Guys @ The Grind pour you a glass and fix you a plate.

Shawn

Sometimes, things have a way of just working themselves out. This past week, I had the fortune to experience several of those moments…wine and/or food were definitely involved.

Last Tuesday, it all started with a leisurely drive to Durham (after spending $500 on new brakes, I wanted to put them to the test!), followed by an awesome wine and food experience. I was lucky enough to get invited to a wine dinner at Nanas, which featured Willamette Valley wines from Sokol Blosser.

Although we didn’t go to that particular winery on our trip to the valley last year, I did visit in 1985, before Pinot Noir and Willamette Valley were synonymous. The dinner last week featured five courses and six wines, including a vertical of Pinot Noirs (2002, ’04 and ’06). From a creamy porcini soup with white truffle oil to olive oil poached duck breast with chanterelles, the chef did a great job of pairing his creations with the wines.

But the real treat happened before the dinner, at the chef’s house, where he let me select a bottle from his personal cellar for pre-dinner cocktails. I pulled a 1999 Switchback Napa Cab out of the fridge (which I later learned was probably a bottle he would have preferred I hadn’t drunk…but I did!). It was probably the best Cab I have ever had…and that is saying something. After the dinner, we played wine roulette, pulling some older bottles out of his cabinet to taste. It took five tries before we found one we could drink!

It started with a 1993 Pinot Noir. I said that was kind of long to age an Oregon Pinot…unless it had some really good tannic structure. And this one, obviously, did not, as it was undrinkable. We then tried a 1980 Inglenook Cab, that was probably NEVER good, then a 1986 Seghesio and a 1988 Unissent. Alas, not a drinker in the lot. Then I noticed an Elizabeth Spencer ’05 Napa Cab, and knew we had found the one. Not quite the Saddleback, but very drinkable.

I had Advil for breakfast, and then made pan seared salmon with lemon butter, roasted broccolini with garlic, and gorgonzola ravioli in a garlic cream sauce. Good road food.

Back to reality, I did the tasting Thursday, and we sold out of every wine we featured except for one (but we only have one bottle left). I will be doing the tasting again this week, and I have talked about a battle of Malbecs, I may actually do it this week…but I am not promising anything, as I want to give myself the option of something else if I feel like it.


We had a great weekend, and the weather mostly held for the festival. More importantly, though, we started our Sunday Jazz Brunch. Our Thursday night guitarist, Dave, provided the atmosphere, Chef Ed manned the omelet station, and I created a couple things that turned out much better than I had expected. A fig prosciutto crostada with mascarpone and a caprese tomato pie with goat cheese…they were so good, the words I might use to describe them could potentially offend some of our readers, so I will simply say, I will be making them again.

OK, I think that’s it for now. You want it, we got it, so come on down to The Treehouse Bistro, and let 2 Wine Guys @ The Grind pour you a glass and fix you a plate!

Shawn

What a great week for tasting wine! In this past week, I got to sample some fantastic wines, beginning with Thursday’s tasting. The two Eberle wines we featured were big hits, and sold out before the night was over. The V.S. Cab is always fantastic, and the Syrah? Well, you know how I feel about Syrah.

We had our young guitarist back in, and he was amazing, once again. Anyone who can build a guitar, then play it like that, is pretty talented in my book. Yes, he built his own guitar. And, yes, the boy can play it.

This week, I will be doing the wine tasting. We have some new wines in that I want to show, so come on up and check ‘em out. I won’t say what, because I want it to be a surprise, but I have few Italians, a Rioja and some Malbecs to choose from. I might put two Malbecs up against each other and let them duke it out. I just haven’t decided yet.

Young Jeremy should return to play this weekend, and we will begin our Jazz Brunch this Sunday in conjunction with the Seafood, Blues and Jazz Festival. If you have not been to this event, this is one where our Chamber of Commerce really shines. Great music, great food, arts and crafts, and – with the exception of last year – the weather has always been great. It will be in the 80s all week, so I suspect the weekend will be nice, too.

Anyway, who knows what Chef Ed has up his sleeves for Sunday. Well, actually, I know, because we have discussed it. But that’s beside the point. What I mean to say is YOU don’t know what he will have up his sleeves…but it will be good. Plus, we will have specials on Mimosas, and, come on, how bad can that be?!

So, there you have it. Come on out to Treehouse Bistro, and let 2 Wine Guys @ The Grind pour you a glass and fix you a plate.

Shawn