Last week I attended a wine tasting gathering with a friend. She made the reservations and since we live in opposing directions, we met at the Bacchus Wine Store. This place is a gem, located next to Pannikin, with no street level storefront. There is adequate signage but it helps if you know the general area! The business is completely downstairs, which you enter via a most accomodating stair case. On this night we were greeted by the friendly, knowledgeable, Jeff (owner). They were well organized for this event. There are rows & rows & rows of wine. There were hors d'ouvres, planned adequately so they did not run out. It seemed that the hit of the night was brie topped with whole cranberry sauce. There was chips & salsa (a California treat); small pieces of bread with a tomato basil topping; a taquito 'wannabe' made with a flaky dough & stuffed with a meat concoction; Christmas cookies (store bought); a Costco pecan pie. A rather nice spread for this smallish party. There were 6 wines to taste and only one that I found to be a heavy red with a terrible smoky aftertaste. Asking around, many others had the same opinion. I would have enjoyed sharing my opinions, but I am unable to find the card with the list of wines and time constraints do not allow me to get that information for this blog. There were plenty of people in attendance & at times, it was difficult to navigate to the bar to get your next "taste". You can visit their website: http://www.bacchuswinestore.com/ and even buy wines online. Sign up for their mailing list and plan to attend a wine tasting. It is a great place for both wine connoisseurs and plain ole wine drinkers (like me).
Many local restaurants are offering great deals to get people in the door. The economy has dealt some severe blows to good San Diego places; Dakota, Napa Valley Grille, Fuddruckers, to name a few, have closed their doors. Many others have scaled back their menus and/or are offering some very nice price fixe 3-course meals, half price wines (bottle) and other discounts. I know that I have not been going out as much, due to budgetary considerations.
Short and sweet. Leave them wanting more.
So long
Last week I attended a wine tasting gathering with a friend. She made the reservations and since we live in opposing directions, we met at the Bacchus Wine Store. This place is a gem, located next to Pannikin, with no street level storefront. There is adequate signage but it helps if you know the general area! The business is completely downstairs, which you enter via a most accomodating stair case. On this night we were greeted by the friendly, knowledgeable, Jeff (owner). They were well organized for this event. There are rows & rows & rows of wine. There were hors d'ouvres, planned adequately so they did not run out. It seemed that the hit of the night was brie topped with whole cranberry sauce. There was chips & salsa (a California treat); small pieces of bread with a tomato basil topping; a taquito 'wannabe' made with a flaky dough & stuffed with a meat concoction; Christmas cookies (store bought); a Costco pecan pie. A rather nice spread for this smallish party. There were 6 wines to taste and only one that I found to be a heavy red with a terrible smoky aftertaste. Asking around, many others had the same opinion. I would have enjoyed sharing my opinions, but I am unable to find the card with the list of wines and time constraints do not allow me to get that information for this blog. There were plenty of people in attendance & at times, it was difficult to navigate to the bar to get your next "taste". You can visit their website: http://www.bacchuswinestore.com/ and even buy wines online. Sign up for their mailing list and plan to attend a wine tasting. It is a great place for both wine connoisseurs and plain ole wine drinkers (like me).
Many local restaurants are offering great deals to get people in the door. The economy has dealt some severe blows to good San Diego places; Dakota, Napa Valley Grille, Fuddruckers, to name a few, have closed their doors. Many others have scaled back their menus and/or are offering some very nice price fixe 3-course meals, half price wines (bottle) and other discounts. I know that I have not been going out as much, due to budgetary considerations.
Short and sweet. Leave them wanting more.
So long