I discovered a great little Italian restaurant that happens to be about a mile from my house called Lucia. I absolutely love Italian food, and they had me at hello once I tasted their signature spaghetti and meatballs (White truffle oil fondue, shaved black truffle, homemade meatballs, covered in signature sauce – that’s right, TWO KINDS OF SAUCES!). But what’s even more better are their happy hour specials, which include $4 glasses of wine every day, $3 stuffed mushrooms ($3?! AND they’re amazing), and 1/2 price bottle night on Tuesdays. A friend and I recently went to share a $48 bottle of Justin Cabernet Sauvignon for $24 (hey, that’s down to retail! And they do the dishes! Score!). We are both Paso-philes, since as it turns out we both coincidentally used to live down in San Luis Obispo, where we developed our taste for wine – though I didn’t meet her until we both lived up in Washington. Once we discovered this great deal, we have since returned two or four times, always ordering the Justin Cab. But after that first glorious experience, they haven’t had that particular wine in stock, forcing us to expand our horizons. I’m glad we did, because we discovered a few other gems that we may otherwise not have tried. 
Lucky Lucia
The Employed Wino
So I know it’s been a little while since you’ve heard from me, but during the radio silence you’ve suffered through I did discover the best way for an unemployed wino to get her hands on good hooch: get employed by a winery. Oh yes! I am now the Creative Director for Rainier Wines in Seattle. You may recognize them by their flagship Mad Housewife, a series of Napa wines. With the clever name and vintage model sported on the label, this stuff was right up my alley – not to mention the average retail price tage of $7.99 per bottle. But even so, working for a winery has its privileges, and so far I have not paid a cent to have quaffed a bottle of each of their six varietals (some more than once – ahem). The Cabernet Sauvignon is, not surprisingly, my favorite. But I’m also surprised to say that I even enjoy their Chardonnay. It’s not the creamy butter bomb that many are when they come from that region, and I actually find it nice and refreshing. They also recently released two new varietals: Besitos Sweet Red (Zinfandel based) and Besitos Sweet White (Muscato based), and though sweet wines are also not my favorite, these are not over-the-top sweet and in the right mood can hit the spot. I love the name (which means “little kisses” in Spanish), and I’m hoping I’ll soon be able to brag that I designed the new label for it as well. Fingers crossed!
It wasn’t over then, it STILL isn’t over!
Okay, it’s over. We’re on the last round now, and I’ve been swindled! This “last round” isn’t a wine tasting at all, but is a speil for a wine travel website. However… they have an iPhone/iPad app for wine tasting regions at www.aoctravelguides.com that seems like it could be useful. And! They’ve just redeemed myself by pouring a tasting, and from a mysterious brown-bagged bottle. I’m intrigued! Turns out it’s a 2007 Diamond Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. So they charge $5 to $6 for an app that applies to each individual region, including Yakima, Sonoma, Napa, and Willamette.
Wine groupie, revisited.
2007 Conservancy petit syrah, by Concannon in Livermore, CA. Ahhh, reminds me of being back in the Bay, going for a day of local wine tasting with friends – particularly since the woman who poured my glass for me was a member of the now-defunct Wine Groupies club that I started with a few of said friends in 2006. At $15 a bottle, it’s quite impressive. The last 200 wines I tried agree with me.
(hic) Next!
2008 Solena Pinot Noir from the Hyland Vineyards, in Willamette Valley, Oregon once again. Yum. Very pinot-ish. Er, that’s really all I can say after tasting about 200 wines today. It’s good, but I’m not really sure if that’s the other 199 wines talking? Something that might help my palette, that I may not have mentioned is….crackers! I’m going to write a strongly worded letter to the WBC about this lack-of-cracker situation. How much is it? Hmmm. Who am I kidding, not like I’m gonna hunt it down and buy it or anything.
Maybe I shouldn’t have worn white pants to a red wine tasting.
This just occured to me. Anyway. Next is Sequel 2007 Columbia Valley Syrah – I have high hopes, since this winemaker poured the only true gem from yesterday’s white wine tasting. Okay, in spite of using Trajan on the label YET AGAIN (and even horizontally scaling it, like, 20% – really?) it’s beautiful. Love the nose, goes down smooth, lingering finish. Really great balance. $55 a bottle! Yowzah… Next!
Now what?
Trajan on the label again? Really? Okay, onto Stepping Stone, a 2008 Napa Valley Cab Franc by Cornerstone Cellars. Okay, pleasantly surprised (like I would be if some crackers magically appeared) by the light body and peppery finish. For $30 a bottle, though? Not likely. And, the used-car-salesman-like winemaker who’s pouring DID commit live wine blog faux pas by spilling on my neighbors laptop.
We interrupt this tasting for more !@#$% technical difficulties.
But I digress. After losing my last post – a beautiful $35 2008 Ponzi Pinot Noir from Willamette Valley – due to a computer crash, we’ve now moved onto a 2007 Stoller Pinot Noir from the Dundee Hills. Lovely that they’ve let the Oregonians into the sandbox to play, since they are reknowned for their amazing Pinots. Heheh. Pinot. Anyway. Uh huh. Yep! This is a great example of why Oregon Pinots (hehe) are famous. And at $25 a bottle, it won’t break the bank. For those of you who have a bank account.
!@#$%^&*
Okay, this internet connection is much too crappy to make us go this fast. NEXT UP! A 2007 red table wine from Trio Vintners in Columbia Valley – consisting mostly of Sangiovese (52%), pluse 36% Syrah and 12% Mourvedre. The small caps they use on their marketing pamphlet makes me leery, but as they’ve already poured me a glass… Ooooh! A pleasant surprise, especially considering they’re following such a big red as Velvet Glove. I actually think this is more my style, which makes sense since the price point on this baby is $18 – ten times less than the Velvet Glove. Still pricey for the unemployed, but not at a bottomless-glass tasting event!
Will it live up to the hype?
Okay, calm down! I’m feeling rushed. But OOOOH! Next in line is the 2009 Velvet Glove Shiraz – I was admiring the lovely shape of the bottle (belongs more for a Prosecco than a Shiraz), with actual velvet used on the label. At $180 per bottle price point (folks, that’s not a typo), I was interested in seeing if it lives up to the hype. Hmmmm, complex, fruity, balanced considering the 15.5% alcohol content. Beautiful inky black in color, and expensive enough that I think I’ll grab a new glass for the next round, and keep this one off to the side for later….
